Bautista's Bomb off Masterson

Jose Bautista started the 2012 season where he left off last year by taking a Justin Masterson slider over the left field wall for a solo home run yesterday.

Masterson made the mistake of hanging the pitch high in the zone, an area Bautista has done quite well in.

Jose Bautista vs. Sliders, 2011-2012You can see that Bautista did very well against sliders up in the zone last year.  Ten of his 43 HRs came off sliders, although only one of those was up in the zone.  His .456 wOBA against sliders actually led the league last year, so pitchers would do well to avoid throwing it against him altogether.

Justin Masterson's Trouble with Lefties

Cleveland Indians pitcher Justin Masterson is 5-5 this season and it's almost as if his five wins were against a lineup of righties and his five losses were when he faces lefties.

Let's take a look at his issues:

Overall:

Overall, batters are hitting .266 against MastersonAgainst righties:

Righties hit .214 against MastersonRighties hit:

.253 against Masterson's sinker

.240 against Masterson's fastball

.077 against Masterson's slider

Against lefties:

Lefties are hitting .308 against Masterson

Lefties hit:

.306 against Masterson's sinker

.319 against Masterson's fastball

.273 against Masterson's slider

Bottom line:

The Tigers had six lefties in the lineup last night and Masterson can be expecting more of the same as the progresses.