The Nationals emulate the Red Sox with an 11 AM game on a patriotic holiday as the Brewers send rookie Donovan Hand against Washington rookie Taylor Jordan. Hand pitched well in relief, and in his two starts pitched a bit better, posting a 1.86 ERA. He seems to pitch to contact, so the Brewers fielders need to be on their toes. Jordan lost his first start, as two unearned runs put him in a hole. He walked two and struck out one, so he’ll need to reverse that to be successful in the majors.

Justin Verlander and Esmil Rogers square off in Toronto as the Tigers play the Blue Jays. In terms of three true outcomes, Justin is pitching as well as in 2012, but his ERA isn’t as low. It could just be a timing issue, as 14 of his 19 2012 home runs allowed came with the bases empty, and this year five of eight came with men on base. Rogers stepped it up this season with men on base, holding opponents to a .212/.272/.288 slash line. He doesn’t let rallies get out of hand.

Finally, the Mariners and Rangers appear headed for another pitching duel as Hisashi Iwakuma faces youngster Martin Perez. Iwakuma has matched last season’s K total in 10 fewer innings while dramatically cutting down on his walks allowed. That led to a huge drop in his ERA, from a good 3.16 to an excellent 2.42. Perez doesn’t pitch as well as his 2.37 ERA indicates. He is Andy Pettitte like in his ability to induce double plays, so while he allows a .308 OBP overall, the four DPs he induced effectively make that .256.

Enjoy!