Another day, another article targeting the Diamondbacks. I am backing Elieser Hernandez, not a household name by any means, but he all we need is 5 K. Elieser has hit that mark in 3/4 starts so far this season, including 2/2 at home and 1/1 in day games. Dating back several years, Hernandez is quite consistent with about 1 strikeout per inning.
- 2019: 82.1 innings 85 K
- 2020: 25.2 innings 34 K
- 2021: 51.2 innings 53 K
- 2022: 20.1 innings 20 K
In theory, we need him to go 5 innings today. He is susceptible to being hit around a bit as he has a 1.33 WHIP so far this season, but I like the fact that he worked up to 97 pitches last start. The Marlins will need him to get as deep as he can as the Marlins bullpen has pitched 9 innings over the last 2 days. Miami is also looking to avoid a sweep this afternoon. He gets Arizona who strikes out vs righties more than any team in the league at 26.6%. 5 of the last 8 right handers that have faced them have hit this mark, one of the misses being Jordan Hicks who only threw 3.1 innings (transitioning from bullpen to starter). We do not need Hernandez to be elite, we just need him to pick up 5 K and get out of there, and I think he can pull it off in this matchup!
