Saturday Spring Training - Pitchers and Lineups (and bets)

[Terryray]

so far today taking:

1:05PM Houston Astros -113

2-0-1 on yesterday's bets

Up next for the Mets: Bullpen addition Antonio Bastardo will make his Mets debut when the team travels north for a 1:05 p.m. ET game Saturday against the Astros in Kissimmee, Fla., live on MLB.TV and Gameday Audio. Bastardo, who will fill a setup role this season, will join starter Robert Gsellman and bullpen candidate Josh Smoker on the mound. Former Met Collin McHugh is scheduled to start for the Astros.

Up next for the Blue Jays: Right-hander Drew Hutchison will try to make his case for the final spot in Toronto's starting rotation when the Blue Jays host the Phillies on Saturday in a 1:05 p.m. ET start at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium on MLB.TV. Hutchison is competing against right-handers Aaron Sanchez, Gavin Floyd and Jesse Chavez for the No. 5 job. Other pitchers scheduled to appear include: Steve Delabar, Ryan Tepera, David Aardsma, Chad Jenkins and top prospect Conner Greene. It wasn't immediately clear which regulars will be in the starting lineup, but a lot are expected to play because it's a home game.

Up next for the Phillies: Right-hander Aaron Nola, who also is vying to be the Phillies' Opening Day starter despite having just 13 career Major League starts, will make his Grapefruit League debut in Saturday's game against the Blue Jays at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:07 p.m. ET on MLB.TV. Nola, the 23-year-old who was the Phillies' first-round Draft pick out of LSU in 2014, went 6-2 with a 3.59 earned run average as a rookie last season.

 

[Terryray]

also taking:

Kansas City Royals -116 (3:05PM EST)

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Up next for White Sox: Carson Fulmer, the White Sox No. 1 prospect per MLBPipeline.com, makes his Cactus League debut Saturday against the Royals in Surprise, Ariz., with a 2:05 p.m. CT f

Royals up next: The Royals return to Surprise Stadium on Saturday for a 2:05 p.m. CT game against the White Sox. Right-hander Ian Kennedy, who signed a five-year, $70 million deal this offseason, makes his first spring start for the Royals.

Up next for Cubs: Trevor Cahill will start Saturday when the Cubs host the Reds. The right-hander was a key part of Chicago's bullpen last year, posting a 2.12 ERA over his final 11 games. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. CT (listen on Gameday Audio).

Reds up next: For the first time this spring, the Reds will venture out of Goodyear on Saturday for a 3:05 p.m. ET game vs. the Cubs. Rotation candidate Brandon Finnegan will get his first start for Cincinnati. Finnegan allowed one hit in one scoreless inning of relief Tuesday.

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Saturday lineup, news and reading
Posted on 03/05/2016 by Steve Mancuso

Our Reds look to bounce back after their first spring training defeat, losing to the Giants 4-3 yesterday. Today?s game against the Chicago Cubs is the first the Reds will play away from the friendly confines of Goodyear Ballpark. The game in Mesa begins at 3:05 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on WLW-700, with no television coverage. If you?re planning on going and don?t have a ticket, forget it. The Cubs have announced the game is sold out. Must be the buzz surrounding the Reds this year, or something else.

Here is today?s starting lineup for the good guys:

Jake Cave CF
Jose Peraza SS
Joey Votto 1B
Brandon Phillips 2B
Jay Bruce RF
Scott Schebler DH
Ivan De Jesus 3B
Jesse Winker LF
Tucker Barnhart C

The starting pitcher is Brandon Finnegan. Trevor Cahill will start for the Cubs.

Lineup Thoughts

Today reflects a continuation of Bryan Price playing his ?starting? lineup (Votto, Phillips, Bruce) every-other day. Jake Cave gets a start in CF and returns to the leadoff spot. In three games, Cave has three hits and a walk in 11 plate appearances. He?s seeing a lot of pitches. Jose Peraza plays shortstop and bats second, which he did yesterday. Ivan De Jesus starts at third base, where he played 9 games for the Reds last season. And Jesse Winker gets the start in left field. /experiences tingling sensation when typing that sentence/

Yet to make an appearance are Devin Mesoraco and Zack Cozart. Here?s an educated guess about when they?ll see their first playing time: tomorrow (or Monday). I?m not sure this is a reliable guide, but last year Price held Joey Votto out of the first four games of spring training, generating a mini-panic about his health. Sunday and Monday?s games are at home in Goodyear. Price not starting them today avoided the 45 minute bus rides to Mesa. We haven?t seen a single report that Mesoraco and Cozart are anything other than perfectly healthy. See the Rosecrans article about Cozart below. Update: Mark Sheldon with a new report on Mesoraco.

The Reds have a ?B? game scheduled this morning against the White Sox. B game lineups are comprised of third or fourth string players. They generally last 5 innings. The main reason to have B games right now is to get more live pitching opportunities. Robert Stephenson will start a B game on Monday. They aren?t the same thing as full split-squad games you?ll see later in March. Here?s the Reds B-game lineup: Alex Blandino SS, Ramon Cabrera DH, Juan Duran RF, Chad Wallach C, Donald Lutz LF, Brandon Dixon 2B , Seth Mejias-Brean 5, Chris O?Grady CF, Ray Chang 1B. Nick Travieso P. In addition to Travieso, Rookie Davis and Zack Wiess will pitch today.

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#Indians lineup today

LF Davis
DH Venable
C Gomes
1B Santana
RF Chisenhall
3B Urshela
CF Naquin
SS Gonzalez
2B Martinez
RHP Kluber.

Today's #SFGiants lineups - at CLE: Blanco LF Duffy 3B Crawford DH Blanks 1B Susac C Lollis RF Adrianza SS Arias CF Moreno 2B Stratton P


Up next for Indians: Ace Corey Kluber is scheduled to make his Cactus League debut on Saturday, when the Indians host the Giants in a 3:05 p.m. ET tilt at Goodyear Ballpark. Righty Josh Tomlin and lefty TJ House -- both vying for the fifth spot in the rotation -- are each penciled in to work two innings after Kluber's appearance. Outfielder Will Venable is tentatively slated to serve as the DH in his Tribe debut.

Giants up next: It'll be a busy Saturday for the Giants as they play their first of four scheduled split-squad games. Left-hander Ricky Romero, a 2011 All-Star who hasn't pitched in the Majors since 2013 due to knee injuries, will start against Texas at Scottsdale Stadium. Rookie right-hander Chris Stratton, San Francisco's No. 1 choice in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, will confront Cleveland at Goodyear. Both games are at 12:05 PT.