Porcello, Romero meet in big league debuts
The Thursday slate of games is traditionally a smaller one, with most teams using the day to travel. But in this first week of the season, there are still plenty of matchups to sort through, including a rare "double debut" between the Tigers' Rick Porcello and the Blue Jays' Ricky Romero. Brett Anderson of Oakland also starts his first major league game, jumping up from Double-A to face the Angels. Meanwhile, Carl Pavano of the Indians and St. Louis' Chris Carpenter take to the mound in the hopes of proving that their injury issues are far, far behind them.
Update, April 9: The Angels-A's game has been postponed following the tragic death of Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart.
Starting pitcher rankings for Thursday, April 9 (* all stats listed are from 2008)
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Chris Carpenter | R | 0-1 | 1.76 | 1.30 | 4.11 | .667 |  | .723 | 81.5% |
| 2 |  | Daisuke Matsuzaka | R | 18-3 | 2.90 | 1.32 | 8.27 | .645 |  | .762 | 77.9% |
| 3 |  | Matt Cain | R | 8-14 | 3.76 | 1.36 | 7.69 | .728 |  | .757 | 78.3% |
| 4 |  | Bronson Arroyo | R | 15-11 | 4.77 | 1.44 | 7.34 | .811 |  | .761 | 81.7% |
| 5 |  | Jarrod Washburn | L | 5-14 | 4.69 | 1.46 | 5.10 | .808 | @ | .748 | 82.6% |
| 6 |  | A.J. Burnett | R | 18-10 | 4.07 | 1.34 | 9.39 | .710 | @ | .762 | 82.2% |
| 7 |  | Clayton Kershaw | L | 5-5 | 4.26 | 1.50 | 8.36 | .756 | @ | .707 | 77.4% |
| 8 |  | Brandon McCarthy | R | 1-1 | 4.09 | 1.27 | 4.09 | .739 |  | .763 | 78.1% |
| 9 | | Oliver Perez | L | 10-7 | 4.22 | 1.40 | 8.35 | .725 | @ | .729 | 79.4% |
| 10 | | Matt Garza | R | 11-9 | 3.70 | 1.24 | 6.24 | .683 | @ | .805 | 80.9% |
| 11 | | Glen Perkins | L | 12-4 | 4.41 | 1.47 | 4.41 | .837 | | .707 | 84.2% |
| 12 | | Manny Parra | L | 10-8 | 4.39 | 1.54 | 7.97 | .766 | @ | .703 | 81.2% |
| 13 |  | John Danks | L | 12-9 | 3.32 | 1.23 | 7.34 | .674 |  | .717 | 82.1% |
| 14 | | Kyle Davies | R | 9-7 | 4.06 | 1.45 | 5.65 | .762 | @ | .780 | 81.7% |
| 15 |  | Rick Porcello | R | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | @ | .731 | 83.0% |
| 16 | | Carl Pavano | R | 4-2 | 5.77 | 1.49 | 3.93 | .842 | @ | .816 | 78.9% |
| 17 | | Kevin Correia | R | 3-8 | 6.05 | 1.71 | 5.40 | .857 | | .732 | 81.3% |
| 18 | | Ross Ohlendorf | R | 1-4 | 6.46 | 1.87 | 7.04 | .898 | @ | .783 | 82.5% |
| 19 | | Ricky Romero | L | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | .784 | 80.9% |
| 20 | | Alfredo Simon | R | 0-0 | 6.23 | 1.38 | 5.54 | .950 | | .769 | 81.8% |
Rk.: The author's ranking of that pitcher for that day only. T: pitcher throws left-handed or right-handed. Record: pitcher's win-loss record. ERA: pitcher's earned run average. WHIP: pitcher's average number of walks plus hits surrendered per inning. K/9: pitcher's average number of strikeouts per nine innings. OPSA: pitcher's on-base plus slugging percentage surrendered to opponents. OPS: pitcher's opponent's composite team on-base plus slugging percentage. CT%: pitcher's opponent's success rate putting the ball in play (versus striking out).
Selected notes: Oliver Perez is a career 9-4 versus the Reds, but his 5.52 career April ERA scares us a bit, especially against Bronson Arroyo, who is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA in his past three starts against the Mets. … Jarrod Washburn is 5-1 in seven career starts in the Metrodome. … A.J. Burnett might be new to the Yankees, but he knows the Orioles very well. Burnett is 7-1 in his career against Baltimore, including a perfect 3-0 at Camden Yards. … Daisuke Matsuzaka struck out the Rays at a rate of 10.2 per nine innings last season, but though he wasn't charged with any losses, the Red Sox were only 1-2 in his three starts against Tampa Bay. … Chris Carpenter begins his 2009 facing a Pirates team he's had plenty of success against in the past, to the tune of a 9-1 record and 2.24 ERA. … John Danks' career home ERA of 4.47, combined with his history of not striking out Royals hitters (only 13 strikeouts in four career starts) give us pause. … Brandon McCarthy has four career victories against Cleveland, the only major league team he's beaten more than once.
Hitters' count:
• Akinori Iwamura, 2B, TB: He's always hit his countryman Daisuke Matsuzaka well, at a .375 clip in 24 at-bats.
• Nick Markakis, OF, BAL: A career .333 hitter (8-for-24) against A.J. Burnett with two doubles.
• Victor Martinez, C, CLE: Has hit Brandon McCarthy extremely well in his career to the tune of a .417 average and a 1.462 OPS.
• Jacoby Ellsbury, OF, BOS: Matt Garza beware! Ellsbury is a career .462 hitter against the Rays right-hander, with no strikeouts.
• Andre Ethier, OF, LA: Ethier has a .900 slugging percentage and .583 OBP against Kevin Correia.
Pitchers' count:
• Jhonny Peralta, SS, CLE: 0-for-12 in his career with five strikeouts against Brandon McCarthy.
• Mike Cameron, OF, MIL: Has been baffled by Matt Cain: only 2-for-23 lifetime against the Giants' pitcher.
• Russell Martin, C, LAD: Never managed a hit in nine career at-bats against Kevin Correia.
• Jack Wilson, SS, PIT: Only one hit in 23 at-bats against Chris Carpenter, and that was way back in 2004.
• Aubrey Huff, 1B/3B, BAL: Not a big A.J. Burnett fan, hitting an anemic .156 in 45 career at-bats against him, with 11 strikeouts.
• Scott Hairston, OF, SD: If he gets the start Thursday instead of Jody Gerut, he might have a repeat of his previous outing (2-for-3) against Clayton Kershaw.
• Mike Rivera, C, MIL: It was only one game back in 2006, but Rivera did double and have three RBIs against Matt Cain the first time they met. It could be a nice time for the Brewers to give him some playing time.
• Wilson Betemit, SS, CHW: Wilson loves to see Kyle Davies on the mound, hitting 3-for-5 with two HRs and five RBIs against the righty.
• Marlon Byrd, OF, TEX: He has hit .400 in his career against Carl Pavano, but probably will be passed over for David Murphy in the starting lineup against a right-hander.
Injury list: Out
• Ichiro Suzuki, OF, Mariners (15-day DL, ulcer)
• Jamey Carroll, 2B/3B, Indians (15-day disabled list, hand)
Injury list: Day-to-day
• Geovany Soto, C, CHI (shoulder): He left Tuesday's game with soreness in his right shoulder and likely will miss two or three days.
• Mike Redmond, C, MIN (groin): If Redmond's groin isn't better by this game, there's a good chance he ends up on the 15-day disabled list.
• Matt Holliday, OF, OAK (illness): Holliday has been sick since Monday night. If he plays Wednesday, he's probably good to go Thursday. If not, check his status before inserting him in your lineup.
• Thursday's weatherproof games: Tigers-Blue Jays and Mariners-Twins.
• The Northeast looks to be in the clear from any precipitation, with high temperatures in the 55-65 range.
• Rainouts, or at least lengthy delays, are very likely for both St. Louis (60 percent chance) and San Francisco (80 percent chance) with persistent rain forecast for both cities.
• While the temperature should be in the 80s, Texas will be a very windy place, with gusts approaching 25 mph.
AJ Mass is a fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
