Get the free Action Network app for expert picks, live odds, bet tracking and more.
Not only do Jameson Taillon (9-2, 4.01 ERA) and Nick Pivetta (8-6, 4.06 ERA) boast similar numbers this season, they enter the Yankees-Red Sox game Saturday night in similarly poor form.
While Taillon has scuffled to a 8.57 ERA and 4.47 xFIP in his last four outings (21 innings pitched), Pivetta has stumbled to a 6.95 ERA and 4.73 xFIP over his last four starts (22 innings).
The two pitchers have combined to allow a whopping 24 earned runs over their last two starts.
Taillon’s ability to limit walks and induce weak contact likely will lead to a bounce-back at some point, but the same can’t really be said of Pivetta right now.
The 29-year-old is giving up only 1.04 HR/9, but that number is probably going to tick up considering his StatCast profile.
Pivetta ranks in the fifth percentile in average exit velocity, seventh percentile in hard hit rate and 32nd percentile in barrel percentage.
On Saturday, he’ll have to navigate a lineup that ranks first in exit velocity, third in hard hit rate and second in barrel percentage.
Neither Taillon nor Pivetta is as bad as recent numbers imply, but these aren’t the offenses you want to face and this isn’t the stadium you want to pitch in when you’re searching for your form.
The play: Over 8.5 runs.
