Baseball is a unique sport in more ways than one. For an MLB 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 Tuesday’s slate.
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Dylan Cease vs. Carlos Santana
Cleveland Guardians switch-hitter Carlos Santana is dangerous from both sides of the plate. The slugger has over 300 career home runs and over 1,000 RBIs. On Wednesday, he will face off against one of the better arms in the league, Dylan Cease of the undefeated San Diego Padres.
Santana has 28 plate appearances against Cease, recording only two hits (both singles) in those chances. Cease has issued six free passes to Santana but has also struck him out eight times. Overall, it seems like Cease has his number. It will be fun to see if that trend continues on Wednesday.
Tarik Skubal vs. Randy Arozarena
Detroit Tigers star pitcher Tarik Skubal put together a historic 2024 season by winning the AL Cy Young Award and capturing a Triple Crown. Skubal went 18-4 with a 2.39 ERA and 228 strikeouts a season ago. His first start of 2025 didn’t exactly go as planned when he gave up four earned runs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five innings.
Looking to get back on track on Wednesday, Skubal will have to face a hitter that has had some success against him in outfielder Randy Arozarena of the Seattle Mariners. Arozarena is 4 for 13 against Skubal, albeit four singles. Skubal has also struck Arozarena out five times. Given that Skubal is coming off a rough outing and Arozarena is off to a .158 start to 2025, something will have to give when these two face each other on Wednesday.
Sonny Gray vs. Mike Trout
When the Los Angeles Angels go for the sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, veteran starter Sonny Gray will be there trying to salvage the series. Gray will have to go through arguably one of the best players of all time in Mike Trout.
Trout and Gray have an interesting history with one another. Trout has a .270 batting average against Gray (10 for 37). While the average seems mediocre, four of Trout’s 10 hits against Gray have left the ballpark. When Trout doesn’t take him deep, contact seems to be hard to come by. As successful as Trout has been against Gray, the Cardinals hurler has also had his individual victories. Gray has struck out Trout 13 times in his career. That equals out to 33% of the time these two face each other, it ends with Trout going down on strikes. These statistics make this probably the most interesting matchup to watch for on Wednesday.