This isn’t the start to the season Blake Snell nor the Giants hoped for when the two-time Cy Young winner signed in San Francisco right before the season.
Snell owns a 10.42 ERA in five starts, with a visit to the IL for an adductor strain placed in between.
He’s shown regression in allowing hot contact, possessing a .424 expected weighted on-base average — a mark that places him within the bottom 8 percent of pitchers, according to Statcast.
For a strikeout pitcher, Snell’s 24.7 strikeout rate is as low as it’s been since his second MLB season, and he’s trending poorly with walks, serving an 11.3 percentage.
It’s not to say all is lost for the southpaw’s season.
We’ve seen Snell bounce back from bad stretches before, but he draws baseball’s most formidable power-hitting team Sunday in the Yankees.
The Yanks lead MLB in home runs, expected slugging percentage and barrel rate.
Aaron Judge and Juan Soto have merged as a ruthless pair of two- and three-hole hitters — they are the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters in xwOBA.
Nestor Cortes is delivering reliable pitching in the Yankees’ historical starting rotation efforts, but his consistency comes in home outings.
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If you look at his splits, he owns a 6.16 ERA on the road in contrast to 1.12 at Yankee Stadium.
Oracle Park is friendlier to pitchers, but Cortes’ first career outing there against a Giants club that can reach base points over.
The play: Yankees-Giants Over 7.5 (-122, FanDuel)
