00:00Paul Skeens, he's going to be your NL Cy Young Award winner,
00:03barring a devastating injury with the news that came in here over the weekend
00:07where Zach Wheeler's going to be down for at least 15 days.
00:10He goes up against Kevin Galsman.
00:11That's the Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight.
00:139-15, 9-16 on the rotation, a 6-40 start from Pittsburgh.
00:18No surprise, it's a seven total in this game, and it is a pick-em.
00:21Toronto's a much better team here, but can you rely on Paul Skeens to go
00:25six or seven innings, one earned run to keep him in the game?
00:29Or do you say, I'll take the better baseball team and wait out Paul Skeens
00:32and collect the victory at a depressed number?
00:36Yeah, well, as long as he's not pitching against Milwaukee,
00:39I think Paul Skeens will get back on track here.
00:42And again, we just talked about the Pirates.
00:44They've lost seven of eight, but those were all very close games at Wrigley,
00:49and they were all very low-scoring games, Donnie.
00:52So coming off a pretty good smack that Milwaukee gave Skeens,
00:59he has been very good at PNC Park.
01:01The numbers bear it out.
01:02And you know who's not very good on the road?
01:05Toronto here.
01:06Toronto hits lefties better than they hit righties.
01:09I think this has got a dead under written all over it here tonight.
01:12You take a look at the last 45 days.
01:16Skeens is the number one pitcher on the card.
01:17That doesn't surprise anybody.
01:18ERA really nice at 2.14, but an XFIP number sensational at 2.86.
01:23You look at Kevin Galsman.
01:24He's got 48 and two-thirds innings pitched in over those 45 days.
01:27He still has a decent ERA at 2.96, but that XFIP number is a four.
01:31So it is a pitching advantage here, as we know, for Pittsburgh.
01:34Like, can you imagine this game?
01:35Just switch lineups.
01:36Like, Skeens pitches for Toronto, and Toronto is at home.
01:39Are we looking at a minus 225 or higher?
01:42Even though we know Galsman's a decent pitcher,
01:44but you get Skeens a great pitcher with a bad lineup.
01:47You get Galsman, who's a quality pitcher, with a quality lineup,
01:50and that's why you get these games just a little bit lower.
01:52For me, like, if Pittsburgh isn't up at the end of the fifth inning,
01:57like, what are you doing with a Skeens start?
01:58Because you know Skeens probably isn't going all nine innings,
02:01and you leave it up to that bullpen.
02:02Like, the only way I could bet Skeens starts, Joe, to be honest,
02:06is betting them in the first five innings.
02:07Because if they do lose, they end up winning.
02:09Skeens is like, well, that wasn't even my handicap.
02:12Like, nobody's saying, like, oh, I think Skeens gets beat up,
02:13but they win late in the game.
02:14Stop the madness.
02:15You think Skeens is absolutely filthy through seven innings.
02:18I can only bet Pittsburgh first five.
02:21And it's not a bad way to go either.
02:23I mean, I think runs either way are going to be hard to come by,
02:27by both Toronto and Pittsburgh.
02:30Is the game going to be decided in the latter half in the bullpens?
02:35Likely.
02:35But Gaussman and Skeens are going to be tough to figure out
02:39for both these lineups here, I think.
02:40Okay.
02:41Okay.
02:43Okay.
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