Tonight we’ll get a matchup of A.J. Burnett and Scott Baker. As Yankee fans, we pretty much know what to expect from Burnett: fastballs and curveballs with a few changeups mixed in.
This will be the second time the two pitchers have faced each other in the 2010 season. On May 14th, Burnett got a no decision against the Twins, pitching 6.2 innings, giving up 7 hits, 3 runs (2 earned), while walking and striking out 4. Baker went 6 innings and struck out 9 while only walking 1, hinting at success, but he also gave up a home run as one of his 10 hits allowed. The Yankees plated five runs against the Minnesota right hander.
So, what type of arsenal can we expect from Baker this time out?
On the season, he’s mixed in five pitches: a four seam fastball (299), a two seam fastball (219), a slider (152) , a changeup (100), and a curveball (60). So, the majority (62.4%) of his pitches have been of the fastball variety.
When starting out hitters, Baker uses his four seamer and two seamer equally (29.7%)
When trying to finish off hitters (0-2 count), Baker stays with the four seamer (41.7%). If not using that, he goes with the slider (26.4%). However, his best 0-2 pitches seem to be his curve and his two seamer. He’s gotten a whiffs on those pitches 22.2% of the time and 37.5% of the time.
After falling behind 1-0, Baker, predictably, goes to his fastballs (35.4 four seamer, 34.2 two seamer).
What we see from Baker is pretty standard stuff: he gets swings and misses on his slider in 0-2 counts and likes to stick to his fastball when starting out and/or falling behind. He throws a fastball–or variant there of–over 60% of the time so as John Flaherty might say, he’s proud of his fastball. As for its velocity, it’s averaged 91.2 MPH this season, while his two seamer has averaged 90.7 MPH.
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