Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Tyler Gilbert made MLB history on Saturday night, becoming the fourth pitcher in the history of the sport to hurl a no-hitter in his career starting debut — and the first to accomplish that feat since 1953. He became only the third Arizona pitcher to throw a no-no in franchise history, joining Hall of Famer Randy Johnson (2004) and Edwin Jackson (2010). Gilbert is not a dominant pitcher, as his fastball rarely gets above 91 or 92 mph. He was never considered a top prospect, and he came to Arizona via the Rule 5 draft, a common path for journeymen rather than elite players. During the 2020 season, his minor league schedule was canceled, so he spent some of the summer learning the electrical trade. For now, though, Gilbert is the toast of the game.
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Monday, August 16
N.Y. Mets at San Francisco Giants (9:45 pm ET)
Pitchers: Rich Hill (6-4, 4.05 ERA) (NY) vs Kevin Gausman (11-5, 2.29 ERA) (SF)
Rich Hill came to the Mets from Tampa Bay in the middle of July, and so far his results in Gotham have been mixed. He has four starts with the Mets; in three of them he made it five innings, but on August 10 he gave up three runs on four hits in three innings, striking out four and walking three. In his start on August 5 against the Marlins, he threw five scoreless innings but had given up seven runs in ten innings in his previous two starts combined. Hill has looked ageless at times this year, but at this point he is an innings-eater at the back of the rotation.
Kevin Gausman has been a major contributor in the success of the Giants this season; while he got shelled by the PIrates on July 24 for six runs on eight hits over 4 ⅓ innings, in his last two starts, he has permitted a pair of earned runs over 11 combined innings, striking out 13. Granted, those two starts came against the Arizona Diamondbacks, but his track record on the season has been solid — even more so before the All-Star break. The two bounceback performances against the Diamondbacks should be encouraging for Arizona fans.
Final Score Prediction:
Giants 6, Mets 3
Tuesday, August 17
Boston Red Sox at N.Y. Yankees (1:05 pm ET)
Pitchers: Nathan Eovaldi (10-7, 3.92 ERA) (BOS) vs Luis Gil (1-0, 0.00 ERA) (NY)
The Red Sox start a series in The Bronx with a Tuesday doubleheader, and it is only thanks to the dominance Boston has had over the Yankees this season that they are still 2 ½ games ahead of the Pinstripes. Nathan Eovaldi had a pair of dreadful starts against the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays and the Toronto Blue Jays, giving up 12 earned runs on 14 hits over 10 combined innings, but he bounced back on August 11 with seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball, striking out 10 while walking just one.
The Yankees counter with Luis Gil, making his third start for the Yankees. In his first two starts, he threw 11 combined innings, permitting six hits while striking out 14 and walking just three. As more teams get film of Gil, those numbers will likely settle down a bit, but for now, he is showing dominant stuff. The Red Sox offense has struggled with consistency over the past three weeks, and if they can’t get to Gil, it could be a long day. However, the Yankee bullpen has fallen apart several times this season, so with Eovaldi starting for the Sox, I like Boston’s chances in the opener.
Final Score Prediction:
Red Sox 4, Yankees 3
Oakland A’s at Chicago White Sox (8:10 pm ET)
Pitchers: Chris Bassitt (12-3, 3.06 ERA) (OAK) vs Reynaldo Lopez (1-0, 1.35 ERA) (CHI)
As the A’s make a charge for the wild card and even push Houston for the AL West lead, Chris Bassitt has played a huge role. In his last three starts, all Oakland wins over the Angels, Rangers and Indians, he has thrown 20 innings and permitted just one run combined on 14 hits. He has struck out 21 while walking just three. He will face a more dynamic offense when he takes on the White Sox, but his stuff has been baffling for three weeks now.
Reynaldo Lopez as primarily served as a reliever this season, but the White Sox used him as an opener on August 11, when he started the game against Minnesota with three scoreless inning against the Twins, striking out four while walking two and permitting just a single hit. The White Sox offense has been cooking this season, but in three of Lopez’s last five outings, the Chicago bats have brought him a combined two runs. Can they do some damage against Bassitt?
Final Score Prediction:
A’s 4, White Sox 2
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