Baseball is a unique sport in more ways than one. For a team to be successful, it takes camaraderie and buy-in to successfully reach a common goal. It is also impossible for this to happen without individual success.
We often compare a pitcher and hitter to a ‘cat and mouse,’ or a chess match where one is trying to out-smart the other. We have some pitcher/hitter matchups to be on the lookout for today. Let’s take a look at the three most intriguing matchups on Wednesday's slate.
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Tanner Houck vs. Bo Bichette
The biggest news surrounding the Toronto Blue Jays right now is the massive extension that first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. signed. Toronto's starting shortstop Bo Bichette has made it clear that he wants to remain teammates with Vladdy. Wednesday will be a good start to Bichette's campaign to earn an extension of his own.
The Blue Jays will cap off a three game set against their division foes the Boston Red Sox. Tanner Houck will take the ball for Boston. In nine at bats against Houck, Bichette is 3 for 7 with three singles and has walked twice. Although these two have only faced each other a handful of times, expect Bichette to have done his homework to improve his numbers against Houck tomorrow.
Logan Allen vs. Andrew Vaughn
Being brutally honest, not many people have the desire to tune into a Chicago White Sox game in 2025. However, their game against the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday features a matchup that will be interesting to watch.
Logan Allen is the starter for Cleveland and White Sox outfielder Andrew Vaughn enjoys hitting off him. In 17 plate appearances, Vaughn has eight hits against Allen including four singles, three doubles and a home run. Hitting for average and power against a pitcher is a good indication that you have a favorable matchup.
Tyler Mahle vs. Ian Happ
The matchup of the day that has the hardest statistics to understand is in the Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs game. Right-hander Tyler Mahle will be the Game 3 starter for Texas and when Ian Happ steps in the box, we have no guess as to what will happen next (no pun intended).
Happ is an atrocious 2-for-28 against Mahle in his career but one of those hits was a round-tripper. Mahle has also walked Happ five times so that must mean Happ is able to recognize pitches against him pretty well, right? Wrong. Happ has struck out 12 times against Mahle in his career. The fact that Happ has two extra base hits, including a home run, against Mahle but a .087 batting average against him makes us curious what the outcome will be when these two square off on Wednesday.