Madison Bumgarner, LHP SF Bumgarner matched Gio Gonzalez by going seven innings and allowing one run on four hits in a no decision Wednesday to bounce back from his worst start of the season. The left-hander is 4-2 with a 2.89 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Bumgarner has put together nearly identical seasons in 2011, 2012 and 2013 without much deviation. In that span, he has posted a K/9 range from 8.25-8.68, a BB/9 from 2.02-2.34, a HR/9 from 0.53-0.83, and a strand percentage from .724-.751. His GB, FB, and LD rates in that span have ranged from 46-47.9 percent, 33.3-35.6 percent and 18.4-20.6 percent, respectively. The only thing that has differed much is his BABIP -- it was .322 in 2011 when he had a 3.21 ERA and is .249 this year.
Jorge De La Rosa, LHP COL After holding Arizona to one run on six hits over 5.1 innings Wednesday, De La Rosa is now 6-3 with a 3.40 ERA. Surprisingly, he has done his best work at Coors Field, recording a 2.42 ERA and allowing zero homers in his home park. While limiting batters to a 21.8 percent flyball rate at home is good, allowing line drives at a 29.1 percent rate there is not. Despite that, De La Rosa has a .250 BABIP at home. The lefty has a career K/9 of 7.77, but his K/9 this year is just 5.50 in 55.2 innings.
Joey Votto, 1B CIN Votto is hitting .358 with a 29.7-percent line-drive rate and an 18.6 percent walk rate, but he has driven in just 22 runs in 221 plate appearances. Votto is 15-for-39 with runners in scoring position, but he has been intentionally walked nine times and walked 17 times overall over 58 plate appearances in those situations. Cleanup hitter Brandon Phillips has done his job well by driving in 40 runs, tops in the NL. Votto went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer Wednesday against the Mets, but was intentionally walked twice with RISP.
Kevin Slowey, RHP MIA Slowey allowed 18 hits and 11 earned over his last two starts, but he held Philadelphia to one run on six hits in five innings Wednesday. Of course, the one hit was a solo homer. Slowey has served up eight homers in 57.1 innings this season and 1.40 HR/9 in his career. He usually limits the damage, however, by keeping his walks down. He has a career 1.48 BB/9 and a 1.88 BB/9 this year. But the right-hander seemingly is headed for a downfall. He has a .291 BABIP despite allowing line drives at a 26.4 percent rate, and a .234 BABIP with RISP despite allowing line drives at a rate of 25.8 percent in those situations.
B.J. Upton, OF ATL Upton had gone 22 games without a homer before hitting one Wednesday against the Twins. Unfortunately, he doesn't appear to be improving at the plate. He hit .143 and had a 31.1 percent K rate in April and he is batting .175 with a 35.4 percent K rate in May. Upton has hit just 12 line drives all season and has a line-drive rate of 12.8 percent, a career low, and 11 of his 38 flyballs were hit to the infield. He's also batting just .205 on groundballs and has a 46.8 percent groundball rate. When you factor in all the strikeouts, it should be no surprise that the outfielder is only batting .155 this season.
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