Friday brings us a four game early set which is rare, even for early spring MLB scheduling, but it gives us another fun opportunity and creates a very manageable eight game evening contest set. Let’s see what we can find!
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EARLY SLATE
Los Angeles Dodgers at LHP Tyler Anderson – 5.6 implied runs
Oh yeah, I will be following the chalk donkeys on this one as this is our first game in Coors Field. Now, here are a few things to keep in mind:
- It generally takes a day or two for players to adjust to the altitude, however, since both teams had Thursday off, that should lessen the impact as we can surmise that the Rockies would have traveled home after their afternoon game in Tampa Bay and though I could not easily confirm the Dodgers travel plans, they likely arrived in Colorado on Thursday afternoon.
- Coors Field in the spring is still at altitude (duh), but do know that the runs can be limited as opposed to mid-summer through the fall, however, as a rudimentary barometer their first homestands over each of the last three years coinciding with this same time period had 10.5 runs per game in 2018, 7.3 in 2017 and a whopping 14.8 in 2016 – this does not include a deep weather dive or pitching matchups.
Over his last two seasons at home in 136.2 innings, LHP Tyler Anderson has been solid with a 4.15 ERA, 4.03 xFIP, 1.32 HR/9 and a 23.0 K%. We should focus our attention to Enrique Hernandez, Justin Turner, A.J. Pollock, Chris Taylor, David Freese (pinch hit risk) and Austin Barnes. Both FanDuel and DraftKings have done a reasonable job with the pricing for the boys in blue, which should make decisions a lot harder than just blindly loading up.
MAIN SLATE
Boston Red Sox at RHP Zack Godley – 4.8 implied runs
Keep in mind that this will be a 4pm local start and the roof will be open at Chase Field with a pleasant forecast of temperatures in the mid-to-upper 70s at first pitch. RHP Zack Godley ran into the buzz saw also doubling as the Los Angeles Dodgers and he ended up allowing a lead off home run and then when things started to go sideways, he had to take one for the team as the bullpen was already worn out and his day ended at 101 pitches with eight runs allowed, two home runs and 10 total baserunners with just three punchouts. Now, we know that Godley is a better pitcher than that, however, even though the Red Sox will be forgoing the designated hitter in this National League park, they still have a fearsome lineup with Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Andrew Benintendi, Mitch Moreland and Rafael Devers (just $2.9k on FanDuel).
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or on Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.
Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac