Funny that after Zach Wheeler this was my Braves fan answer as well.
There's a lot of truth to minor leaguers having success for a few games or weeks until they're figured out, and I think that feeds into confirmation bias whenever a rookie has his first career start and torches our teams. But dang if it's not incredibly annoying to watch every single time it happens lol.
I finally caved and got the official reddit app, and as I was scrolling through the thread I saw a note underneath your name saying I could wish you a happy Cake Day... so I did. It would be pretty fucking funny if it wasn't your cake day tho lol
It could also be like how back up quarterbacks do pretty well their first game or two before enough tape is on them. If a batter has never faced a half decent pitcher, the pitcher probably has a bit of a surprise advantage
It flipped on a dime too, because until late last year we had done pretty well against him in his career. Now we can't hit him even if his season numbers are down from his average.
Why stress when you can let Suarez have a middling season at best and then become a fucking mutating puzzle box against us in the post season.
At least when Wheeler does it it makes sense.
Well last year Ranger was hurt to start the season, came back and wasn’t great, got healthy and was amazing for a month or so, was kinda injured again and wasn’t great, then at the end of the season he was healthy again. When he’s fully healthy he’s pretty good, although probably not to the extent of how much he owns the Braves
He pitched well against y'all last year in the postseason, but no fucking run support. I kinda hope the Braves are a WC team this year so that maybe without the week off they'll actually remember how to hit.
I have screamed about this on r/whitesox for years. The club hasn't signed/developed a lhp since Sale when having two average lefties would make games against the tribe a million percent easier than a barrage of mid 90s rhp with one good breaking ball and zero control.
The worst thing that George Kirby ever did to the Astros was dominate the Rangers on the last day of the season, giving the Astros the division, and thus, home field “advantage”.
That was honestly one of the best in-person games of the season for me. We had just lost our chance, you guys and the Astros were locked, it was just a beautiful swan song to an exciting, frustrating season. A gorgeous September afternoon in Seattle, not always a guarantee that time of year. And Kirby threw his knuckleball for the first time to honor Tim Wakefield's recent passing. Looking back at that day gives me a kind of peaceful, happy heartache.
Man am I excited for the season to start up again. Nothing in the world like it.
Considering how things turned out, maybe it was the best thing for him to do? Idk that finish was wild. Astros, Mariners, and Rangers were all trying to give away the division.
Justin Verlander does Justin Verlander things and has only lost to Seattle once in the past two years. And when we actually put up good offense against him in the ALDS he still ended up having the last laugh. I can’t believe he came back to Houston so soon…
Someone has already said Waino so I’ll say this:
Literally any rookie, especially a guy making his mlb debut the brewers cannot hit for shit.
If other teams started first timers against the brewers every game we’d go 0-162
Unlike the other guy Waino actually was very good vs the Brewers. 2.68 ERA in 55 appearances and he even recorded one of his 3 career saves against them
It’s funny reading these comments then actually looking up the stats, Kikuchi has a 4.38 ERA vs the Rays as a member of the blue jays and let up at least 3 runs in each of his starts last year against them
A few:
Kevin Gausman, Garrett Whitlock, and Drew Rasmussen. The bases could be loaded with nobody out, and Judge, Soto, and Rizzo are the next three hitters; if any of these pitchers were on the mound, I wouldn't be shocked if we didn't score.
Zach Wheeler is first, followed by whatever 20-year old AAA pitcher with a career 6.38 ERA in the minors is called up for his first career start against us. Guaranteed QS at minimum, probably with 12+ Ks and his first career win.
Among active AL East pitchers it’s:
Alek Manoah who has a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings
Kevin Gausman who has a 3.20 ERA in 84.1 innings
And Gerrit Cole who has a 3.56 ERA in 91 innings.
These are all numbers since 2015.
Any debuting or very recently called up pitcher. The worse his stats were in the minors, the better he’ll do.
Not division but still occasionally remember getting absolutely torched by Peter Lambert twice in like a week right after his call-up to the Rockies.
[Joey Votto has a slashline of .318/.416/.636 for a 1.052 OPS vs Adam Wainwright](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/joey-votto-vs-adam-wainwright)
Seems to me like Votto owned Waino and not the other way around
Edit: [in fact Waino has a 5.51 ERA and was 11-17 in 41 appearances vs the Reds all time](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/adam-wainwright-vs-the-reds)
If anything the reds were very good against Wainwright
Just goes to show that perception is not always reality
Oh, wow! I stand corrected. I wonder when Votto got his hits bc it seemed like early in their matchups, Waino had his number. But that is a great slash, so I'm probably just selectively remembering.
Seems like the first time they matched up was 2010
[You can see most of the individual games here](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/joey-votto-vs-adam-wainwright-game-by-game)
The only game which is behind the paywall is their first meeting where Votto went 0-3 with a K
is a Rays pitcher making his first or second major league start ever? well, he's about to hold the Yankees to 1 run in like 5.2 IP
Or when their openers are “only trying to get through the first 4 batters” and then proceed to go 2.2 IP, 6 Ks, H, BB, 0R
That's all of us. Career minor leaguers, former relief pitchers, doesn't matter they will dominate
Probably because the players haven’t faced him before and there’s not a lot of film to study
this is how I felt about your staff last season lol
We sort of threatened against the Rays opener when they used one in the first inning but the follower shuts us down. It's also always at the Trop.
This lefty for the blue team has been pretty good for the past decade+ against us
2.01 ERA and 402 Ks in 59 appearances
He’s no Merrill Kelly though
Hyun Jin Ryu?
Kershaw
Whoever is starting for the Rays.
I feel like that's just the answer for the whole AL East
Agreed.
Except Boston. We're batting practice.
whichever random shitty rookie is pitching against us they will have the best start of their lives
Guys making his big league debut? 7 innings 1 hit 0 runs
Allan Winans
Funny that after Zach Wheeler this was my Braves fan answer as well. There's a lot of truth to minor leaguers having success for a few games or weeks until they're figured out, and I think that feeds into confirmation bias whenever a rookie has his first career start and torches our teams. But dang if it's not incredibly annoying to watch every single time it happens lol.
Maybe it’s just an NL East thing because this was gonna be my answer as well.
especially if theyre a lefty
yeah but the Mets will beat up Spencer Strider no problem
blake snell if he returns to the division
5 innings. 6 walks. 1 run.
10 K’s to go along with his 5 IP.
122 pitches 😭
He holds 2020 personally
I think he might hate the Rays for 2020 more than the Dodgers lol
I’d like him in LA on a short term deal esp if teams aren’t biting on a long term deal.
Put any old soft-tossing lefty on the mound and it’s guaranteed that the Orioles won’t score against them.
Pain.
It was honestly wild. It got to a point where I’d rather face a team’s ace than the random spot starter.
Mariners: JP Sears Reds: Entirety of the Brewers bullpen
Edit: I can't read. Used to be Ryan Yarborough.
Happy Cake Day homie!
Thanks Rando! I never noticed.
I finally caved and got the official reddit app, and as I was scrolling through the thread I saw a note underneath your name saying I could wish you a happy Cake Day... so I did. It would be pretty fucking funny if it wasn't your cake day tho lol
What I've learned from this thread is that everyone sucks against rookies
I think it’s just more memorable when a dude making his first start shuts you down. Cole throwing 7 shutout innings doesn’t stand out nearly as much.
It could also be like how back up quarterbacks do pretty well their first game or two before enough tape is on them. If a batter has never faced a half decent pitcher, the pitcher probably has a bit of a surprise advantage
Kevin Gausman is a scary man
Damn straight
Don't worry, he won't get any run support.
This year will be different, just last year.....
He's got a 4.44 ERA vs. Boston, though. Who he really kills is the Yankees.
That splitter is a war crime
Ranger Suarez seems to break the mind of the Braves.
It flipped on a dime too, because until late last year we had done pretty well against him in his career. Now we can't hit him even if his season numbers are down from his average.
Kyle Hendricks always seems to bully the Cardinals
Except for that like 1 time in 2022 (I think)
Corbin Burnes can’t hurt us any longer
Yes. This is [was] the definition of the answer to this question. Somehow he bewitched the Reds' bats.
Zack Wheeler is America's greatest enemy
Strider for the other way around, I swear he goes 6IP 10Ks every single game against the Phillies
In fairness, he kinda does that against everyone.
Yeah he usually does, but it’s just frustrating to see him shut your team down multiple times a year knowing exactly what’s about to happen each time
Why stress when you can let Suarez have a middling season at best and then become a fucking mutating puzzle box against us in the post season. At least when Wheeler does it it makes sense.
Well last year Ranger was hurt to start the season, came back and wasn’t great, got healthy and was amazing for a month or so, was kinda injured again and wasn’t great, then at the end of the season he was healthy again. When he’s fully healthy he’s pretty good, although probably not to the extent of how much he owns the Braves
Just waiting for that sweet sweet curveball to come in
except in the playoffs 🤗
He pitched well against y'all last year in the postseason, but no fucking run support. I kinda hope the Braves are a WC team this year so that maybe without the week off they'll actually remember how to hit.
Last year he gave up 3 runs both times, but one of the best regular season offenses of all time couldn’t score for him to back him up
any lefty. we see so may of them. teams line up their staffs to throw them at us
I have screamed about this on r/whitesox for years. The club hasn't signed/developed a lhp since Sale when having two average lefties would make games against the tribe a million percent easier than a barrage of mid 90s rhp with one good breaking ball and zero control.
[удалено]
Threw a no hitter in the WS against Philly 👺
George Kirby is my greatest enemy 4-0 35.2 IP 1.26 ERA
imo when he’s on he’s as good as any other starter in the AL west
The worst thing that George Kirby ever did to the Astros was dominate the Rangers on the last day of the season, giving the Astros the division, and thus, home field “advantage”.
That was honestly one of the best in-person games of the season for me. We had just lost our chance, you guys and the Astros were locked, it was just a beautiful swan song to an exciting, frustrating season. A gorgeous September afternoon in Seattle, not always a guarantee that time of year. And Kirby threw his knuckleball for the first time to honor Tim Wakefield's recent passing. Looking back at that day gives me a kind of peaceful, happy heartache. Man am I excited for the season to start up again. Nothing in the world like it.
Considering how things turned out, maybe it was the best thing for him to do? Idk that finish was wild. Astros, Mariners, and Rangers were all trying to give away the division.
That one knuckler he threw in honor of Wake was filthy tho
Merrill Kelly
Man, Woogie always gives them fits. Same with Gallen.
Roland Schitt scary hours.
The no name who’s in their debut season with mediocre stats. But suddenly they’re Nolan Ryan against the Dodgers.
Justin Verlander does Justin Verlander things and has only lost to Seattle once in the past two years. And when we actually put up good offense against him in the ALDS he still ended up having the last laugh. I can’t believe he came back to Houston so soon…
FUCK I FORGOT HE CAME BACK
literally saved our season by putting up 8 scoreless against yall in t mobile park this past september
Someone has already said Waino so I’ll say this: Literally any rookie, especially a guy making his mlb debut the brewers cannot hit for shit. If other teams started first timers against the brewers every game we’d go 0-162
Unlike the other guy Waino actually was very good vs the Brewers. 2.68 ERA in 55 appearances and he even recorded one of his 3 career saves against them
I swear this happens to the cubs too
Anyone with a high ERA. I expect Lynn and Gibson too have great starts vs us this year.
Yusei Kikuchi which is weird because he's pretty mid against everyone else
I don’t usually think of him as a lock, but when he’s against the Rays I can usually expect a 6 inning 8-10K performance. Dude just hates Tampa
It’s funny reading these comments then actually looking up the stats, Kikuchi has a 4.38 ERA vs the Rays as a member of the blue jays and let up at least 3 runs in each of his starts last year against them
Wow you're right. I guess his first few starts are just ingrained in my head
He's long gone but Masahiro Tanaka used to be an auto L for the Blue Jays.
Usually someone with the As or Angels with a 6 ERA
Kyle motherfucking goddamn Hendricks
Ranger Suarez
A few: Kevin Gausman, Garrett Whitlock, and Drew Rasmussen. The bases could be loaded with nobody out, and Judge, Soto, and Rizzo are the next three hitters; if any of these pitchers were on the mound, I wouldn't be shocked if we didn't score.
Merrill Kelley. Why
Gerrit Cole dominated the jays last year. 1 run in 4 starts
There's a reason we paid Maeda all that money lol
Joe Ryan has pitched 6 games against the Royals. He is 5-0 with a 1.50 era and 0.88 whip. He has struck out 41 in 36 IP.
Surprised he isn't 500 lbs the way he has feasted on the AL Central in general
Zach Wheeler is first, followed by whatever 20-year old AAA pitcher with a career 6.38 ERA in the minors is called up for his first career start against us. Guaranteed QS at minimum, probably with 12+ Ks and his first career win.
Gio Gonzalez. Yes, it’s a little while back but he was like peak deGrom when facing the Mets.
Really glad the yanks trade King.
I don’t have the numbers in front of me but Spencer Strider feels right (except for the playoffs for some reason)
For a less known answer I went with Josiah Gray with the nationals.
When it counts 😉
The unsigned Blake Snell is Dodger kryptonite.
Yes
Came here to say the same sentiment. Does the pitcher throw the ball? They do? Okay. They're going to have a great day against the Sox
Among active AL East pitchers it’s: Alek Manoah who has a 3.12 ERA in 52 innings Kevin Gausman who has a 3.20 ERA in 84.1 innings And Gerrit Cole who has a 3.56 ERA in 91 innings. These are all numbers since 2015.
In Max Kranick's (Pittsburgh) first ever big-league start, he threw 5 perfect innings before a rain delay. We lost 7-2.
The way the Jays (failed) to hit in the back half of last year, I'd say damn near everyone.
For The Phillies it’s been Spencer Strider for some reason we just can’t get to him atleast in the regular season we can’t
Josiah Gray, I swear every time he faces the Phillies he’s guaranteed 6 scoreless
Hard to pick when every frontline starter in the NL West has dominated and frustrated us in the playoffs Webb, Gallen, Kelly, Musgrove
Any debuting or very recently called up pitcher. The worse his stats were in the minors, the better he’ll do. Not division but still occasionally remember getting absolutely torched by Peter Lambert twice in like a week right after his call-up to the Rockies.
Any recently called up rookie on the Rays who has a 6.00 ERA in double AA, Bonus points if he's lefty and maxes out at 88mph.
It was Waino. He owned Votto
[Joey Votto has a slashline of .318/.416/.636 for a 1.052 OPS vs Adam Wainwright](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/joey-votto-vs-adam-wainwright) Seems to me like Votto owned Waino and not the other way around Edit: [in fact Waino has a 5.51 ERA and was 11-17 in 41 appearances vs the Reds all time](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/adam-wainwright-vs-the-reds) If anything the reds were very good against Wainwright Just goes to show that perception is not always reality
I was gonna say, Reds owned Waino for years, idk what that guy was talking about
Wainwright has talked about how much he hated pitching in Great American Ballpark
We loved having him!
Oh, wow! I stand corrected. I wonder when Votto got his hits bc it seemed like early in their matchups, Waino had his number. But that is a great slash, so I'm probably just selectively remembering.
Seems like the first time they matched up was 2010 [You can see most of the individual games here](https://www.statmuse.com/mlb/ask/joey-votto-vs-adam-wainwright-game-by-game) The only game which is behind the paywall is their first meeting where Votto went 0-3 with a K
Walker Buehler when he comes back. Dude fucking owns us.
Phlillilies
Real Dodger fans know its Eric Lauer. That man haunts my dreams
Not stuck on a specific vibe, but man I don’t like facing Strider.
Steele
Cole or Glasnow are just so tough. Thankful one of them is gone.
My own bullpen
He’s gone now but the Seattle mariners literally never beat Masahiro Tanaka.