Indians -151 (4.5* MLB POD)
I look for the Indians to avoid a 3 game skid with their ace on the mound on Monday.  Justin Masterson has a 3.54 ERA at home, but that does not paint the entire picture.  He’s been victim of two very bad starts against the Royals and Rays, but against everyone else at home he’s posted a 1.56 ERA over 63.1IP.  So why do I bring that up? Well Masterson has a 2.70 ERA vs. the Orioles over his last three starts and the Orioles are 25th with a .695 OPS vs. RHP and 26th with a .663 OPS in the month of July.  Meaning they are nothing special and there is a good chance Masterson will have a quality outing.  Especially since the Indians themselves are 6th with a .768 OPS vs. RHP and 6th in the month of July with a .792 OPS.
 
They will face Tommy Hunter who they have hit hard in 78 AB for a .333 average and a .863 OPS combined.  That’s far less dominating than Masterson who has held the Orioles to .208 and a .545 OPS without a HR in 144 AB.  That includes dominance over the Orioles two best hitters in Jones/Markakis who are 5-36 off the righty.  Baltimore relies on the long ball way too much and Masterson is just not giving HR up.  Though he only throws two pitches (fastball and slider) the Orioles are at the bottom of the league against both.  The Orioles also have a bad case of the Monday’s going 14-40 in their last 54.  They are also 14-32 in their last 46 despite winning the first 3 games of this series while the Indians are 12-3 in Larry Vanover’s last 15 games behind home plate.
 

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