Cueto has been dynamite during day starts as he posted a 2.01 ERA last year and over his last 25 day starts he posts a 2.73 ERA. He's already off to a great start and the Reds offense is showing signs of getting out of their slump as they posted 6 and 9 runs in back to back games before 1 yesterday in a loss. I see them bouncing back as they go up against Randy Wells who got recalled from AAA Iowa for Dempster.
Wells had some rough outings in 3 starts in AAA and is giving up nearly 2HR/9. That's really been his problem the last few years and the Reds have guys in the line up with plenty of homers as they post 140AB .293 and .884 OPS. The starting line up has 92AB and a .326 average and 5 of the 7 hitters that have faced him have over a .400 OBP that means people will be on base all day today. Speaking of the day the Reds are 16th in OPS during day game .720 compared to the Cubs .630. Last year the Reds were one of the best day teams on offense posting a .768 OPS and the Cubs were 20th .696. Wells had a 5.22 ERA during 13 day starts last year and posted an 8.74 ERA in two starts vs. the Reds. I see the long ball having an impact in this game and I think Cueto will be great against a Cubs line up that's 25th in OPS vs. RHP this year.
Royals are due for a win and a day game is a good opportunity against the Blue Jays. Their offense has been just awful during day games and Duffy has been good through 2 starts and the Jays really have not seen him. Jays 21st .684 OPS during day games were 22nd last year .684 OPS during their day games while the Royals have a .806 thus far this year and were 9th with a .739 OPS during day game.s They also have a lot of success against Ricky Romero as they have 41 AB a .366 average and .957 OPS. This team can hit they have just gotten a slow start and I think this is a good opportunity for them to get into a groove and win some games. Blue Jays are not a good road team and it's a real challenge getting a road sweep.
