DAILY MATCHUPS: Bieber looks to finish strong vs. Royals

Today's Overview/Schedule/Weather: We have 15 games on tap as our last full Sunday of baseball action. The remnants of Hurricane Ian are heading north, bringing rain concerns in Washington and New York, so keep an eye on those games. When looking at the over/unders on the day, we do not have high totals, with most in the seven or eight-run ranges. 

Notable Starts:

Shane Bieber leads the way on today’s slate with a great matchup versus the Royals. Bieber is coming off his worst start in a while, allowing four runs versus the Rays. Before that start, Bieber had allowed three runs or less in 11 starts with a 1.75 ERA, 2.55 xFIP, and 24% K-BB. He will look to take advantage of a Royals team that is striking out 20% of the time versus RHP over the last month with a .243 batting average and 97 wRC+.

Robbie Ray is coming off back-to-back solid starts where he allowed two runs over 11.2 innings with 15 strikeouts. One of those starts came against the A’s, where Ray threw six shutout innings and gets a chance to dominate them again today. An A’s team is striking out 27.5% of the time versus LHP over the past month with a .212 average and 75 wRC+. Ray should dominate in his last start before the Mariners' playoff run. 

Luis Garcia has been solid for the Astros of late with six straight starts where he allowed three runs or less with a 3.00 ERA. He has struck out 30 over 33 innings but has had a bit of a walking problem as he has allowed 11 free passes over that stretch. Garcia takes on the Rays today, who have struggled of late as they are striking out 22.4% of the time versus RHP over the past month. Garcia may not go deep in the game but should be able to give 5-6 strong innings. 

Blake Snell has been filthy over his last six starts. Even with one start where Snell allowed five runs, he has a 1.80 ERA and 2.74 xFIP with a 27% K-BB over those six starts. He takes on a White Sox team that has been decent versus LHP over the past month by striking out less than 18% of the time and a .268 batting average. Even with the White Sox's recent success, I’ll take Snell in this matchup as he is in his CY Young form. 

Kevin Gausman has rebounded nicely after a couple of bad starts by throwing 12.1 innings while allowing two runs and striking out 15. Gausman takes on the Red Sox today in his final tuneup for the postseason. A Red Sox team is striking out 20.6% of the time versus RHP over the last month but is also hitting .262 with a .171 ISO. I still like Gausman’s chances today, but be careful as they may limit his innings as the Jays are locked into the postseason. 

 

Quick Pitches:

Zack Wheeler will be making his third start since returning from the IL and will look to build off of a strong six innings versus the Cubs. He takes on the Nats today and should be able to duplicate, if not perform better than his last start. 

Luis Severino has made two starts since returning from the IL and has thrown nine innings where he allowed three runs and struck out ten. He takes on a potent Orioles team with a .183 ISO and 120 wRC+ versus RHP over the last month. 

Lance Lynn has had a roller coaster of a season, and it has been the downward part of the coaster of late. He will look to right the ship versus the Padres today, but that may be easier said than done for the big White Sox pitcher. 

Charlie Morton is coming off a disastrous start versus the Phillies and, overall, has been a bad start for your fantasy teams of late. He takes on the Mets today, and Morton may be better left for your bench. 

Marcus Stroman has put together three straight quality starts with 18 strikeouts over 20 innings. He takes on a Reds team that is striking out 22.2% of the time versus RHP over the past month with a .206 batting average against. 

Tyler Anderson has not allowed more than three earned runs in a start since July, and he will look to keep that streak alive versus the Rockies. A Rockies team is hitting .249 with a .220 ISO and 101 wRC+ versus LHP over the past month. 

 


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