It's been a while (Top 3 Pitching Match Ups) 5/1/12

Alright so last time I was here, we were getting ready for the season. I wasn't able to tend to the blog as I had planned but I am back for good. April is too flimsy of a sample size to really make a big deal out of anything, anyway. With April in the rear view mirror, it's time to sort the pretenders from contenders. I'm going to try and do the pitching match ups previews on most days and tell you my top 3. Let's start May right!

Top 3 Daily Pitching Match Ups) 5/1/12

Courtesy of Newsday Sports.

On a Tuesday night that threatens a lot of East Coast games because of wide spread rain, there is a lack of what some would call premier pitching match ups. We have a full slate of National and American League games to choose from and here's what I came up with.

3.) Ricky Nolasco vs. Matt Cain (Miami @ San Francisco)
These two right handers come in with respectable ERAs. I've liked what I have seen from Cain lately, he has one complete game shut out under his belt trying to carry a rotation that was pulled down surprisingly by Tim Lincecum's poor start to the 2012 campaign. You have to imagine that this rotation will fix itself out by the middle of the summer and they will be in the thick of the playoff race especially with two Wild Cards up for grabs. They are too talented to falter. Ricky Nolasco has an ERA greater than 3 which is a whole run lower than his career average. That's good news for Miami but they have other issues to worry about like why they are throwing the ball around the yard and making errors left and right. Yikes.  Either way, this should be a solid match up with two offenses that are trying to figure out who they are exactly.

2) Trevor Cahill vs. Jordan Zimmermann (Arizona @Washington)
Jordan Zimmermann has been part of the reason that the Nats have gotten off to such a stellar start. A 1.33 ERA is something to be proud of and he is fitting right in with the likes of Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. I believe that Jordan is the key to this rotation because if he can remain consistent and solid, the Nationals have one of the deeper, more dangerous rotations in the league. Can you imagine the Washington rotation in a 5 game playoff series? Lethal. Trevor Cahill is trying to rebound from his last start on 4/25 where he was hung with the loss after giving up 4 runs through 5.1 innings.

1) Cole Hamels vs Brandon Beachy (Philadelphia @ Atlanta)
Hamels is trying to pick up where he left off the last 3 starts. He has won 3 straight decisions since losing his first start. His last start against Arizona, he was superb going 8 strong striking out 7. While Cliff Lee is on the DL, the Phillies need to lean on Hamels more than usual especially with the injuries all over their line up offensively.  Brandon Beachy is really what makes this match up the best of the night. If you are not a Braves fan or just aren't paying attention to Beachy's great start, you may have missed the numbers he is recording. He is 2-1, the 1 loss a hard luck loss so ignore it. His ERA is a minuscule 1.05 but what is even more impressive is his WHIP. His WHIP is hanging around 0.95. He is striking out batters without the walks you worry about with young pitchers. His K/BB ratio is 20/7. Wow!

There you have it. My top picks for pitching match ups tonight. Good observation, if you noticed that all three are NL match ups. That's not being biased, it just so happens that a lot of the AL is tossing up middle or bottom of the rotation guys. So enjoy your time in the sun National League while the likes of King Felix, Sabathia and Verlander have the night off. If you have MLBTV or Extra Innings, you may be able to watch them like myself.

Side note: Matt Kemp is a beast. If you missed it, he clubbed his 12th home run in April alone! Always keep your eyes on the Dodgers. There are some exciting things happening in Los Angeles concerning baseball...unless your name is Albert Pujols.

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Thanks for reading!