Pitching matchups for Friday’s MLB games

We have 15 games on deck in MLB Friday, with the first game beginning at 2:20 p.m. ET between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. There are no doubleheaders on the schedule, which is a breath of fresh air. But we do have a few aces on the mound that will give us something to watch. We are going to look at the best pitching matchup and the sleeper pitching matchup that could turn out to be a pitchers’ duel.

Best Matchup: Yu Darvish vs. Clayton Kershaw

We highlighted this pitching matchup last weekend and it turned out to be an excellent NL West division showdown between the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres. In that game, Darvish suffered his first loss of the season, but still turned in a good outing. He only allowed one earned run, one hit, two walks, and struck out nine hitters in 7.0 IP.

Meanwhile, Kershaw threw six innings of shutout baseball, only giving up two hits and two walks, and struck out eight hitters. It was truly a pitchers duel as the Dodgers came away with the 2-0 victory in San Diego. One would think that we could see another one on Friday night, with the Padres hoping to get revenge on their interstate rivals.

Sleeper Matchup: Steven Matz vs. Tyler Glasnow

Hyun-Jin Ryu is the ace of the Toronto Blue Jays’ starting rotation, but one could make the case that Steven Matz has been their best pitcher. The former New York Mets pitcher has a record of 3-0 and an ERA of 1.47. In his last start against the Kansas City Royals, Matz only allowed two walks, two hits, one earned run, but struck out five hitters in 6.0 IP. He has at least made to 6.0 IP in his first three starts this season. The 29-year-old southpaw will be trying to make it 4-0 against the Tampa Bay Rays, but it will be tough with Glasnow on the mound.

Glasnow is the Rays’ ace after they shockingly traded away Blake Snell in the offseason to the San Diego Padres. The 27-year-old starter is also perfect on the season with a record of 2-0 and 0.73 ERA. He’s tied for fifth in the majors with 36 strikeouts in only 24.2 IP. Glasnow has made four starts this season and only allowed nine hits. In his last start against the New York Yankees, the 6-foot-8 pitcher gave up two hits, one earned run, but walked four hitters and struck out seven in 5.0 IP. This should be a fun matchup between these two pitchers on Friday night.

Here’s a look at the pitching matchups for Friday’s 15-game MLB slate on April 23rd.

Brewers vs. Cubs: Brett Anderson vs. Kyle Hendricks
Athletics vs. Orioles: Cole Irvin vs. Jorge Lopez
Royals vs. Tigers: Mike Minor vs. Casey Mize
Yankees vs. Indians: Jordan Montgomery vs. Logan Allen
Mariners vs. Red Sox: Yusei Kikuchi vs. Martin Perez
Blue Jays vs. Rays: Steven Matz vs. Tyler Glasnow
Nationals vs. Mets: Erick Fedde vs. Jacob deGrom
Diamondbacks vs. Braves: Luke Weaver vs. Kyle Wright
Angels vs. Astros: Andrew Heaney vs. Zack Greinke
Pirates vs. Twins: JT Brubaker vs. JA Happ
Rangers vs. White Sox: Dane Dunning vs. Dylan Cease
Reds vs. Cardinals: Sonny Gray vs. Kwang Hyun Kim
Phillies vs. Rockies: Vince Velasquez vs. German Marquez
Marlins vs. Giants: Sandy Alcantara vs. Alex Wood
Padres vs. Dodgers: Yu Darvish vs. Clayton Kershaw