Gavin Floyd vs. Red Sox
Gavin Floyd spent seven seasons in the American League and the wonder is that Boston never took out a restraining order on the guy. In eight appearances with Chicago against the Red Sox — seven starts, one relief appearance — Floyd dominated one of the AL’s powerhouses, going 7-0 with a 3.21 ERA. So guess who’s coming to town Wednesday?
Floyd’s stats against Boston are far and away his best against any opponent. Only twice in those eight games did he allow more than two runs. His only no-decision came in 2009, when he allowed two runs and Chicago lost 3-2 after he left the game. Odder still, pitching in perilous Fenway Park only made him better. Floyd is 3-0 (2.84) there.
This is a different Red Sox team than Floyd will recall. Five Boston regulars have never faced him. But DH David Ortiz has and the occasions have been generally noisy: a .320 career average with three home runs and two doubles in 25 career at-bats.
Marlins at Marlins Park
Two months into the season, this is no longer a fluke. If the Marlins could just play in South Florida all season, the NL East wouldn’t stand a chance.
Next weekend, the Braves visit Marlins Park where the home team went into the weekend with a .760 win percentage. No other team in the majors comes close. No one in the majors can explain it either. Miami’s pitching staff is a different beast at home (2.78 ERA) than on the road (4.86). And the team hits 63 (.295) points higher (.274) and slugs 85 points higher (.429) in home games. That equates to 2.5 more runs per game at Marlins Park (5.92) than elsewhere (3.43).
Confused? Ask the Braves about it. Since Marlins Park opened in 2012, they pretty much owned the joint (15-4). First visit this season, they were swept, outscored 23-7 and out-hit 38-18.
