Jake Arrieta and Gio Gonzalez should be happy to see the calendar flip to July.
They’ll hope to put a rough June behind them when they face off Sunday in the finale of a four-game set between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals. The Phillies will try to win the series in the 1:35 p.m. matinee.
Arrieta (5-6
http://www.buffalobillsteamonline.com/lesean-mccoy-jersey , 3.54 ERA) had a 6.66 ERA in five June starts. Opponents hit .305 with a .907 OPS against him in the month, and the veteran right-hander allowed at least three earned runs in each outing.
In his last start, Arrieta gave up six runs (three earned) in five innings against the New York Yankees on nine hits, two of which were homers.
“The ball is getting hit, that’s it. Making mistakes, too many mistakes
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Arrieta had a 0.90 ERA in five starts during May, and he gave up just one run and two hits in six innings against the Nationals on May 6. Arrieta is 1-2 with a 5.02 ERA in 10 career starts against the Nationals.
Gonzalez (6-5, 3.68) had an even worse June. The 32-year-old lefty had an 8.44 ERA in five starts during the month. In three of those outings, Gonzalez gave up at least four earned runs and failed to pitch more than four innings.
Gonzalez had his worst start of 2018 the last time he took the mound. He gave up six runs and walked five batters in one inning against the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.
“It wasn’t my night. I couldn’t get a strike,” Gonzalez
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Gonzalez will be facing the Phillies for the 25th time in his 11-year big league career. He is 11-7 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.13 WHIP against the Nationals’ divisional rival. Gonzalez threw five scoreless innings against Philadelphia on May 4.
The Phillies, who are 5-4 against the Nationals this season, have won two of the first three games against their divisional foe in the series. At 44-37, they are two games ahead of Washington for second place in the National League East. The Phillies were 28-53 through 81 games a season ago.
The Phillies hope Odubel Herrera’s bat heats up. The center fielder homered in Saturday’s 3-2 victory after going 2-for-28 in his previous seven games. Herrera is hitting .286 on the season with 14 homers and 46 RBIs.
The Nationals, meanwhile
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鈥?The Kansas City Chiefs have agreed to deals with wide receiver Sammy Watkins and linebacker Anthony Hitchens, filling two of their biggest needs in free agency, two people familiar with the negotiations tell The Associated Press on Tuesday.The people spoke on condition of anonymity because the signings, along with several other moves made by Kansas City, do not become official until the start of the new league year Wednesday.The 24-year-old Watkins intends to sign a $48 million, three-year contract with $30 million in guarantees after spending last season with the Los Angeles Rams. He was the fourth overall pick of the Buffalo Bills
Baker Mayfield Jersey Youth , where he spent the first three seasons of his career.Hitchens agreed to a five-year deal that The Kansas City Star reported will be worth about $9 million per year. He spent his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys..
