The Toronto Blue Jays (22-29), who are fighting to escape the American League East cellar, poured some cold water on the piping hot Atlanta Braves (30-20) on Memorial Day, and will try to complete a two-game sweep today at 12:37 p.m. at the Rogers Centre. The game can be live streamed here for free or at MLB.com with better quality video for a subscription fee. Braves fans stuck at work can listen to the game at 93.7 FM while Blue Jays fans can do the same at SN590.
The Braves will trot Paul Maholm (6-4, 3.38 ERA) to the mound, who has been lights out in 2013 with the exception of two hairy starts in which he gave up 14 earned runs combined. Subtracting those two outings, Maholm has gone 53.1 innings of work while giving up just 12 earned runs. His home run to fly ball percentage is down more than four percentage points, and his advanced metrics back up the success he is having.
Maholm will be opposed by Brandon Morrow (2-3, 5.50 ERA), a high-upside, hard-throwing right-hander who has struggled mightily to recapture his electric form from a year ago. Unlike Maholm, Morrow's home run to fly ball ratio has spiked from just over eight percent to 14.9 percent. His batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is up nearly 40 points from 2012, indicating he has also been victimized by his fair share of bad luck.
Still, Morrow's fielding independent pitching (FIP) of 5.36 shows that he can't point to his BABIP to excuse his poor results.
Maholm will have to watch out for Blue Jays right fielder Jose Bautista today, who has been red-hot in the last week. In Toronto's last seven games, Bautista is 15-for-29 with two home runs and two runs batted in. His hot streak has lifted his batting average to .294, and his home run total to 11.
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