AL East Pitching Inning-by-Inning

The AL East is comprised of five flawed teams, the team that survives will be the team (note I don’t see a Wild Card coming from this division) that has the fewest flaws or makes the most corrections and/or compensations.

One area of consideration will be the team’s pitching. Obviously, this problem is not restricted to this division as very few teams are content either with their starters and/or their relievers.

But I thought it would be interesting to just put the microscope on the pitching of the AL East inning-by-inning.

AL East Pitching Overview

What does this tell us?

Boston’s staff is allowing too many hits.

Both Boston and Toronto are allowing too many extra base hits and walking too many batters

The Yankees and the Rays are striking out a lot of batters. Pitchers stay out of trouble when they don’t allow the ball in play.

The Sox BAA is 16 points higher than the rest the majors.

The Rays have all sorts of hitting and injury problems but their pitchers thus far are keeping opponents off base.

Good pitching stops good hitting and as long as Boston and Toronto’s pitching continues to allow so many runs and when the good pitchers will stop the potent bats in Toronto and Boston, which adds up to a limited number of wins for each team with their balloon-like ERAs.

Nine to Know: Inning-by-Inning

In the 1st: The Jays have allowed 10 homers, the Rays two. The Jays have walked 18, the Orioles nine.

In the 2nd: The Jays pitchers haven’t allowed a homer. The Red Sox staff leads with 34 strikeouts.

In the 3rd: The entire division have allowed only 13 homers, the Rays just one. The Blue Jays have a .329 BAA.

In the 4th: The Red Sox have a .321 BAA and walked 16.

In the 5th: The Jays have allowed 46 hits, the Yankees 27.

In the 6th: The Yankees have an .845 OPS against, the Rays .687, but the Rays have allowed seven homers.

In the 7th: The Sox (.272 BAA) have allowed 34 hits, the Jays 18.

In the 8th: The Sox have allowed six homers, no other team more than three. The Yankees have struck out 39, the Sox 22.

In the 9th: The Yankees have allowed permitted 12 hits and just one homer and struck out an MLB-leading 41.