Baseball Daily Dose: Daily Dose: The Shoe Fits

After a May 16 start against the Dodgers, a win, Matt Shoemaker‘s earned run average sat at 8.49.

It was indicative of the kind of year the 29-year-old had had to that point. Despite earning the win that day, Shoemaker was just 2-5 in his seven starts and had pitched into the seventh inning just once. There wasn’t much to like about Matt Shoemaker on May 16.

On July 16, there was plenty to like. Shoemaker shut out the White Sox on Saturday night, tossing his first career complete-game shutout in a 1-0 win. Shoemaker struck out 13 in the dominant performance, using 115 pitches to complete the feat.

If Saturday was a first, it was also a few months in the making for the right-hander. Since that May 16 start, Shoemaker owns a 2.36 ERA with 88 strikeouts in 76 1/3 innings of work. Four times he’s recorded double-digit strikeouts, with Saturday’s 13 a season high for him.

The improvement seems to stem from an increased reliance on a splitter. That splitter, which he’s thrown more than any other pitch this year, per PITCHf/x, has gotten swinging strikes 21.1 percent of the time. It was a pitch with which he also had success during his breakout 2014 season, but one that he got away from throwing in 2015.

Somehow, Shoemaker is still owned in just 46 percent of Yahoo leagues. For those who haven’t been paying attention the past two months, Saturday’s performance should be the wake-up call.

The regular season is already half over, so be sure to keep refreshing Rotoworld’s constantly-updating player news page for all the latest. And while you’re at it, follow @Rotoworld_BB and @nate_grimm if you are on Twitter.

Waino Shines In Three-Hit Shutout

Adam Wainwright prides himself on being the stopper, and he came through for the Cardinals on Saturday.

The team ace turned back the clock in a complete-game shutout of the Marlins, yielding just three hits over his nine innings. Wainwright threw a season-high 120 pitches to complete the feat, a day after the Cardinals bullpen suffered two blown saves and a loss at the hands of the same Marlins.

“He had a little room where he could be aggressive and made pitches when he had to,” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said. “That was vintage Wainwright.”

Like Shoemaker, Wainwright has found something lately after a rough start to the year. The 34-year-old struggled out of the gate and was 3-3 with a 6.80 ERA after a May 12 start against the Angels in which he gave up 11 hits and seven runs.

Since then, Wainwright is 6-2 with a 2.54 ERA over 11 starts. His days of Cy Young-like dominance may be over, but Wainwright is showing he’s still capable of leading a club’s rotation.

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Dodgers, Others Eyeing Archer?

The Rays could end up being a big player at this year’s trade deadline, and it seems as though no names are out of play.

MLB.com’s Ken Gurnick reported that the Dodgers, among others, scouted Chris Archer‘s start Friday, an indication that teams could approach the Rays about the 27-year-old former All-Star. Teams have also been linked to Rays starter Matt Moore, among others on the last-place club.

Archer is an interesting case because of the stark contrast between his 2015 and 2016 seasons. The right-hander is 4-13 with a 4.68 ERA this year, but he posted a 3.23 ERA with 252 strikeouts in 34 starts last year. Archer finished fifth in the American League Cy Young voting.

The Rays have Archer signed to a team-friendly deal with options that run through 2021, so the club would certainly need to be blown away to trade the face of their rotation. The next two weeks should be interesting.

National League Quick Hits: Yoenis Cespedes (quad) was out of the Mets’ lineup Saturday against the Phillies. It was his fourth straight absence. Cespedes did test out his hamstring before the game but obviously the Mets felt he needed another day. If Cespedes doesn’t show improvement soon, he could be headed to the 15-day DL … Gregory Polanco (hamstring) was not in the Pirates’ lineup Saturday against the Nationals. Manager Clint Hurdle said he probably won’t play on Sunday either. The Pirates will likely wait until Tuesday to decide if Polanco will be placed on the disabled list … Daniel Murphy (hamstring) was not in the Nationals’ lineup Saturday against the Pirates. Murphy said he felt good enough to play but manager Dusty Baker gave him an extra day just to be safe. He’s expected to return Sunday and could draw the start at first base … Giants GM Bobby Evans said Hunter Pence (hamstring) “seems OK” despite leaving his rehab game early on Saturday. The plan was for Pence to play five innings Saturday for Triple-A Sacramento but he appeared to pull up lame after hitting a third-inning single and was immediately lifted. Pence was hit by a pitch in the first inning, which may have aggravated some scar tissue around his surgically repaired hamstring. He could be back in the lineup as soon as Sunday. This doesn’t appear to be a major setback and Pence is still on track to return for the Giants’ next homestand … Braves placed RHP Arodys Vizcaino on the 15-day disabled list with a right oblique strain. We knew something was wrong when Vizcaino lasted just three pitches Friday against Colorado. Jim Johnson should take over the closer role during his absence … Tanner Roark tossed eight scoreless innings Saturday as the Nationals shut out the Pirates 6-0. Roark yielded just five hits, all singles, and walked one on the evening. He also struck out five. The win improved him to 9-5 with a 2.82 ERA and 1.17 WHIP overall this year, and Roark has now won six of his last seven decisions dating back to May 30 … Jimmy Nelson tossed seven innings of shutout baseball to beat the Reds 9-1 on Saturday while striking out seven and walking two. He gave up six hits in the dominant outing. The win moves his record to 6-7 with a 3.39 ERA … Buster Posey went 3-for-5 and hit a go-ahead home run in the top of the 10th inning but the Giants eventually lost to the Padres on Saturday. He added a run-scoring double in the fifth inning. The solo home run gave him 12 for the season to go with his .293 batting average, 53 runs and 44 RBI.

American League Quick Hits: Rangers activated RHP Yu Darvish from the 15-day disabled list. He missed a little over a month with neck and shoulder discomfort. He struck out nine while allowing two runs over 4 1/3 innings in a loss to the Cubs on Saturday … Nelson Cruz (foot) has been scratched from Saturday’s game against the Astros. Cruz fouled a ball off his foot in Friday’s series opener and is still a bit sore … according to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports, the Yankees will field offers for Aroldis Chapman and Carlos Beltran if the team doesn’t turn things around before the trade deadline. Both players are in the last year of their contracts. Right now the Yankees sit at 44-45, which puts them eight and a half games out of first place in the AL East. That’s not an insurmountable deficit, but there’s still plenty of work to be done … Royals activated RHP Wade Davis from the 15-day disabled list. Davis missed the minimum 15 days with a strained forearm. He’ll handle the ninth inning with Kelvin Herrera moving back into a setup role. Davis pitched a clean inning in Saturday’s win … Shin-Soo Choo (back) remains out of the Rangers starting lineup on Saturday. Choo has been battling a sore lower back, and it appears the time off over the All-Star break was unable to alleviate the pain … Eduardo Rodriguez allowed a lone run over seven innings as the Red Sox topped the Yankees 5-2 on Saturday. Rodriguez was in command all afternoon, allowing just four hits — including a Brett Gardner solo home run — and walking two. He registered just one strikeout, which came in his final inning of work, but his dominance wasn’t in question. It was a promising showing from the 23-year-old, who was making his first start for the club since his June 27 demotion … Khris Davis hit two solo home runs to help the A’s edge the Blue Jays 5-4 on Saturday. Davis hit a solo blast in the second inning and another in the sixth, both off Jays starter R.A. Dickey. He’s now got 22 home runs and 60 RBI on the year. Both statistics have him among the leaders in the league … Hisashi Iwakuma tossed seven shutout innings Saturday, striking out eight, in a 1-0 win over the Astros. Iwakuma gave up two hits and a walk over his seven innings, needing just 90 pitches to get there. The win was his fourth in a row and his 10th overall.

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