MLB Gas Cans Of The Day For Tuesday, Aug. 23
Opposing offenses are in great spots
Matthew Horner - Aug 23, 2022, 11:39am EDTMiami Marlins vs. Zach Logue (6.35 ERA), Athletics
It seems like Oakland Athletics pitchers are making almost a daily appearance in this article, and for good reason. The A's have one of the worst team ERAs in baseball, and getting quality pitching out of them is a rarity. The Miami Marlins are all set to take advantage of another terrible starter on the mound, if only they actually had a competent offense. When you look at the Miami lineup, you could swear you were looking at a minor-league team. It's embarrassing, really, and I'm not even sure this Marlins offense could beat the Triple-A All-Star team. Still, of they are going to put up some runs, it will be Tuesday against Zach Logue and Oakland.
In his last start, Logue took the loss, allowing seven runs on six hits and three walks over 4.1 innings against the Rangers. He struck out just two. He made a second consecutive start in place of Adrian Martinez, who was demoted to Triple-A last week, but he struggled once again. Over his last two starts, Logue has surrendered 14 hits, 13 earned runs and five walks across 9.2 innings. If he doesn't perform better here against this offense, it could be curtains for the 26-year-old.
San Diego Padres vs. Aaron Civale (5.63 ERA), Guardians
The Padres have been really disappointing since trading for superstar Juan Soto and Josh Bell. We all expected them to just start crushing opponents and putting up lots of runs every night, but that simply has not been the case. Perhaps it is the whole Fernando Tatis scandal that has had an effect on the rest of the team. There are reports that the clubhouse is very resentful of Tatis since he tested positive for PEDs, so anger is starting to boil. As time passes, they should be able to calm down a bit and start playing better, and guys like Aaron Civale are just who they need to face in order to get back in that winning track.
Civale wasn't able to make his last start due to unplayable field conditions caused by inclement weather in Cleveland. As a result, Civale got some extra time to prepare for this game, but I'm not entirely sure that will do him much good. He has a 2-5 record on the year with a 5.63 ERA and 1.34 WHIP, all of those numbers being rather unspectacular. While San Diego has struggled, they still should be able to do something against Civale. His 7.26 road ERA makes him a guy to easily target on this slate.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Jonathan Heasley (5.61 ERA), Royals
Arizona isn't a very good baseball team, but they have enough firepower on offense to take advantage of poor pitching, and that is just what I expect them to do on Tuesday. Both of these teams traded their best players away at the deadline this year, waving the white flag on the season. Arizona still has some young guns out there like Christian Walker who continue to rake and show that the future is bright in the desert. He should be able to take advantage of a terrible starter on the mound for Kansas City on Tuesday.
Jonathan Heasley is out there for another start. The Royals called Heasley up from Triple-A for this game, and he'll be moving back into the rotation as a replacement for Max Castillo, who was optioned to Triple-A. Over his previous 13 starts with the big league club this season, Heasley has produced a 5.61 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 46:29 K-to-BB in 61 innings.