After a lighter slate on Monday, we’re back to a full slate plus one on Tuesday. We’ve got a doubleheader in Wrigleyville between the Cardinals and Cubs on the heels of last night’s 1-0 pitcher’s duel. Ernie Banks will be smiling down on a pretty afternoon in Chicago as the teams play two, with every other game set for 7:05 p.m. ET or later.
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Braves/Pirates: It was a sleepy day around MLB with very little run-scoring and that included this game, where the Braves came away with a 2-1 decision. Jake Odorizzi was strong over six excellent innings with seven strikeouts. Pittsburgh only managed five hard-hit balls in the game. Roansy Contreras threw seven very good innings against the dangerous Braves lineup, who played everybody, but still only managed two runs on four hits against the young right-hander. It was a big start for Contreras’s confidence and we’ll see if the betting market treats Contreras in the same manner it does other solid starters on bad teams moving forward.
Reds/Phillies: This game was a dud as well, but there are some interesting things to talk about. Noah Syndergaard only had TWO whiffs in 43 swings. The stuff looked mostly fine from a velocity and spin rate standpoint, but to only have two swings and misses is astonishingly bad. He located well enough to only allow one run on three hits, but the one strikeout is a major concern. I still don’t like this fit, even though the results have been okay.