Pitching matchups for Saturday’s MLB games

The Saturday MLB slate is full of interesting pitching matchups to seek your teeth into so we’re picking out a couple in particular to keep tabs on.

Best matchup: Dylan Cease (White Sox) vs. Gerrit Cole (Yankees)

Right from the jump at 1:05 p.m. ET, the best matchup of the day will go down at Yankee Stadium when the Dylan Cease (2-0) goes head-to-head with Gerrit Cole (5-2). Both hurlers enter Saturday sporting sub-3 ERA’s and are mowing down opposing batters with efficiency. With 50 punchouts in eight starts, Cole is averaging a cool 11 strikeouts per nine innings while the perennial Cy Young candidate Cole is setting batters down at an even high clip, striking out 85 batters this season for a 13.3 SO/9 rate.

Sleeper matchup: Shane McClanahan (Rays) vs. Robbie Ray (Blue Jays)

As the Rays and Blue Jays fight for positioning in the AL East standings, they’ll put two young pitchers on the mound on Saturday with McClanahan duking it out with Ray. The rookie McClanahan got his first career win in his last start and is starting to put things together, notably sporting a 11.9 SO/9 average. His adversary, Ray, is 2-1 for the Blue Jays this year and sports a 3.79 ERA on the season. The former All-Star has a 10.7 SO/9 this year and is contributing nicely with a 1.0 WAR.

Here’s a look at the pitching matchups for Saturday’s 15-game MLB slate on May 22nd.

White Sox vs. Yankees: Dylan Cease vs. Gerrit Cole
Diamondbacks vs. Rockies: Madison Bumgarner vs. Antonio Senzatela
Orioles vs. Nationals: Bruce Zimmermann vs. Jon Lester
Astros vs. Rangers: Lance McCullers, Jr. vs. Jordan Lyles
Tigers vs. Royals: Matthew Boyd vs. Mike Minor
Brewers vs. Reds: Brett Anderson vs. Sonny Gray
Twins vs. Indians: Kenta Maeda vs. Shane Bieber
Mets vs. Marlins: TBD vs. Pablo Lopez
Pirates vs. Braves: Mitch Keller vs. Max Fried
Red Sox vs. Phillies: Nathan Eovaldi vs. Chase Anderson
Cubs vs. Cardinals: Adbert Alzolay vs. Adam Wainwright
Dodgers vs. Giants: Walker Buehler vs. Logan Webb
Rays vs. Blue Jays: Shane McClanahan vs. Robbie Ray
Mariners vs. Padres: Justus Sheffield vs. TBD
Athletics vs. Angels: Chris Bassitt vs. Dylan Bundy