APPRECIATING STARTERS

Stats and stuff from a weekend of baseball

WELL-PITCHED BEAUTIES

Clayton Kershaw got his first win of the season (#213) and struck out seven. He 17 shy of 3000 strikeouts.

There were some really nice starts yesterday and fun match-ups all weekend.

GEORGE KIRBY

George Kirby struck out a career-high 14 batters to lead the Mariners over the Angels. The M’s had lost five straight. It was Kirby’s first win of the season. Kirby (1-3) issued no walks while retiring both his first 11 and his final 10 batters.

PAUK SKENES

I watched Paul Skenes for a while yesterday, and he is so good. His delivery appears to be effortless, which makes his pinpoint pitches seem all the more effective. Skenes didn’t allow an earned run in 7.2 IP and lowered his ERA to 1.88, second-best in the National League behind the New York Mets’ Kodai Senga (1.59). Skenes is 4-6 on the season and got a no-decision as the Pirates completed a three-game sweep of the Phillies.

In Skenes’ four wins, he has a 0.35 ERA. In Skenes’ six losses, he has a 3.15 ERA. In Skenes’ four no-decisions, he has a 1.44 ERA.

JACK FLAHERTY DOMINATES CUBS IN TIGERS' 4-0 WIN

In front of the fifth sellout of the season at Comerica, the Tigers (43-24) win enabled them to take two out of three games from the National League Central-leading Cubs (40-25). Jack Flaherty (5-6, 3.41 ERA) picked up his fourth straight Quality Start.

PADRES 1-0 OVER THE BREWERS

Manny Machado hit his 10th homer of the season to lead the Padres to a 1-0 win over the Brewers. It was the Padres’ 10th consecutive win by one or two runs. In his second career start, Ryan Bergert followed the lead of Randy Vásquez on Friday and Stephen Kolek on Saturday and did not surrender a run while he was in the game.

The Padres have now won six of their eight rubber match games this season. The Padres are now 12-20 when scoring three or fewer runs and 27-6 when allowing three or fewer runs. They are 14-8 in one-run games. The Friars head to LA tonight for a three-game set.

The Brewers' Freddy Peralta went six scoreless in a no-decision. Milwaukee is 1-2 on their 10-game homestand, the longest of the season. Overall, Peralta is 5-4 this season with a 2.69 ERA, 1.16 WHIP across 14 starts (77 innings). The Braves and the Cardinals visit next. Milwaukee is now 10-18 when not homering, and 10-9 in one-run games.

Machado has homered seven times in the past 16 games. Machado has had 10+ homers every season since 2013. George Springer and Mike Trout have had 12 seasons of double-digit homers since 2013. Bryce Harper and Freddie Freeman are each one homer shy, and Andrew McCutchen needs five homers to reach 10.

The Padres have scored more than three runs in just six of their past 16 games, and tonight start a three-game set against the Dodgers (finally).

Tip of the hat to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune, who inspired the Padres content today. Padres Daily is a must-read for me. Between good writing and great play-by-play announcing from Don Orsillo, it’s no wonder that the Friars have such a strong fan base.

Still to come: Shutouts, three-hit wins, Judge, and Alonso