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Friday brings a busy schedule for Major League Baseball and Monkey Knife Fight has contests for all, offering many chances to play and win!
- With a full schedule there are usually some pitchers to target. Minnesota’s Matt Shoemaker (7.28 ERA), Arizona’s Merrill Kelly (5.12 ERA), Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough (5.06 ERA), Kansas City’s Brady Winger (4.88 ERA), and San Diego’s Blake Snell (4.83 ERA) are among the Friday starters that have struggled this season.
- Pittsburgh’s Chase De Jong and Baltimore’s Keegan Akin are another couple of Friday’s starting pitchers with little major league experience.
- On the other hand, the Mets’ Jacob deGrom (0.62 ERA), the Angels’ Shoehei Ohtani (2.76 ERA), Seattle’s Justin Dunn (3.18 ERA), Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (3.30 ERA), and Cincinnati’s Tyler Mahle (3.32 ERA) are among the most effective starting pitchers taking the mound on Friday.
- The best pitching matchup looks like it could be Seattle’s Justin Dunn going against Cleveland’s Aaron Civale.
Here are some possibilities to consider when playing Friday’s MLB schedule on Monkey Knife Fight.
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STAR SHOOTOUT - MAIN GAMES
Jacob deGrom LESS THAN 9.5 STRIKEOUTS
As incredible as the Mets ace has been this season, he has reached double-digit strikeouts in four of his nine starts, including just one of his past five starts. He also faces a San Diego Padres lineup that has the third lowest road strikeout rate (21.6%) in MLB.
Lucas Giolito MORE THAN 7.5 STRIKEOUTS
After a bit of a slow start, Giolito has been moving in the right direction and has recorded at least eight strikeouts in seven of his 12 starts this season. He also gets a favorable matchup against the Detroit Tigers, a team with a higher-than-average home strikeout rate (25.8%).
Tarik Skubal MORE THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
Although the Detroit southpaw has managed seven or more strikeouts in just five of 12 starts this season, he has also gone for at least seven strikeouts in five of the past six starts. He faces a Chicago White Sox lineup that has a slightly lower-than-average road strikeout rate (24.3%).
Tim Anderson LESS THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
The White Sox shortstop has not been great against left-handed pitching (.360 slugging percentage) or on the road (.389 SLG), which does not bode well for Friday’s game at Detroit, with Tarik Skubal on the mound.
Xander Bogaerts MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
The splits are more favorable for the Red Sox shortstop, who is slugging .569 against right-handed pitching and .585 at home going into Friday’s action, at Fenway, against the Toronto Blue Jays and Ross Stripling.
STAR SHOOTOUT - LATE GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Jose Urquidy LESS THAN 4.5 STRIKEOUTS
Even though he is coming off his worst start of the season, he does have at least five strikeouts in six of his 10 starts. Trouble is, he is facing a Minnesota Twins lineup that tends to make contact, owning the fifth lowest home strikeout rate (21.5%) in MLB.
Cole Irvin LESS THAN 4.5 STRIKEOUTS
The A’s southpaw did have some high strikeout totals earlier in the season but has five or more strikeouts in just one of his past six starts and he goes against a Kansas City Royals lineup that has a lower-than-average road strikeout rate (23.9%).
Justin Upton LESS THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
While Upton is slugging a respectable .454 against right-handed pitching, he has been abysmal on the road, slugging just .280, going into Friday’s game at Arizona, with Merrill Kelly taking the mound for the Diamondbacks.
Christian Yelich MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
It’s getting to the point that Yelich won’t qualify for the Star Shootout because he’s not hitting like a star any longer. He is slugging .400 against right-handed pitching and .341 at home but does have a favorable matchup, taking on Pittsburgh’s Chase De Jong, who has a 6.85 ERA in his career and is making his 13th career major league start.
STAR SHOOTOUT - NIGHT GAMES
MORE OR LESS
Clayton Kershaw MORE THAN 7.5 STRIKEOUTS
While the veteran Dodgers ace has been getting hit harder lately, allowing five earned runs in three of his past five starts, he does have at least eight strikeouts in seven of his 12 starts this season. He also gets the benefit of facing a Texas Rangers lineup that has a higher-than-average road strikeout rate (25.7%).
Max Muncy MORE THAN 1.5 HITS + WALKS
The Dodgers first baseman has a .394 on-base percentage against right-handed pitching, which is very good, but he has a .447 OBP at Dodger Stadium this season, which sets him up to expect that he could reach base a couple of times in Friday’s game against the Texas Rangers, with Mike Foltynewicz on the bump.
Jared Walsh MORE THAN 1.5 TOTAL BASES
Walsh is crushing right-handed pitching, to the tune of a .618 slugging percentage, and when coupled with his .545 slugging percentage on the road, he should be able to accumulate at least a couple of bases against Merrill Kelly and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Shohei Ohtani MORE THAN 6.5 STRIKEOUTS
In eight starts this season, Ohtani has recorded at least seven strikeouts six times and he is going against an Arizona Diamondbacks lineup that has a lower-than-average home strikeout rate (22.0%).
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