Tampa Bay at Detroit provides one of the best pitching match-ups of the night as undefeated Matt Moore takes on strikeout artist Anibal Sanchez. Part of Moore’s 8-0 record comes from his outstanding 2.18 ERA. That ERA seems low, however, given his 28 walks and seven home runs allowed in 62 IP. Indeed, his FIP and xFIP stand about two runs higher. Moore allowed very few hits this season; his BA allowed comes in at .178 with a BABIP of .201. On top of that, opponents hit just .071 against him with runners in scoring position, 3 for 42. I suspect the Tampa Bay defense helped him a lot. If not, it’s going to be ugly when he regresses to his mean. Sanchez is the opposite, with an ERA higher than his fielding independent stats should indicate. He’s also allows a slightly higher BA with men in scoring position than he does overall. Tigers pitchers need to strikeout out a ton of batters to make up for the defense.

Michael Wacha puts his whole body into a pitch. Photo: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Youngsters Tyler Skaggs and Michael Wacha both make their second starts of 2013 as the Diamondbacks continue their series with the Cardinals. Both are seasonal age 21 and were born in July 1991, less than two weeks apart. Skaggs was unimpressive in six starts in 2012, but showed outstanding power and control in the minors. He struck out nine (but walked three) in six shutout innings against Texas in his first start of this season. Wacha allowed a run and two hits in seven innings against the Royals in his MLB debut. The Diamondbacks offense should be more of a challenge.

Finally, the White Sox send Jake Peavy against the King in Seattle, Felix Hernandez. Peavy’s 3.62 ERA is mostly the result of him allowing nine homers in 64 2/3 innings, although six of those were solo shots. Felix was knocked around by the White Sox in his first start against them. He only struck out three in 6 1/3 innings, and the White Sox putting the ball in play led to six hits and four runs.

Enjoy!