11Alive Sports offers a capsule-form breakdown of the big-time weekday series between the Atlanta Braves (48-34) and New York Yankees (54-27)—with both clubs possessing the best records in the National and American leagues, respectively.
On most days, previewing a baseball series in early July would rival the excitement of watching grass grow or paint dry, but it's time to acknowledge the following:
The youthful Braves should be viewed as serious pennant contenders, especially if this major road swing (St. Louis, New York, Milwaukee) yields a record of 7-3 or higher.
Bottom line: Atlanta has endured a rash of nagging injuries throughout the season; and yet, the club exhibits no signs of slowing down or hitting the proverbial wall in September.
WHO'S HOT/WHO'S NOT
HOT
Check out Braves second baseman Ozzie Albies' top-shelf tallies since June 25: One homer, four RBI, seven runs, 10 hits, .417 batting average, .440 OBP and 1.148 OPS.
NOT
Atlanta shortstop Dansby Swanson has struck out 21 times over the last 30 days; and since June 6, Swanson has just one homer and one multi-hit game.
HOT
Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks crushed three homers off Red Sox pitching on Sunday night.
NOT
New York catcher Gary Sanchez went down with a groin injury last week. Prior to the incident, Sanchez batted at a .110 clip from the span of May 22 to June 24 (24 games).
HOT
Braves pitcher Brandon McCarthy has only walked two hitters in his last four starts (21.1 innings). On the flip side ...
NOT
... of the 22 batters to reach base against McCarthy in the last month, seven racked up home runs. Go figure.
HOT
Luis Severino has arguably been the best pitcher in baseball over the last month, posting incredible 30-day tallies with wins (five), ERA (1.34), WHIP (0.89), opponents' batting average (.193) and K-BB rate (46/8).
NOT
Of his last 14 starts, Yankees pitcher has surrendered four or more earned runs seven times. Ouch.
PITCHING MATCHUPS
MONDAY: Anibal Sanchez (3-2, 2.68 ERA, 1.09 WHIP) vs. Jonathan Loáisiga (2-0, 1.93 ERA)
ADVANTAGE: Yankees
TUESDAY: Sean Newcomb (8-2, 2.71 ERA, 90/40 K-BB) vs. Domingo German (2-4, 5.32 ERA)
ADVANTAGE: Braves
WEDNESDAY: Julio Teheran (6-5, 4.21 ERA, 77/41 K-BB) vs. CC Sabathia (5-3, 3.02 ERA)
ADVANTAGE: Braves
BREAKDOWN: The Yankees just concluded an intense series with the Red Sox (56-29), with the eventual 'loser' likely drawing a wild-card berth at season's end.
So, in that vein, New York can be forgiven for trotting out two relative no-names and the aging Sabathia for the Atlanta series.
On the flip side, Loáisiga might be an unknown asset, but there's certainly nothing wrong with the production side of his young career.
In three big-league starts, the Nicargua native has surrendered a grand total of three runs (two outings of zero runs) and 10 hits; and when perusing the minor-league stats, the 23-year-old righty owns supreme marks with ERA (2.64), WHIP (1.01) and K-BB rate (146/26).
In other words, Sanchez might have more name prominence, but he's hardly a lock for anything beyond five innings and two/three runs allowed. Especially with his recent bouts of leg cramping.
(Projected New York forecast for all three days: Hot, humid and sunny.)
On paper, Newcomb should rule Tuesday's matchup. Of his last 11 starts, the rookie southpaw boasts rock-solid tallies with ERA (2.07), opponents' batting average (.189), K-BB rate (56/26) and win-loss record (7-1); and during this prolific span, Newcomb surrendered three or fewer runs 10 times.
Regarding Newcomb's counterpart, check this out: German has a 30-day ERA of 5.16 ... but somehow owns a blistering K-BB rate of 34/4 during that same span.
As a proud numbers dork, it would seem impossible for both stats to hold up simultaneously; and yet, this is German's short-term legacy.
Wednesday's matchup bears the resemblance of something we'd see during the World Series.
Sabathia has been strong since May 29, posting a 2.39 ERA during that six-start span; and Teheran's home-road splits have been well-documented on this site, with the Colombian right-hander possessing a 3.28 ERA away from SunTrust Park over the last 14 months (home ERA during the same span: 5.12).
FIVE FUN FACTS TO PONDER
1. For the American League, the Yankees boast top-3 rankings with runs, homers, RBI, walks drawn, on-base percentage, slugging and OPS rate.
For the National League, the Braves have been similarly stellar with runs, hits, doubles, RBI, batting average, OBP, OPS and slugging.
2. Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton (19 HR, 46 RBI) might be on pace for 200-plus strikeouts, but that hasn't affected his overall plate discipline.
Since June 2, Stanton owns excellent 30-day tallies of 33 hits, a .317 batting average, .390 OBP and .996 OPS mark.
3. Braves slugger Freddie Freeman has collected more extra-base hits since June 2 (15) than straight-up singles (12).
4. The Atlanta relievers have a seasonal ERA of 4.28—the fourth-worst figure among National League clubs.
Now for the good news: For innings 7-8-9 (and beyond), the Braves bullpen owns top-3 marks with strikeouts and opponents' batting average.
5. According to Baseball Reference, Julio Teheran has never pitched at Yankee Stadium, which opened in 2009.
In his lone start against the Bronx Bombers (Aug. 30, 2015 at Turner Field), Teheran was roughed up for eight earned runs in just 4.1 innings.
One last thing: Yankee Stadium currently ranks 11th in home runs allowed per game (1.09) ... or 18 spots ahead of SunTrust Park.
