Studs:
Let’s face it, Chisenhall’s one game against the Rangers could have landed him on this list. Three home runs and nine RBI in one night?! I’ve always questioned the batting order that Terry Francona wrote earlier in the year. I was never a fan of Nick Swisher in the two-hole and Jason Kipnis batting third. The current lineup, with Michael Brantley hitting third, followed by Kipnis and Lonnie Chisenhall, is 100 times better, in my opinion.
This season, especially in DFS, Jones is a must-start when a left-handed pitcher is on the hill. He’s batting .422 (27-64) against southpaws. However, in the past seven days, Jones has been feasting off of righties. Three of his four home runs last week were against right-handed pitching (Jake Peavy, Sonny Gray, and Tanner Scheppers).
Zimmermann is coming off of back-to-back shutouts against the Padres and Phillies. After six straight outings with four strikeouts or fewer, Zimmermann exploded for 12 punch outs. His next start is in St. Louis. Zimmermann has a 2.91 ERA on the road this season.
Other notables: Adrian Beltre (TEX), Dexter Fowler (HOU), Miguel Montero (ARI), Garrett Richards (LAA), and Chase Anderson (ARI)
Duds:
One hit in seven days. Yikes. Captain America has struggled against righties this season (47-200). On the plus side, his Mets return home from an 11-game road trip for six straight games at Citi Field. This year, Wright is 37-120 (.308) at home.
What’s worse than one hit in a week? Zero hits. On Monday, Don Mattingly gave Gonzalez the night off. The left-handed bat is hitting .164 (12-73) against southpaws this season, which explains the benching when Tony Cingrani was on the hill. The next six probable starting pitchers facing the Dodgers are righties.
The A’s have the largest run differential (+125) in baseball. Jimenez found that out the hard way in his last start: 2 1/3 IP, 6 ER, and 5 BB. A reprieve isn’t in the cards yet. Jimenez’s next start is against the second-best run differential in the AL, the Blue Jays (+44).
Other notables: Joe Mauer (MIN), Shin-Soo Choo (TEX), Matt Holliday (STL), Kyle Seager (SEA), and Joe Nathan (DET)
