Johan Santana, Tim Lincecum, other aces start again
The first full weekend of the season should provide a lot of thrills with many of the big-time pitchers making their second starts of the season. Saturday showcases the likes of CC Sabathia, Roy Halladay, Jake Peavy and Roy Oswalt. On Sunday, Tim Lincecum, Johan Santana and Dan Haren all take to the hill. Plus, we'll get our first look at Atlanta's Kenshin Kawakami and see how his debut compares to the impressive first start of fellow countryman Koji Uehara. So sit back, relax and enjoy the action.
Starting pitcher rankings for Saturday, April 11 (* all stats listed are from 2008)
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | Roy Halladay | R | 20-11 | 2.78 | 1.05 | 7.54 | .621 | @ | .763 | 78.1% |
| 2 |  | CC Sabathia | L | 17-10 | 2.70 | 1.11 | 8.93 | .625 | @ | .717 | 82.1% |
| 3 |  | Jake Peavy | R | 10-11 | 2.85 | 1.18 | 8.60 | .645 |  | .703 | 81.2% |
| 4 |  | Adam Wainwright | R | 11-3 | 3.20 | 1.18 | 6.20 | .688 |  | .737 | 80.7% |
| 5 |  | Felix Hernandez | R | 9-11 | 3.45 | 1.39 | 7.85 | .727 | @ | .686 | 77.5% |
| 6 |  | Ricky Nolasco | R | 15-8 | 3.52 | 1.10 | 7.88 | .688 |  | .761 | 81.7% |
| 7 | | Cliff Lee | L | 22-3 | 2.54 | 1.11 | 6.85 | .633 | | .731 | 83.0% |
| 8 |  | Brad Penny | R | 6-9 | 6.27 | 1.63 | 4.85 | .842 | @ | .743 | 82.2% |
| 9 |  | Francisco Liriano | L | 6-4 | 3.91 | 1.39 | 7.93 | .719 | @ | .780 | 81.7% |
| 10 | | Roy Oswalt | R | 17-10 | 3.54 | 1.18 | 7.12 | .692 | @ | .783 | 82.5% |
| 11 |  | Hiroki Kuroda | R | 9-10 | 3.73 | 1.22 | 5.69 | .659 | @ | .742 | 76.2% |
| 12 |  | Carlos Zambrano | R | 14-6 | 3.91 | 1.29 | 6.20 | .686 | @ | .757 | 78.3% |
| 13 |  | Justin Verlander | R | 11-17 | 4.84 | 1.40 | 7.30 | .715 |  | .816 | 78.9% |
| 14 |  | Jeremy Guthrie | R | 10-12 | 3.63 | 1.23 | 5.66 | .694 |  | .762 | 77.9% |
| 15 |  | John Lannan | L | 9-15 | 3.91 | 1.34 | 5.79 | .728 | @ | .753 | 81.7% |
| 16 |  | Brett Myers | R | 10-13 | 4.55 | 1.38 | 7.72 | .791 | @ | .751 | 78.2% |
| 17 |  | Micah Owings | R | 6-9 | 5.93 | 1.39 | 7.48 | .754 |  | .723 | 81.5% |
| 18 | | Livan Hernandez | R | 13-11 | 6.05 | 1.67 | 3.35 | .895 | @ | .759 | 75.1% |
| 19 | | Kenshin Kawakami | R | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | .696 | 80.1% |
| 20 | | Matt Harrison | L | 9-3 | 5.49 | 1.57 | 4.52 | .878 | @ | .784 | 80.9% |
| 21 | | Bartolo Colon | R | 4-2 | 3.92 | 1.38 | 6.23 | .759 | | .748 | 82.6% |
| 22 | | Paul Maholm | L | 9-9 | 3.71 | 1.28 | 6.06 | .724 | @ | .729 | 79.4% |
| 23 | | Dave Bush | R | 9-10 | 4.18 | 1.14 | 5.30 | .715 | | .797 | 78.8% |
| 24 | | Jeff Niemann | R | 2-2 | 5.06 | 1.63 | 7.88 | .857 | @ | .762 | 82.2% |
| 25 | | Yusmeiro Petit | R | 3-5 | 4.31 | 1.05 | 6.71 | .704 | | .732 | 81.3% |
| 26 | | Jorge De La Rosa | L | 10-8 | 4.92 | 1.46 | 8.86 | .760 | | .770 | 79.7% |
| 27 | | Dallas Braden | L | 5-4 | 4.14 | 1.42 | 5.15 | .771 | | .707 | 84.2% |
| 28 | | Jonathan Sanchez | L | 9-12 | 5.01 | 1.45 | 8.94 | .746 | @ | .707 | 77.4% |
| 29 | | Shane Loux | R | 0-0 | 2.81 | 1.13 | 2.25 | .685 | | .805 | 80.9% |
| 30 | | Horacio Ramirez | L | 1-4 | 4.34 | 1.45 | 3.13 | .718 | | .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 for Saturday: Roy Halladay is a career 5-2 with a 3.73 ERA against the Indians, and has only given up two home runs in 72 1/3 innings pitched against the Tribe. ... Adam Wainwright loves to see the Astros. He's 5-0 in his career against Houston, with a 2.14 ERA as a starter. ... Justin Verlander's 2009 debut (8 runs in 3 2/3 innings) scares us a bit, especially against the high-scoring Rangers' offense, but he is a career 4-1 against Texas with a 2.30 ERA. ... Brett Myers also had a shaky first outing, giving up three home runs to Atlanta, and Coors isn't exactly going to keep the ball in the park. However, Myers is undefeated in six decisions against the Rockies with only a 3.19 ERA. ... John Lannan has never lost to the Braves at Turner Field. In fact the Braves have yet to get an extra-base hit off him in their home ballpark. ... Dave Bush has always been a lousy pitcher at the start of the season (7-20 pre-June for his career) and is 1-7 in his career against the Cubs.
Starting pitcher rankings for Sunday, April 12 (* all stats listed are from 2008)
| Name | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Josh Johnson | R | 7-1 | 3.61 | 1.35 | 7.94 | .723 | | .761 | 81.7% |
| 2 | | Johan Santana | L | 16-7 | 2.53 | 1.15 | 7.91 | .648 | @ | .759 | 75.1% |
| 3 | | Tim Lincecum | R | 18-5 | 2.62 | 1.17 | 10.51 | .612 | @ | .707 | 77.4% |
| 4 | | James Shields | R | 14-8 | 3.56 | 1.15 | 6.70 | .708 | @ | .762 | 82.2% |
| 5 | | Aaron Harang | R | 6-17 | 4.78 | 1.38 | 7.47 | .838 | | .723 | 81.5% |
| 6 | | Dan Haren | R | 16-8 | 3.33 | 1.13 | 8.58 | .667 | | .732 | 81.3% |
| 7 | | Josh Beckett | R | 12-10 | 4.03 | 1.19 | 8.88 | .700 | @ | .743 | 82.2% |
| 8 | | Joba Chamberlain | R | 4-3 | 2.60 | 1.26 | 10.58 | .617 | @ | .717 | 82.1% |
| 9 | | Gil Meche | R | 14-11 | 3.98 | 1.32 | 7.83 | .706 | | .769 | 81.8% |
| 10 | | Joe Saunders | L | 17-7 | 3.41 | 1.21 | 4.68 | .691 | | .805 | 80.9% |
| 11 | | Jair Jurrjens | R | 13-10 | 3.68 | 1.37 | 6.64 | .711 | | .696 | 80.1% |
| 12 | | Randy Wolf | L | 12-12 | 4.30 | 1.38 | 7.66 | .746 | @ | .742 | 76.2% |
| 13 | | Mark Buehrle | L | 15-12 | 3.79 | 1.34 | 5.76 | .747 | | .748 | 82.6% |
| 14 | | Ryan Dempster | R | 17-6 | 2.96 | 1.21 | 8.14 | .642 | @ | .757 | 78.3% |
| 15 | | Wandy Rodriguez | L | 9-7 | 3.54 | 1.31 | 8.58 | .717 | @ | .783 | 82.5% |
| 16 | | Aaron Cook | R | 16-9 | 3.96 | 1.34 | 4.09 | .739 | | .770 | 79.7% |
| 17 | | Chris Young | R | 7-6 | 3.96 | 1.29 | 8.18 | .694 | | .703 | 81.2% |
| 18 | | Anthony Reyes | R | 4-2 | 2.76 | 1.27 | 4.59 | .694 | | .731 | 83.0% |
| 19 | | Erik Bedard | L | 6-4 | 3.67 | 1.32 | 8.00 | .697 | @ | .686 | 77.5% |
| 20 | | Trevor Cahill | R | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | | .707 | 84.2% |
| 21 | | Chan Ho Park | R | 4-4 | 3.40 | 1.40 | 7.46 | .749 | @ | .751 | 78.2% |
| 22 | | Edwin Jackson | R | 14-11 | 4.42 | 1.51 | 5.30 | .796 | | .816 | 78.9% |
| 23 | | Jeff Suppan | R | 10-10 | 4.96 | 1.54 | 4.56 | .844 | | .797 | 78.8% |
| 24 | | Kyle Lohse | R | 15-6 | 3.78 | 1.30 | 5.36 | .734 | | .737 | 80.7% |
| 25 | | David Purcey | L | 3-6 | 5.54 | 1.48 | 8.03 | .787 | @ | .763 | 78.1% |
| 26 | | Nick Blackburn | R | 11-11 | 4.05 | 1.36 | 4.47 | .771 | @ | .780 | 81.7% |
| 27 | | Kevin Millwood | R | 9-10 | 5.07 | 1.59 | 6.67 | .823 | @ | .784 | 80.9% |
| 28 | | Ian Snell | R | 7-12 | 5.42 | 1.76 | 7.39 | .859 | @ | .729 | 79.4% |
| 29 | | Adam Eaton | R | 4-8 | 5.80 | 1.64 | 4.79 | .868 | | .762 | 77.9% |
| 30 | | Scott Olsen | L | 8-11 | 4.20 | 1.31 | 5.04 | .751 | @ | .753 | 81.7% |
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 for Sunday: If it were possible for both pitchers to hurl a shutout, we'd call for it in Florida. Johan Santana is unbeaten against the Marlins, with a 5-0 record and a 1.83 ERA, and yet Josh Johnson's track record against the Mets is even more impressive. Johnson is 4-0 versus the Mets with a 1.76 ERA, and the trio of Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and David Wright is a collectively anemic 2-for-33 against him. ... Aaron Harang has a better winning percentage (.632) in April than any other month of the season and has had more success against the Pirates (11-5 career) than any other opponent. ... Joe Saunders has never lost to the Red Sox (4-0, 2.89 ERA), but we do wonder how he and his teammates will react this weekend in the aftermath of the tragic events surrounding the team. ... Why is Jair Jurrjens so high compared to Wandy Rodriguez and Aaron Cook? Jurrjens faces the Nationals, who rank 13th in the NL so far in on-base percentage. Meanwhile, Rodriguez is 1-6 for his career against the Cardinals and Aaron Cook is 1-4 against the Phillies with a 6.14 ERA. That's a large reason. ... Nick Blackburn has never won in Chicago and has racked up a putrid 5.48 ERA in his four starts there, making him a poor starting choice this weekend as well.
Hitters' count:
• Jeff Francoeur, OF, ATL: Frenchy is 4-6 in his career against John Lannan, including a home run and five RBIs.
• Jorge Posada, C, NYY: The Yankees veteran is a career .556 hitter against Horacio Ramirez.
• Orlando Cabrera, SS, OAK: Cabrera is struggling, but should rebound against Felix Hernandez, whom Cabrera is 15-for-30 against all-time.
• Edwin Encarnacion, 3B, CIN: With six RBIs and a .400 batting average against Paul Maholm in 30 at-bats, Encarnacion should have a good Saturday.
• Marco Scutaro, SS, TOR: He's hitting .353 in 2009 as of Thursday, which coincidentally matches his career numbers against Cliff Lee.
• Bobby Abreu, OF, LAA: Don't consider benching Abreu without considering the .977 career OPS against Brad Penny.
• Adrian Beltre, 3B, SEA: It's not the largest sample size, but in six at-bats against Dallas Braden, Beltre has four hits and four RBIs.
• Brian Schneider, C, NYM: The Mets catcher is hitting .319 against Ricky Nolasco in 19 at-bats.
Pitchers' count:
• Justin Morneau, 1B, MIN: Hitless in eight career at-bats against Bartolo Colon, with three whiffs.
• Grady Sizemore, OF, CLE: Only hitting .176 against Roy Halladay, and we all know how deep into games he tends to pitch.
• David Ortiz, DH, BOS: Big Papi is 0-for-5 against Shane Loux, but take it with a grain of salt, as those at-bats all came way back in 2002.
• Carlos Lee, OF, HOU: Adam Wainwright has his number, and right now Lee is hitting only .077 against the Cards pitcher.
• Brian Giles, OF, SD: Don't expect a breakout day for Giles, who is 1-for-10 lifetime against Jonathan Sanchez.
• Derrek Lee, 1B, CHI: Lee has never done well against Dave Bush, only managing four hits in 24 career at-bats against the right-hander.
• Hank Blalock, 3B, TEX: Justin Verlander may be struggling, but Blalock usually is the cure he needs, having gone a career 2-for-12 against the Tiger.
• Chone Figgins, 3B, LAA: Figgins has trouble getting on base against Brad Penny, with an OBP of only .231.
• Mark Teahen, 1B, HOU: Not too many Royals do well against CC Sabathia, but Teahen has a whopping 16 career strikeouts against the Yankees ace.
• Kevin Millar, 1B, TOR: He hasn't played yet, but with a career .364 average against Cliff Lee and with Lyle Overbay struggling, he might play today.
• Wes Helms, 3B, FLA: Helms is a career .333 hitter against Livan Hernandez, with four RBIs.
• Chris Duffy, OF, MIL: Could Chris Duffy see some action against Carlos Zambrano? The Brewers may want him to: He's a career 3-for-9 against Big Z.
• Travis Ishikawa, 1B, SF: He's 3-for-3 with a home run against Jake Peavy -- a far better track record than nearly everyone else in the majors.
• Jason Michaels, OF, HOU: He's had one at-bat against Adam Wainwright ... one pitch, in fact. Michaels nailed it for a grand slam. Could lightning strike twice?
Hitters' count:
• Conor Jackson, OF, ARI: Howl at the moon! Jackson has a 1.339 OPS against Randy Wolf.
• Willy Taveras, OF, CIN: Taveras likes seeing Ian Snell on the mound, to the tune of a .556 career batting average.
• Placido Polanco, 2B, DET: Kevin Millwood should help lift Polanco's spirits. Polanco is 9-for-17 lifetime against him.
• Mike Redmond, C, MIN: Redmond would probably play over Joe Mauer against Mark Buehrle if he were healthy. Redmond's .500 average in 28 at-bats certainly is.
• Xavier Nady, OF, NYY: The X-Man is a regular wolverine against Gil Meche, with a 1.143 slugging percentage to prove it.
• Ivan Rodriguez, C, HOU: Pudge is batting .317 against current Cardinals pitchers, and .379 against Kyle Lohse.
• Jack Wilson, SS, PIT: Aaron Harang brings out the best in Wilson, who is 16-for-45 (.356) with five RBIs over the years against the Reds pitcher.
• Aubrey Huff, 3B, BAL: Raise the Shields, Tampa Bay. Huff has three career blasts against young James.
Pitchers' count:
• Carl Crawford, OF, TB: He may be hitting over .300 this season, but Crawford has never managed to even get on base against Adam Eaton.
• Nate McLouth, OF, PIT: The slow start continues for McLouth, as his career .063 average and six strikeouts against Aaron Harang does not bode well for Sunday.
• Mike Lowell, 3B, BOS: Assuming Joe Saunders still gets the call, hang up on Lowell. He's 3-for-14 with no extra-base hits against him.
• Paul Konerko, 1B, CHW: He hit only .200 against the Twins last season, and that marks a huge improvement over his .067 career mark against Nick Blackburn.
• Ryan Braun, OF, MIL: He does have one more RBI than hits in his career against Ryan Dempster, but when your batting average is .133, that's nothing to brag about.
• Albert Pujols, 1B, STL: Yes, we know. It's nearly impossible to even consider sitting Pujols, but if you were ever going to do so, now would be the time. He's 3-for-18 against Wandy Rodriguez with nary a home run or RBI.
• Adrian Gonzalez, 1B, SD: Tim Lincecum makes most hitters look foolish, but especially Gonzalez, who has ended 11 of 24 at-bats against the youngster with strike three.
• Vladimir Guerrero, OF, LAA: In fairness, he's had some success off Josh Beckett over the years, but Vlad is only 3-for-14 against him in their current uniforms.
• Alex Gonzalez, SS, CIN: Hitless against the Mets, Gonzalez could find his stroke against Ian Snell, something he's done in six of nine at-bats in the past.
• Chris Dickerson, OF, CIN: Continuing our crusade to close down the Ian Snell fan club, Dickerson has a home run and two doubles in six career at-bats against the Pirate.
• Matt Stairs, OF, PHI: Usually just a pinch-hitter, he is a perfect 3-for-3 in his career off Aaron Cook with a solo homer.
• Mike Fontenot, 2B, CHI: Still owned in only 12.5 percent of leagues, but perhaps a repeat of his 3-for-3 game against Jeff Suppan in September will win over some nonbelievers.
Injury list: Out
• Max Scherzer, P, ARI: (15-day disabled list, shoulder)
• B.J. Upton, OF, TB (15-day disabled list, shoulder/hand)
Injury list: Day-to-day
• Jorge Cantu, 1B/3B, FLA (hand): After being hit by a Daniel Cabrera pitch on Wednesday, Cantu is sore, but should be back in the lineup quickly.
• Geovany Soto, C, CHI (shoulder): Koyie Hill continues to fill in for Soto, and a trip to the disabled list isn't out of the question if the soreness doesn't go away soon.
• Kevin Kouzmanoff, 3B, SD (groin): He got the day off Thursday with a strained groin. Just something to watch, figuratively speaking.
• Joe Martinez, P, SF (concussion): Martinez got hit in the head with a line drive by Mike Cameron, but early reports are that there are no broken bones or anything more serious. Still, with an injury like this, extreme caution is usually the best policy.
• The weekend's weatherproof games: Dodgers-Diamondbacks and Cubs-Brewers.
• Any residual rain from Friday in Baltimore should be gone by game time Saturday and the weekend should be clear.
• In Denver, strong winds in the 20-30 mph range will accompany a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms Saturday. However, by Sunday, the Rockies should have clear skies if they need to play two.
• As for Sunday, most of the games look to be in good shape, save for Kansas City, where there is a 60 percent of rain.
AJ Mass is a fantasy analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
