It’s the last round of interleague play for the season, so if you’ve done well with your recent daily fantasy baseball salary cap teams, then congratulations. It hasn’t been easy making key selections with such limited data. But that actually could change over the next few days as some of these match-ups have plenty of cross-over with several pitchers returning to their former league to face hitters they’ve seen plenty of times. Here’s a look at some of those match-ups and the numbers you’ll want to know before picking your MLB Lineups.
Boston Red Sox at Chicago Cubs (2:20pm ET)
Right-handed veteran Ryan Dempster may not see the Red Sox on a regular basis but he has a long history against a number of former National League players now playing in Boston. He does a great job containing Adrian Gonzalez who is batting just .143 against him but does have two home runs in 14 at-bats, but struggles against Scott Podsednik who is batting .389 with a home run, two doubles and a triple over 18 at-bats against him. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are sending Daisuke Matsuzaka back to the hill to see if he can improve on his four run , five inning performance in his first outing this season. It might be difficult when David DeJesus is batting .444 against you with a home run in nine at-bats.
New York Yankees at Washington Nationals (7:05pm ET)
Phil Hughes has been looking great lately with two wins and a 1.76 ERA over his last two starts. The match-ups against right-handers are the ones to watch as they are hitting a whopping g.352 against Hughes and you’ve got Tyler Moore batting .500 with two home runs over his last three games and Ian Desmond is batting .364 with a home run and two doubles over his last 23 at-bats. The Nationals will send the red-hot Gio Gonzalez to the hill and see if he can improve on his already stellar 2.35 ERA and 11.02 K/9. For the most part he’s been solid, but still has his difficulties as well. He’ll hold Derek Jeter to a .167 average through 12 at-bats, but then turn around and allow Mark Teixeira to hit him at a .357 average with a home run and two doubles against him.
Miami Marlins at Tampa Bay Rays (7:10pm ET)
Just days ago the Rays chased right-hander Carlos Zambrano from the game, hitting him up for seven runs in just 2.1 innings of work. But even after that he still has a 3.55 ERA and is holding opposing batters to a .217 average. But can he hold down Luke Scott who is batting .417 against him with two doubles and a triple over 12 at-bats? Or how about Elliot Johnson who is batting .421 with one home run over his last 19 at-bats. For the Rays, rookie left-hander Matt Moore is on the hill and bested these Rays, but still gave up four runs in six innings. He’ll have his hands full with Logan Morrison who is now batting .432 with a home run and three doubles over his last 13 at-bats.
Milwaukee Brewers at Minnesota Twins (8:10pm ET)
Right-hander Yovani Gallardo takes on a familiar interleague opponent in the Twins and will need to be careful with a number of these hitters, particularly the left-handers. Ben Revere is batting .400 against him and has two doubles in his last 10 at-bats while Joe Mauer is hitting a robust .556 in nine at bats against Gallardo. The Twins will send Francisco Liriano, who now has a 2.55 ERA in his three starts since returning to the rotation. Right-handers are killing him though, batting .297 against him this season, so look for Rickie Weeks, who is batting .300 against Liriano in his last 10 at-bats, could break himself out of his season-long slump. Also watch for righty Carlos Gomez who is hitting .714 against Liriano with two home runs and a double in seven at-bats.
Kansas City Royals at St. Louis Cardinals (8:15pm ET)
The Royals are turning to right-hander Vin Mazzaro, but it’s more out of necessity than it is about talent level. While this season both lefties and righties are hitting virtually the same off him, he does seem to handle righties better of the course of his career. And it shows, as Yadier Molina is batting just .200 off of him in his career. However, there’s always an exception and in this case it’s Matt Holliday who is batting a whopping .800 off Mazzaro with a home run and a double. Cardinals right-hander Kyle Lohse had a great year last year and hasn’t let up at all this season, maintaining a 2.90 ERA and holding hitters to a .248 average – just .221 for righties. That doesn’t bode well for Jeff Francoeur who is hitting .200 against Lohse through 15 at-bats or for Yuniesky Betancourt who is batting a woeful .083 over 12 plate appearances.
Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Angels (10:05pm ET)
The Angels are all too familiar with right-hander Trevor Cahill from his days with Oakland and have hit him pretty well over the years. Erick Aybar is hitting .333 off Cahill with one home run over their last 24 meetings while Alberto Callaspo should get the start as he is batting .400 with a home run, a double and a triple through 15 at-bats. The Angels will send former Diamondback Dan Haren to the hill and see if he can contain some of these red-hot hitters. Aaron Hill is batting .316 against Haren with a triple and two doubles over 19 at-bats, and while Jason Kubel may only be batting .267 against him, he does have a home run and a double through 15 at-bats.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Howard Bender has been covering fantasy sports for over ten years on a variety of web sites, including his own, The Fantasy Baseball Buzz. You can follow him on Twitter at @rotobuzzguy or for direct questions or comments you can email him at rotobuzzguy@gmail.com.
Follow Us!