SPLITS TO KNOW
Andrew McCutchen is 6-for-14 (.429) with a whopping four homers against Mike Fiers.
Pablo Sandoval is 8-for-11 (.727) with three doubles and a homer against Nathan Eovaldi.
Don’t mess with Asdrubal Cabrera. He’s just 2-for-26 (.077) with eight Ks against Dan Haren.
Expect Darin Ruf to start at 1B. He’s 6-for-16 (.375) with a pair of homers against lefty Gio Gonzalez, while Ryan Howard is hitless in 11 at-bats. Ben Revere (8-for-19) has also had success against Gonzalez.
Marlon Byrd is 10-for-27 (.370) with two homers and two doubles against John Lackey.
Victor Martinez is 9-for-18 (.500) with four doubles and a homer against Zach McAllister.
Always start Drew Stubbs in Colorado (.356-12-33, 11 SB last year) and against lefties (944 OPS); he gets Travis Wood at Coors.
Danny Santana went 5-for-14 (.357) with two doubles and even a homer against Hector Noesi last year.
It’s an extremely small sample, but C.J. Cron went deep off lefty Jason Vargas twice last season in just three at-bats.
Deep sleeper: Delmon Young is 21-for-50 (.420) with four homers against Mark Buehrle.
MORE: Daily fantasy baseball Playbook for Friday
SP RANKINGS
CALL TO THE ‘PEN
The Blue Jays have removed Brett Cecil from the closer role, at least temporarily. Long story short: Miguel Castro is the current favorite for saves, but this could be a committee that also includes Roberto Osuna and Aaron Loup. Don’t cut Cecil just yet, especially after he looked good in the eighth inning on Thursday, striking out two and walking one. Castro threw a perfect ninth for the save. Loup could be the save sleeper Friday, though, as the other three have all pitched in each of the last two days. … Greg Holland has also pitched two straight days, so the Royals could turn to Wade Davis in the ninth today. If Holland pitches again today, Davis would almost certainly be the fill-in closer on Saturday. … Jeurys Familia gave up two hits and a run while protecting a four-run lead against the Nationals on Thursday. Despite the shaky performance, he’s likely to remain the Mets’ closer until Jenrry Mejia (elbow) is healthy. In related news, Bobby Parnell (Tommy John surgery) will begin a rehab assignment soon and, if all goes well, could rejoin the Mets bullpen by the end of April.
WEATHER WATCH
Be ready for more rain today along the East Coast. There’s at least a 75-percent chance of precipitation in Philadelphia (Nationals-Phillies), Atlanta (Mets-Braves) and Baltimore (Blue Jays-Orioles). There’s also a 50-percent chance of rain in New York for Red Sox-Yankees.
