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TODAY'S STARTING PITCHERS:
| 2016 | W | L | ERA | FIP | K% | BB% | AVG | BABIP | HR | GS | IP | fWAR |
| Justin Nicolino | 2 | 2 | 4.30 | 5.11 | 4.9% | 8.9% | .241 | .233 | 3 | 5 | 29.1 | -0.1 |
| Matt Andriese | 3 | 0 | 2.11 | 3.49 | 14.1% | 6.4% | .153 | .167 | 1 | 3 | 21.1 | 0.4 |
The fairy tale had to end sometime for Matt Andriese as his improbable first two starts likely weren't going to consistently happen throughout the season. However, his last time out wasn't any worse than what we've seen from the Rays starters as Andriese pitched one out into the sixth inning, giving up four runs on five hits -- one homer -- while he walked two and struck out three, picking up his third straight win.
SCOUTING REPORT:
Nicolino has made five starts this year...the most number of strikeouts he's recorded during one of those starts is two, which he has done multiple times. He simply a finesse guy who relies on mixing his pitches and defense behind him in order to be successful. His last time out was on the 20th against the Nationals where he too pitched an out into the sixth inning, and gave up four runs on six hits -- two homers -- while he walked none and struck out two.
His Arsenal:
| PITCH | AVG. VELO. | FREQUECNY | vs LHB | vs RHB |
| Fastball | 90.2 MPH |
24.6% vs LHB *** 14.7% vs RHB |
Sporadic | Paints the corners |
| Sinker | 89.5 MPH |
37.0% vs LHB *** 43.0% vs RHB |
Tends to be waist high, either inside or outside | Low and inside the zone |
| Cutter | 86.9 MPH |
14.8% vs LHB *** 10.2% vs RHB |
Low and away from the zone | Paints the inside corner |
| Change-up | 83.5 MPH |
12.3% vs LHB *** 21.0% vs RHB |
Low and inside, away from the zone | Low and away from the zone |
| Curveball | 77.7 MPH |
11.1% vs LHB *** 10.8% vs RHB |
Low and away in the zone | Paints the outside corner |
His Splits:
| 2016 | TBF | wOBA | AVG | OBP | SLG | HR | K% | BB% |
| vs LHB | 26 | .176 | .125 | .200 | .182 | 0 | 7.7% | 7.7% |
| vs RHB | 97 | .338 | .273 | .340 | .442 | 3 | 4.1% | 9.3% |
| HOME | 75 | .354 | .282 | .324 | .507 | 3 | 4.0% | 5.3% |
| AWAY | 48 | .229 | .171 | .292 | .179 | 0 | 6.3% | 14.6% |
TODAY'S STARTING LINEUPS:
| TAMPA BAY RAYS | MIAMI MARLINS |
| Brandon Guyer - DH | Ichiro Suzuku - RF |
| Mikie Mahtook - LF | Marin Prado - 3B |
| Evan Longoria - 3B | Justin Bour - DH |
| Steve Pearce - 2B | Marcell Ozuna - CF |
| Steven Souza - RF | Derek Dietrich - 2B |
| Logan Morrison - 1B | J.T. Realmuto - C |
| Desmond Jennings - CF | Chris Johnson - 1B |
| Taylor Motter - SS | Cole Gillespie - LF |
| Curt Casali - C | Adeiny Hechavarria - SS |