Nick Markakis- BAL- Hot- Markakis may have ended his 17-game hitting streak last night, but that didn’t keep him off the bases, as he walked 3 times, raising his OBP to an even .400. It also brought his Batting EYE to an even 1.00 for the month. This is important because as Markakis’ Batting EYE goes, so goes his average. In April his EYE was .81 and his average .286. In May his numbers were .42 and .231. Last month he posted a 1.27 EYE to go with a .339 average. So far this month Markakis has a .415 average. If he keeps drawing walks and not striking out that often, he will produce.
Brandon Moss- BOS- Hot- Moss went 2-for-4, extending his current hitting streak to 6 games, in which 4 have been of the multi-hit variety. He has a .435 average in that stretch. Moss has enjoyed some good luck this year, with a .333 BHIPx. He still has problems with selectivity, striking out 6 times while walking only once during his streak. Don’t count on him to maintain high production, considering those two factors.
Gavin Floyd- CHA- Cold- A couple of things may have been working against Floyd yesterday as he faced the Rangers. First, he was pitching on the road where his ERA now stands at 5.40, as opposed to 2.57 at home. Second, he threw 109 pitches his last time out. The only other time this season he threw that many he followed it up with a poor performance. Finally, he may just be facing a regression to the mean, entering the game with a .208 BHIP%. OK, that’s three things, not a couple, but they add up to a not unexpected poor showing for Floyd. He has red flags for at least his road starts and may be seeing the other side of the lucky train, which makes him unlikely to keep his first half performance up.
Nick Punto- MIN- Hot- Punto reached base in 6 consecutive trips to the plate before hitting a sac fly in the 6th inning yesterday. He did extend his current hitting streak to 10 games, every one in the month of July. Over that span Punto is hitting .432 with a homer, 10 RBI and 6 runs scored. It has brought his average up from .262 to .324. Punto’s Batting EYE this season is .73. The last time he finished a season with a mark that high was 2006 when his average ended at .290. Last year, When Punto only hit .210, his Batting EYE was only .61 and he battled a BHIPx of .211. This year is indicating that 2007 was a fluke for him.
Ian Kinsler- TEX- Cold- Kinsler has managed to keep his hit streak alive and extended it to 23 games, but over the last 4 of those, it has been a vitamin streak. One-A-Day. He is 4-for-18 in that span and on Wednesday had three strikeouts for the first time since Opening Day. Kinsler has gotten a boost this year from a .282 BHIPx, so he is probably not as good as his .332 average indicates.
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