MLB Aces Of The Day For Tuesday, August 16
Target these picthers to shut down opposing offenses
Matthew Horner - Aug 16, 2022, 2:51pm EDTJustin Verlander (1.85 ERA), Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox offense is struggling and that is an understatement. They may have just swept the Detroit Tigers, but a minor league team might be able to do that, too. Prior to the last two games against the lowly Tigers, Chicago had been held to three runs or less in eight of their last 10 games. Those games also came against the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, poor teams with bad pitching that Chicago should have been able to crush with the talent in their lineup. The pitching has been solid, but that really doesn't matter when you can't put up any runs on the board to support it. Something tells me that it isn't going to get any better against the Houston Astros in this series, a team that has some great pitching with dominating starters.
Justin Verlander takes the hill on Tuesday, which could spell doom for this Sox offense. In his last game, he pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven in an extra-inning loss to the Rangers. He did not factor into the decision, but it was one of his worst starts this season. He allowed more than one earned run for the first time in eight starts. That is just insane, but also something we have come to expect from the almost-40-year-old veteran. Verlander was able to extend his quality-start streak to eight consecutive outings however, producing a ridiculous 1.17 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 53 strikeouts over 53.2 innings of work during that stretch. His season numbers now sit at a 1.85 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 134 K's over 136 innings in 21 outings.
Justin Verlander (1.85 ERA), Houston Astros vs. Chicago White Sox
The White Sox offense is struggling and that is an understatement. They may have just swept the Detroit Tigers, but a minor league team might be able to do that, too. Prior to the last two games against the lowly Tigers, Chicago had been held to three runs or less in eight of their last 10 games. Those games also came against the Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers, poor teams with bad pitching that Chicago should have been able to crush with the talent in their lineup. The pitching has been solid, but that really doesn't matter when you can't put up any runs on the board to support it. Something tells me that it isn't going to get any better against the Houston Astros in this series, a team that has some great pitching with dominating starters.
Justin Verlander takes the hill on Tuesday, which could spell doom for this Sox offense. In his last game, he pitched six innings, allowing three runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven in an extra-inning loss to the Rangers. He did not factor into the decision, but it was one of his worst starts this season. He allowed more than one earned run for the first time in eight starts. That is just insane, but also something we have come to expect from the almost-40-year-old veteran. Verlander was able to extend his quality-start streak to eight consecutive outings however, producing a ridiculous 1.17 ERA and 0.82 WHIP with 53 strikeouts over 53.2 innings of work during that stretch. His season numbers now sit at a 1.85 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 134 K's over 136 innings in 21 outings.
Dylan Cease (1.96 ERA), Chicago White Sox vs. Houston Astros
Wait, didn't we just talk about this game? Yup, we did, but this time we're switching the focus to the other side of the mound to examine the just absurd streak that White Sox starter Dylan Cease is on right now. In his last start, he allowed one earned run on three hits and two walks while striking out eight across six innings of work to take the loss against the Royals. As I stated before, no one that has this type of performance should take the loss, but the White Sox offense has been just horrendous. Cease destroyed the Royals lineup, racking up 19 swinging strikes across 94 total pitches. He's now allowed one or fewer earned runs in 14 consecutive starts, one of the most dominant streaks in baseball history. It has helped him maintain an incredible 1.96 ERA across 128.2 frames for the season.
This is going to be an awesome pitchers duel, but one that could favor the Astros. Houston's offense has been a powerhouse all season long, but ever since they traded for Orioles star Trey Mancini, they have been on another plain of existence. They were unconscious against the Oakland Athletics in their last series, scoring six or more runs in every game. In the series before that against the Rangers, they scored four or more runs in every game. This is a team that can put up a lot of runs in a hurry, and while Cease has been dominating everyone under the sun, he will have a much tougher time on Tuesday than Verlander.
Edward Cabrera (2.05 ERA), Miami Marlins vs. San Diego Padres
Normally I wouldn't put a guy in here that has only pitched 26.1 innings this season, but Cabrera has done enough to where I decided to add him in on Tuesday. The Marlins are blessed with some excellent starting pitching, and I would argue they may have the best starting rotation overall in baseball: Sandy Alcantara, Pablo Lopez and now Cabrera. In his last start, he allowed three hits and two walks while striking out six across 5.2 scoreless innings of work to earn the win against the Phillies. This was his second time around the rotation since returning from an injury, and he generated seven ground ball outs and 11 swinging strikes in 91 pitches to shut down the Phillies' offense. Cabrera has been impressive, throwing 10.2 scoreless innings with a 14:5 K:BB ratio. For the season, he has a 2.05 ERA across just 26.1 innings, but those innings have been great.
Now he gets one of his biggest challenges in the Padres, who have one of the most talented lineups in MLB. They went out and traded for Juan Soto and Josh Bell from the Nationals, while also boasting superstar Manny Machado to form a power trio for the ages. Fernando Tatis Jr. would have made this lineup even better, but he was recently suspended for 80 games for violating the league's performance-enhancing drug policy. We'll see if he is the same player when he returns, but for now, San Diego will make due.