Seventeen Games, Two Doubleheaders, And A Bullpen Game At Citi Field

New York is 76-58 and Boston 73-61, which makes this the closest division race on the board and the reason the two clubs are playing twice in one day. The Yankees carry a 3.21 staff ERA, the best mark in baseball, and they have allowed 528 runs in 134 games.

Jake Bennett starts the opener for Boston at 8-6 with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP and a .231 opponent average across 92.1 innings. He walks few and misses a moderate number of bats at 7.12 strikeouts per nine, which is a profile that lives on the defense behind him.

Carlos Rodon answers at 4-2 with a 3.20 ERA and a .187 opponent average over 59 innings, the lowest figure of any starter working this afternoon. Boston hits .259 as a club with a .746 OPS, so this is the sport's stingiest contact suppressor against one of its better lineups. No price was posted for the opener at publication.

Los Angeles is 81-54 and has scored 4.88 runs a game behind a .739 team OPS. Detroit is 61-72 and has faded from a first half that had the Tigers in the race, though Comerica has stayed a pitcher friendly building all year.

Blake Snell has made a short season of it. Twenty six innings, a 2.42 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP and a .170 opponent average with 12.46 strikeouts per nine. Nobody on today's board misses bats at that rate and nobody starting today has thrown fewer innings.

Keider Montero is the counterweight and he is quietly excellent, 9-8 with a 3.24 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP across 139 innings, the only starter on the slate under a full baserunner per inning. No number was posted for this game at publication.

Chicago is 71-63, which is a sentence that would have read as a misprint two seasons ago, and Minnesota is 64-71 after starting the year as a division favorite. The White Sox beat the Twins 7-4 in this building on Friday.

Erick Fedde and Bailey Ober are close to the same pitcher on paper. Fedde is 6-8 with a 4.22 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP and a .263 opponent average over 119.1 innings. Ober is 7-4 with a 4.49 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP and a .251 mark across 110.1. Both sit near six and a third strikeouts per nine.

Minnesota is a -112 favorite with the total at 9. That is close to a pick em on a Saturday afternoon between two clubs whose season series has been decided by bullpens rather than rotations.

St. Louis is 68-67 and Pittsburgh 65-71, both hovering at the edge of relevance in a National League Central that Milwaukee settled weeks ago. The Cardinals took Friday's game 4-1.

Lake Bachar has been the better pitcher and has the worse record, which happens on teams that do not score. He is 1-3 with a 3.63 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP and a .191 opponent average across 74.1 innings with 9.20 strikeouts per nine.

Kyle Leahy is 10-4 with a 3.16 ERA, and the numbers underneath it are a .263 opponent average and a 1.30 WHIP, which is a pitcher who allows traffic and has stranded it. St. Louis is -122 with the total at 8.5.

Chicago is 76-59 and leads the major leagues in scoring at 5.21 runs a game on a .761 team OPS. The Cubs have also allowed the second most home runs in baseball at 202, which is why their games swing rather than grind.

Andrew Abbott takes a 4.31 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP into Wrigley across 146.1 innings. Kevin Gausman opposes at 4.43 with a 1.27 WHIP, and his separator is control: 41 walks in 152.1 innings against 8.92 strikeouts per nine.

Cincinnati is 64-71 and 23rd in the sport in scoring at 4.13 runs a game. Chicago is -212 with the total at 9.5, a number that has landed under in 36 of the 66 games played at Wrigley this season.

Toronto is 66-70 and Seattle 64-71, and the two clubs entered the weekend with the quietest offenses among teams still holding a mathematical chance. The Blue Jays won Friday 8-1.

Jose Soriano has been Toronto's steadiest arm at 10-7 with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP and a .229 opponent average over 144.1 innings, with 8.92 strikeouts per nine.

Seattle counters with Kade Anderson, who has thrown 5.2 major league innings. Any read on this game that leans on the visiting starter is leaning on nothing. Toronto is -109 with the total at 7.5.

San Francisco is 56-80 and has been the most disappointing club in the National League. Arizona is 72-64 and still has a wild card path, which makes a Saturday doubleheader in a pitcher's park an awkward assignment.

Merrill Kelly opens for Arizona at 8-12 with a 5.35 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP and a .277 opponent average over 134.2 innings. That is the least effective full season line of any starter on today's board.

Matt Wilkinson answers with 5.2 major league innings and a 6.35 ERA. Arizona is -111 with the total at 8.5, which is a market saying it does not trust either man on the mound.

This is the best pitching matchup on the board and neither club is going anywhere. Miami is 68-67 and Washington 64-73, and the Nationals beat the Marlins 9-2 on Friday.

Sandy Alcantara has thrown 183.2 innings, more than any other starter working today, at 13-8 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Miami's staff carries a 3.92 ERA and the fourth lowest opponent average in baseball at .230.

Cade Cavalli is 12-5 with a 3.21 ERA and 10.23 strikeouts per nine over 148.2 innings. The complication is the building: Nationals Park has averaged 11.10 combined runs across 68 home dates this season. Washington is -106 with the total at 8.

The two hottest clubs on the board are in the same game. Kansas City is 9-1 in its last ten and averaging 5.33 runs a game across fifteen. Cleveland is 8-2 and has allowed 2.93 a game over the same stretch. The Royals won 3-0 here on Friday.

Foster Griffin has been Cleveland's best starter at 15-4 with a 3.19 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP and a .232 opponent average across 149.1 innings. The staff behind him has struck out 1,259 batters, third most in the sport.

Daniel Lynch IV has made four starts and carries a 2.93 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP and a .200 opponent average over 58.1 innings this season. Cleveland is -161 with the total at 8, in a park averaging 8.27 combined runs across 66 dates.

Houston is 68-67 and New York 60-75, and the Astros are opening this game with a reliever. Bennett Sousa has made zero starts, has thrown 18.2 innings, and carries a 6.27 ERA with a 1.82 WHIP and a .312 opponent average.

Nolan McLean is the other side and the gap is the widest on today's board. Twenty six starts, 148.2 innings, a 3.21 ERA and a .208 opponent average with 10.17 strikeouts per nine. His 58 walks are the one thing that can turn a bullpen game into a shootout.

The complication is the Mets lineup, which has scored 3.07 runs a game across its last fifteen, the coldest stretch of any club playing today. New York is -142 with the total at 8.

Tampa Bay is 80-54, the second best record in baseball, and San Diego is 72-63 and holding a wild card place. The Rays won 9-4 on Friday.

Nick Martinez has been the quiet story of that season, 13-4 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP across 147.2 innings. He strikes out only 5.30 per nine, so the entire profile is contact management and the defense behind it.

Walker Buehler is 8-6 with a 4.63 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP and a .253 opponent average over 126.1 innings, the widest ERA gap in any matchup on the board this afternoon. Tampa Bay is -130 with the total at 8.

Atlanta is 80-56 and Colorado 52-83, the worst record in the National League, and the Braves won 6-4 on Friday despite giving up four.

Martin Perez has been better than his 8-8 record, carrying a 3.12 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP and a .220 opponent average across 115.1 innings. He misses few bats at 6.63 strikeouts per nine and gets outs on contact.

Zach Agnos is 0-2 with a 5.68 ERA and a .278 opponent average over 76 innings. Atlanta is -231 with the total at 8.5.

The nightcap is the one with the better arm. Max Fried starts for New York at 4-4 with a 2.81 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP and a .197 opponent average across 86.1 innings, and he has walked 21 men all season.

Boston had not named a starter when this was written, which is normal for the second half of a doubleheader and is the honest hole in any read on this game.

New York is -132 with the total at 7.5. The Yankees have carried this series on run prevention all year: 528 runs allowed in 134 games is the fewest of any club playing today.

Milwaukee is 84-51, the best record in baseball, with a 3.36 staff ERA, a .219 opponent average and 1,305 strikeouts, all of which rank second in the sport. Over its last fifteen games the club has scored 5.67 runs a night and allowed 2.53.

Texas is 66-69 with the 27th ranked offense at 4.03 runs a game, and it has been worse lately at 3.27 across fifteen. The Brewers beat the Rangers 6-1 on Friday.

The matchup argues the other way. Cal Quantrill is 6-4 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP across ten starts, against Shane Drohan's 3.84 and 1.29. Milwaukee is -162 with the total at 8.

The nightcap in San Francisco has Mitch Bratt for Arizona, 1-2 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP across 39.2 innings, against a San Francisco starter who had not been named at publication.

Oracle Park remains one of the quieter buildings in the sport and the posted total reflects it. Arizona is -125 with the total at 7.5, a full run lower than the opener.

For Arizona the schedule is the story. Two games in one day at 72-64, chasing a wild card place, with a bullpen that has to cover whatever the second start does not.

Sutter Health Park has averaged 11.44 combined runs across 61 home dates this season, the highest run environment in the major leagues. The Athletics are 53-82 with a 5.43 staff ERA and have allowed 204 home runs, more than any club in baseball.

Jack Perkins starts for the home side at 3-9 with a 6.68 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP and 17 home runs allowed across 90.1 innings, against a Baltimore club scoring 5.00 runs a game over its last fifteen.

Shane Baz is 4-14 with a 4.04 ERA and a .264 opponent average over 151.1 innings, which is an ordinary line and still the better one in this matchup. Baltimore is -140 with the total at 9.5.

Cristopher Sanchez is 16-4 with a 2.62 ERA and 10.37 strikeouts per nine across 168.1 innings. Sixteen wins is the most of any starter working today and the ERA is the best among pitchers on this board with 150 innings.

The Angels are 52-83 and start Ryan Johnson, 3-7 with a 5.75 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP over 67.1 innings. Philadelphia is 74-60 and won 5-3 on Friday.

Philadelphia is -232, the shortest price anywhere on the seventeen game board, with the total at 8. That price needs 69.9 percent to break even, which is a useful reminder of what laying a heavy favorite actually costs.