KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
THE FATEFUL 8TH: The Royals suffered an 8-4 defeat to the Twins last night, losing for the 11th time in their last 12 games at Target Field…the game was decided during a roller coaster of emotions in the 8th inning, when Nick Pratto tied the game at 3-3 with a home run off the right field foul pole…but the Twins scored 5 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk off Taylor Clarke in the bottom half to put the game out of reach as the Royals fell to 5-23 in series-opening games…after holding the red-hot Dodgers offense to 5 runs on 15 hits in the previous 2 games—both wins—the Royals last night allowed 8 runs on 14 hits 4 walks as the Twins went 6-for-12 in scoring situations.
ROSTER MOVES: The Royals announced this morning that left hander Austin Cox was optioned to Triple-A Omaha following his start last night…in a corresponding move, right hander Jonathan Heasley was recalled today from Triple-A Omaha, where he’s made 17 appearances (13 starts) this season and leads the Storm Chasers with 74.1 innings…this marks Heasley’s second stint with the Royals this season, including 1 appearance on May 5 vs. Oakland, when he allowed 2 runs on 4 hits in 2.2 innings of relief…Heasley last pitched in Game 2 of Omaha’s doubleheader vs. Iowa on Sunday, when he recorded a scoreless inning in relief with 1 strikeout.
The Royals also announced this morning that infielder Michael Massey has been returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the IL…he suffered a hand laceration on June 14 vs. the Reds and went 2-for-11 in 3 rehab games with Omaha…in a corresponding move, Samad Taylor was optioned to Omaha. HBD, USA!: The United States of America celebrates its 247th birthday today, as Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on this date in 1776 to free the country’s 13 colonies as independent sovereign states no longer subject to British colonial rule…America shares this date of birth with two-time All-Star Vinny Castilla (56), who enjoyed a 16-year career in the big leagues from 1991-2006…the only player in Royals history to be born on Independence Day is Fred Rico (79), who appeared in 12 games for the 1969 expansion team.
The Royals are 27-25 all-time on July 4, but have lost 4 straight games on this date since their last win in 2018 vs. Cleveland…on this date last year, the Royals blew a 5-0 lead in Houston, as the Astros scored 3 runs in the 8th to tie the game, and Yordan Alvarez hit a walk-off HR in the 9th to end the 7-6 decision.
MY KIND OF PLAYER: Maikel Garcia snapped Kansas City’s 7-game homer drought on Joe Ryan’s 1st pitch last night to mark his 1st career leadoff home run…it was the Royals 4th leadoff homer this season and the first time a Royal hit the 1st pitch over the fence in their half of the 1st inning since MJ Melendez turned the trick on Nathan Eovaldi last Aug. 6…Garcia has recorded 4 consecutive multi-hit games, a stretch in which he’s 11- for-15 (.733) with 2 walks for a .765 on-base percentage…after starting the season 14-for-61 (.230) through 17 games, Garcia is batting .331 (42-for-127) in his last 35 games since May 23, which marks the 3rd-best batting average in the American League during that time, behind only Josh Naylor (.370) and Corey Seager (.344).
LEADS LOST: The Royals held an early lead last night on Maikel Garcia’s leadoff home run, but gave it right back on Byron Buxton’s sacrifice fly in the bottom half…the Royals tied the game twice after that but never led again, as the 8-4 defeat marked their Major League-most 30th blown lead loss of the season, ahead of the Athletics (27), White Sox (27) and Cardinals (26)…the Royals have held a lead in 40 of their last 56 games (71.4%) since the start of May, but they’re 18-38 (.321) during that stretch with 22 blown lead losses.
The Royals 30 blown lead losses are 6 shy of their total from all of last season, when they suffered 36 blown lead losses, and are 23 shy of the franchise record of 53, set during their 103-loss 2019 season.
They are 6-22 when scoring in the 1st inning and have lost 12 of their last 13 games when scoring in the 1st.
Perez enters today with 499 career extra-base hits, which is tied with Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney for 6th most in franchise history…with his next extra-base hit, Salvy will become one of six Royals to record 500, and will join Hall of Famer George Brett (1,119), Hal McRae (681), Frank White (625), Amos Otis (623) and Alex Gordon (573)…he’ll become one of 28 active players with 500 extra-base hits, a list that’s headed by Miguel Cabrera (1,141), who has 290 more than Nelson Cruz (851), the next closest player.
His 499 extra-base hits rank 21st all-time among primary catchers (min. 75% games played at the position), 5 shy of Jason Kendall (504) for 20th…that list is headed by Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez (934).
Salvy is a lifetime .320 (105-for-328) hitter at Target Field and leads all visiting players with 21 home runs, 4 more than Carlos Santana and Edwin Encarnación (17)…Salvy’s 105 hits here are 2nd among visiting players to Cabrera (113) and his 60 RBI are tied with José Abreu for 2nd most, 2 shy of Cabrera (62).
VS. TWINS: The Royals last night fell to 1-7 vs. the Twins this season, clinching the season series loss for the second straight year, including a 7-12 record in 2022…the Royals haven’t won a series at Target Field since Sept. 10-12, 2021, and are in danger of their fifth straight winless set here, including a 4-game split in May 2022.
ROYALS ON THE MEND: The Royals have had 16 players spend time on the Injured List, including nine players who are currently on it, four of whom were on the Opening Day roster…their nine current injuries include seven pitchers—five of which have made at least 1 start—and one position player who was in the lineup on Opening Day.
Angel Zerpa continued his rehab assignment last night with Triple-A Omaha and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4.1 innings, with 7 strikeouts…Zerpa, who was placed on the 60-day Injured List on March 15 with left shoulder tendinopathy, has a 3.78 ERA (7 ER in 16.2 IP) in 5 rehab starts (2 with Omaha).
Brad Keller made his 2nd rehab appearance (1st start) in Omaha’s doubleheader on Sunday and allowed 1 hit and 3 walks over 2.0 scoreless innings with no strikeouts…Keller was placed on the 15-day IL on May 19 with a right shoulder impingement.
Ryan Yarbrough continued his rehab assignment Thursday night with Triple-A Omaha and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits and 1 walk in 4.2 innings, with 9 strikeouts, his 3rd rehab start and 2nd with Omaha…Yarbs is recovering from skull fractures suffered on a comebacker on May 7 vs. Oakland.
AFTERNOON DELIGHT: Today’s 1:10 p.m. CT start marks the 1st of 3 day games on this trip, which will include a pair of matinees this weekend in Cleveland…today is the Royals 37th day game and they’re scheduled for 64, which would tie for the 2nd most in club history, trailing last year (69). Ê The Royals are 13-23 in day games and have been outscored 178-136 (-42), but are 10-10 in their last 20 matinees after starting the season 3-13.
TODAY’S STARTERS: RHP ZACK GREINKE (1-8, 5.15)
ZACK GREINKE is making his 18th start of the season and 532nd of his career today vs. the Twins, which ranks 35th on the all-time starts list, 4 shy of Hall of Famer Mike Mussina (536)…it’s his 33rd career outing (29th start) vs. the Twins and 3rd this year.
Greinke, now in his 20th season in the Majors, is a six-time All-Star, a six-time Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner and was named the American League Cy Young Award winner in 2009 with the Royals.
LAST START: Greinke did not factor into the decision of Kansas City’s 4-3 walk-off win in 10.0 innings last Thursday vs. Cleveland, in which he allowed 2 runs on a season-high 11 hits and 2 walks in 6.0 innings, with no strikeouts…he stranded the bases loaded in the 1st, before scattering 4 hits over the next 3.0 frames, over which he held Cleveland scoreless with the help of a pickoff in the 2nd and a fielder’s choice, 5-2 putout in the 4th which nabbed Andrés Giménez at home plate…Zack yielded a leadoff single in the 5th to Steven Kwan, who later scored the 1st run of the game on a sac. fly, which was followed by a 2-out double and a Josh Bell RBI single…Will Brennan led off the 6th with a double, but was thrown out at third, 9-4-5, and Greinke exited after the frame down 2-0…the Royals tied the game with a 2-run 8th and won on Freddy Fermin’s pinch-hit, 2-run double in the 10th.
The win marked the Royals 1st in a game started by Zack since May 8 vs. the White Sox (a no decision for Greinke), snapping a run of 8 straight team losses.
Last Thursday was Greinke’s 531st career start and only the 5th in which he failed to record a strikeout…he also became the first Royal to allow at least 11 hits but 2 runs or fewer since Brian Bannister did it on Aug. 28, 2007 vs. Detroit.
WALKING ON WATER: Zack’s pinpoint control has been on full display this season, his 20th in the Majors…the 39-year-old has issued only 13 walks to the 366 batters he’s faced through 17 starts (87.1 IP) for a 1.3 BB/9 and 3.6 BB%, both of which rank 2nd in the Majors behind George Kirby…he issued 1 walk or fewer in 10 straight starts, a run that was snapped last Thursday vs. Cleveland…it was the 2nd-longest streak in Royals history, 1 game shy of Jason Vargas, who issued 1 walk or fewer in 11 straight starts from May 26, 2015-April 24, 2017, a two-year stretch that was interrupted by injury.
He has had 13 starts this season in which he has issued 1 walk or fewer over at least 5.0 innings, 1 more than Kirby, Joe Ryan and Braxton Garrett (12 each) for the most in the Majors…Greinke’s 6.3 K/9 rate is the 6th lowest among 66 qualified pitchers this season, but thanks to his 1.3 BB/9, his K/BB ratio of 4.7 is the 6th highest in the American League, and narrowly trails his own single-season club record of 4.8 K/BB set during his 2009 Cy Young-winning season.
TIMES TABLES: Zack has been very good through his first time through opponent lineups this season, holding them to a .234 average (33-for-141) with only 5 extra-base hits…but on the second and third time through, opponents are batting .288 (42-for-146) and .424 (25-for-59), respectively…along those same lines, Greinke has held opponents to a .253 average (63-for-249) through 60 pitches, but when he gets above 60 pitches, opponents are batting .378 (37-for-98).
SEEKING SUPPORT: The Royals offense has scored just 27 runs in Greinke’s 87.1 innings this season for a 2.78 run support average, which is the lowest mark among all qualified pitchers…the Royals have supported Zack with 1 or 0 runs in 10 of his 17 starts, and have supported him with a total of 9 runs over his last 8 starts (40.2 IP).
VS. TWINS: Zack is 5-15 with a 4.79 ERA (89 ER in 167.1 IP) in 32 career appearances (28 starts) vs. Minnesota, and has not beaten the Twins since April 30, 2014 with the Dodgers…in 9 winless starts since, he is 0-7 with a 5.61 ERA (27 ER in 43.1 IP) and .342 opponents’ average (63-for-184)…most of that damage has come in 7 starts since he returned to Kansas City last season, a stretch in which he’s 0-6, despite holding the Twins to 2 earned runs or fewer in 4 of those 7 starts…his most recent start vs. the Twins came here on April 27, when he allowed 7 runs in 3.2 innings in a 7-1 loss.
ROAD WOES: Zack is seeking his 1st road win in two years, since Aug. 13, 2021 at Angel Stadium, where he pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory with Houston…in 25 road starts since, he’s 0-14 with a 6.23 ERA (786 ER in 124.1 IP), despite holding opponents to 3 earned runs or fewer in 15 of 25 starts (60%)…the Royals have lost each of Greinke’s last 6 road starts since their last win in a comeback victory on April 22 at Angel Stadium.
MINNESOTA TWINS NOTES:
THE TWINS: After completing their nine-game, 10-day roadtrip with a record of 4-5 (2-1 in Detroit, 0-3 in Atlanta and 2-1 in Baltimore), the Twins began their six-game, seven-day homestand with a win over the Royals last night…tonight, the Twins will play the second of three against Kansas City…after this series concludes tomorrow night, Minnesota will enjoy an off-day on Thursday, then play the Orioles for three games over the weekend, leading up to the All-Star break…the Twins have gone 24-19 at home and 19-24 on the road.
C4 IGNITES 4TH OF JULY FIREWORKS EARLY: The Twins beat the Royals last night at Target Field by a score of 8-4…Joe Ryan was the starter but did not factor into the decision, allowing two runs on six hits in 6.0 innings pitched, with one walk and nine strikeouts…the offense recorded 14 hits and was led by Carlos Correa, who tied his career high with four hits in five at-bats…Edouard Julien hit his fifth career home run, a pinch-hit solo shot in the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie, which led to a five-run inning…Minnesota went 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
WELCOME BACK, LÓPEY: The Twins have reinstated right-handed pitcher Jorge López from the 15-day Injured List…López, who missed the last 17 games with mental health, has appeared in 29 games for the Twins this season, going 2-2 with a 5.00 ERA (27.0 IP, 15 ER), three saves, six holds, 10 walks and 22 strikeouts…to make room for López on the 26-man roster, the Twins have optioned left-handed pitcher Brent Headrick to Triple-A St. Paul.
ROYALTY CHECK: The Twins and Royals are playing the ninth of 13 scheduled meetings in 2023…through seven games, the Twins have gone 7-1 and outscored the Royals 44-22.
Twins have scored 6.7 runs-per-game in their last six vs. the Royals.
The Twins are 19-6 in their last 25 against KC since April 21, 2022, including a record of 12-3 at Target Field in that span…in fact, Twins have 19 wins vs. KC since the start of 2022, their most wins vs. any opponent in that span.
Since the start of last season, Twins starters have gone 13-4, 2.52 ERA (142.2 IP, 40 ER) with 34 walks, 135 strikeouts and a .202 opponent batting average vs. KC.
Twins have a +49 run differential vs. KC since the start of 2022, outscoring them 129-80.
Carlos Correa is hitting .343 (48-for-140) with seven doubles, seven home runs, 18 RBI, 21 walks, a .429 on-base percentage and a .971 OPS in 37 games against the Royals since ‘19.
Byron Buxton is hitting .323 (32-for-99) with 10 doubles, six home runs, 15 RBI, 24 runs scored and a .996 OPS in his last 24 games against the Royals…in eight games this season, he is 11-for-31 and slashing .355/.389/.806.
CENTRAL HEATING: The Twins have gone 16-12 against the AL Central this season, going 3-4 vs. the Guardians, 7-1 vs. the Royals, 3-3 vs. the White Sox and 3-4 vs. the Tigers…they began the season 12-6 in their first 18 vs. the division but have since gone 4-6…after this series, Minnesota’s next inter-division series will be hosting the White Sox for three from July 21-23…below are the Twins pitching numbers compared to other AL divisions/NL:
W-L ERA BAA K/BB K/9.0 WHIP OPS
CENTRAL 16-12 3.02 .214 3.05 8.9 1.10 .612
EAST 12-14 4.13 .237 3.52 9.1 1.19 .693
WEST 5-4 3.71 .232 4.50 11.1 1.14 .672
NATIONAL 10-13 3.72 .235 3.26 10.3 1.24 .705
START ME UP: Twins starters have averaged 5.6 innings-per-outing, up from 4.8 in 2022… they have also struck out 520 hitters and are on-pace to fan 979 batters, which would shatter the club record of 870, done in 1967…below are Twins starting pitching ranks in the MLB:
INNINGS ERA BAA BB/9.0 FIP WHIP K’s OPS
MIN – 484.2 TEX – 3.58 MIN – .232 SEA – 2.14 MIN – 3.56 MIN – 1.13 MIN – 520 MIN – .668
TEX – 483.0 TB – 3.61 TB – .234 MIN – 2.32 TB – 3.71 SEA – 1.13 CWS – 507 SEA – .676
HOU – 477.2 MIN – 3.64 TEX – .235 SF – 2.51 SEA – 3.78 TEX – 1.17 TOR – 488 TB – .683
TOR – 465.2 HOU – 3.71 SEA – .235 PHI – 2.54 MIA – 3.83 TB – 1.19 LAA – 477 TEX – .692
LAA – 464.1 ATL – 3.77 MIL – .238 CHC – 2.65 PHI – 3.86 PHI – 1.21 MIA – 474 CHC – .695
I AM NUMBER ONE: Carlos Correa is leading off today for the fifth-consecutive game…he has led off each of the last four games, going 8-for-17 (.471) with two doubles and a 1.088 OPS… he has opened the game with a hit in three of those four starts, singling to start games on Friday and Sunday and doubling last night.
Correa has hit safely in each of his last five games, going 9-for-22 (.409) in that span with a .935 OPS.
C4 1K: Carlos Correa enters today with 999 career hits…a hit today and he will be the 57th active player to reach the 1,000 hit mark…the last to do so was Detroit’s Javier Báez, who
did it on June 21 vs. Kansas City…218 of Correa’s 999 hits have come as a Twin and 781 as
an Astro…for context, 14 different Twins have reached 1,000 hits (since 1961).
SERIES CONVERSATIONS: The Twins are seeking their 13th series victory this season…they are 12-12-3 in series play in 2023, going 7-4-2 at home and 5-8-1 on the road.
After winning their previous series in Baltimore over the weekend two games to one, the Twins are seeking consecutive series victories for the first time since June 9-14, when they took two of three at Toronto, then swept Milwaukee in two.
MAX EFFORT: Max Kepler is hitting .316 (12-for-38) with four home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored, three walks, a .366 on-base percentage and a .997 OPS in his last 13 games…he has a .962 OPS against right-handed pitching in that span.
FAST WILLI: Willi Castro stole two bases last night and was caught once…his first steal in the second inning gave him 15-consecutive successful stolen bases, until being thrown out in the fourth inning…his 17 steals rank tied for eight most in the AL…he is on pace to steal 32 bases this season, which would mark the most for a Twin since Ben Revere stole 40 in 2012.
RISP ASSESSMENT: The Twins are hitting .345 (10-for-29) with runners in scoring position in their last four games after finishing the series in Atlanta 0-for-23 from June 26-28…additionally, Donovan Solano leads the club with a RISP average at .425 (17-for-40).
STARS AND STRIPES: The Twins have an all-time record of 32-35 on July 4….below are Fourth of July results since 2016 (excluding 2020):
YEAR W/L NOTES
2016 vs. Oakland L, 1-3 (Graveman/Nolasco) Twins four hits, two from Joe Mauer, including one walk…A’s with three run 7th inning
2017 vs. Los Angeles-AL W, 5-4 (Gibson/Ramirez) Twins 11 hits, 3 from Buxton who hit a solo homer off Blake Parker for Twins final run in 6th
2018 at Milwaukee L, 2-3 (Jeffress/Berríos) Berríos three runs allowed in 7.0 IP, 7th inning solo HRs by Orf and Miller chase Berríos
2019 at Oakland L, 2-7 (Berríos/W. Wang) Berríos three runs allowed in 5.0 IP, Cruz 3-for-5 w/ 2B, Semien 2 HRs
2021 at Kansas City W, 6-2 (Maeda/Keller) Maeda 6.0 scoreless IP w/ 10 K’s, Twins P’s strike out 15, Arraez goes 3-for-4 w/ BB
2022 at Chicago-AL W, 6-3 (Pagán/Kelly) Twins scored 4 in top 10 to break 2-2 tie…Buxton hit his 22nd home run in the 5th inn.
NOTE: Today marks the Twins’ first home Fourth of July game since 2017, when they defeated Los Angeles-AL 5-4; Twins are 19-17 when playing at home
STARTING PITCHER – KENTA MAEDA #18
2023: 1-5, 6.23 ERA CAREER: 60-46, 3.95 ERA
Making his seventh start and appearance of 2023 and his third home start…also his 176th career appearance and 142nd start.
Facing Kansas City for the third time in his career; is 2-0, 0.82 ERA (11.0 IP, 1 ER) with three walks and 15 strikeouts in two previous starts vs. the Royals.
Is in his fourth season with the Twins after being acquired, along with Jair Camargo, from Los Angeles-NL in exchange for Brusdar Graterol and Luke Raley in 2020.
LAST TIME OUT: Took the loss on June 28 at Atlanta in the Twins’ 3-0 defeat as Minnesota was swept in the three-game series at Truist Park…pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits, with two walks and four strikeouts…allowed one run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI double by first baseman Matt Olson, scoring rightfielder Ronald Acuña Jr….allowed another run in the third inning on two singles and a sacrifice fly by second baseman Ozzie Albies…stranded a runner at third base with two outs in the fifth inning, retiring third baseman Austin Riley on a flyout to end his outing… relieved by Jovani Moran to start the sixth inning; Moran and Jordan Balazovic limited the Braves to one run in 3.0 innings pitched, but the Twins’ offense managed only four hits and was shut out for the sixth time in 2023.
Has received zero runs of support in three of his six starts this season and one-or-fewer runs of support in four of his six starts…his 2.77 run support average is the second lowest among Twins’ starters this year (Bailey Ober – 2.23).
TWO STARTS AGO: Earned his first win of the season and his first win since recovering from Tommy John surgery on June 23 at Detroit in a 4-1 Twins’ victory…pitched 5.0 scoreless innings and allowed only three hits, with two walks and eight strikeouts…escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the bottom of the first by striking out leftfielder Kerry Carpenter and inducing a double-play grounder from shortstop Javier Báez…struck out the side in order in the second inning; also recorded a 1-2-3 inning in the fourth…struck out rightfielder Zach McKinstry with two on and two outs in the bottom of the fifth to complete his outing…Minnesota’s bullpen allowed one run in 4.0 innings (an RBI single by Matt Vierling off Brock Stewart), and the offense scored four runs on six hits to win the three-game series opener.
Marked his first win since August 14, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K)…snapped a five-start losing streak, which was the first time in his career he had lost five consecutive starts.
His eight strikeouts were one shy of his season high of nine, done in his first start of the year on April 4 at Miami, and are tied with five other starts for his sixth-most strikeouts in an outing since becoming a Twin in 2020 (most with Minnesota is 12 on August 18, 2020 vs. Milwaukee).
BATTLE ROYAL: Maeda is facing Kansas City for the third time in his career today…is 2-0, 0.82 ERA (11.0 IP, 1 ER) with three walks, 15 strikeouts and a .162 (6-for-37) opponent batting average in two previous starts against the Royals…last faced Kansas City two years ago today on July 4, 2021 at Kauffman Stadium, firing 6.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and a season-high 10 strikeouts in a 6-2 Twins’ win…also defeated the Royals on July 7, 2017 with Los Angeles-NL at Dodger Stadium, pitching 5.0 innings and allowing one run on four hits, with two walks and five strikeouts in a 4-1 Dodgers’ victory.
His 0.82 ERA in two career starts vs. Kansas City is his lowest ERA against any single opponent in his career (min. 2 starts).
FINDING HIS TARGET: Making his third home start of 2023 today…is 0-2, 14.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 14 ER) with two walks and five strikeouts in two starts at Target Field this year…allowed 10 earned runs on 11 hits, both career highs, in 3.0 innings pitched in his last home start on April 26 vs. New York-AL; left in the top of the fourth inning with discomfort in his right arm…looking for his first home win since August 14, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay (6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K)…is 1-3, 2.12 ERA (17.0 IP, 4 ER) with five walks and 21 strikeouts in four road starts in 2023.
In 14 career starts at Target Field, Maeda is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA (80.0 IP, 30 ER), 18 walks and 84 strikeouts…his 9.45 strikeouts-per-9.0 innings at home are the fourth most at Target Field since 2020 (min. 10 GS).
Maeda is 33-21, 3.26 ERA (383.1 IP, 139 ER) with 98 walks and 420 strikeouts in 81 career home games (63 starts)…in 94 career road appearances (78 starts), he is 27-25, 4.60 ERA (404.2 IP, 207 ER) with 129 walks and 440 strikeouts.
THE RIGHT STUFF: After his first six starts, Maeda has better numbers against right-handed batters than lefties…righties are slashing .262/.304/.431 with 16 strikeouts and a .735 OPS compared to left-handed hitters who are slashing .350/.386/.500 with 10 strikeouts and an .886 OPS.
In his career, righties are batting just .206 (314-for-1524) with a .608 OPS and 515 strikeouts against Maeda…owns the third-lowest opponent batting average and opponent OPS vs. righties since 2016 (min 750.0 IP), trailing only Max Scherzer (.182 BAA, .531 OPS) and Jacob deGrom (.203 BAA, .568 OPS)…lefties are hitting .253 (363-for-1436) with a .748 OPS and 345 strikeouts off Maeda in his career.
THE ARSENAL: In six starts this season, Maeda has used a five-pitch mix, throwing his slider and split finger the most; he utilizes the pair a combined 64.8 percent of the time…favors his split finger (76/130 – 58.5%) against lefties and mostly uses his slider (119/147 – 81.0%) and sinker (29/29 – 100%) against righties…recorded strikeouts with three of his pitch types in his last start on June 28 at Atlanta (split finger – 2, slider – 1, four-seam fastball – 1)…here’s a breakdown of his repertoire:
PITCH (AVG. MPH) PCT. (#, vs. RHB/LHB) RESULTS
Slider (81.8)…………………….. 34.4% (147 pitches, 119/28)………….. .279 (12-for-43), 4 2B, 3 HR, 11 K
Split Finger (84.0)……………… 30.4% (130 pitches, 54/76)……………………….. .273 (9-for-33), 1 2B, 8 K
4-Seam Fastball (90.0)………. 23.7% (101 pitches, 52/49)……………………….. .421 (8-for-19), 3 2B, 7 K
Sinker (89.5) ……………………….. 6.8% (29 pitches, 29/0) ………………………………………….. .143 (1-for-7)
Curveball (75.6)…………………… 4.7% (20 pitches, 3/17) ………………………………………….. .333 (1-for-3)
Averaged 91.0 mph with his four-seam fastball in his last start on June 28 at Atlanta, tied with his first start of the year on April 4 at Miami for his highest average four-seam fastball velocity in an outing this season.
