FanGraphsLive: Dodgers at Cardinals on MLB The Show

Welcome to Virtual Opening Day 2.0! April 9 represents what would have been Opening Day after MLB’s initial delay to the start of the season.

By popular vote, today’s game, streamed live at 2 PM ET by Paul Sporer, Ben Clemens, and Dan Szymborski, will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers heading to St. Louis to take on Carlos Martínez and the Cardinals.

The Cardinals (7-5) are hoping to avoid a three-game sweep at the hands of the Dodgers. After today’s game, the Red Birds start a nine-game road trip against the Cubs, Dodgers, and Rockies. In the NL Central’s early going, the Cincinnati Reds (10-1) are at the top of the division thanks to a nine-game winning streak. Carlos Martínez had a rough outing against the Reds in his season debut, but earned a no-decision after a quality start against the Orioles last week. C-Mart has yet to walk a batter this season.

The Dodgers (8-4) stand tied at the top of the NL West with the Colorado Rockies, who have gone on a five-game winning streak since benching Ian Desmond. Reigning National League MVP Cody Bellinger’s cold start continues and after 12 games, his line still stands at a rough .187/.264/.229 with no homers and -0.4 WAR. Corey Seager, on the other hand, is off to the hottest start of his career and currently ranks third in the National League in WAR among position players.

Top 10 NL Position Players, 4/9/20
Player Team WAR
Starling Marte Arizona Diamondbacks 1.4
Eugenio Suárez Cincinnati Reds 1.1
Corey Seager Los Angeles Dodgers 1.0
Shogo Akiyama Cincinnati Reds 0.9
Joey Votto Cincinnati Reds 0.8
Nick Ahmed Arizona Diamondbacks 0.8
Howie Kendrick Washington Nationals 0.7
Ketel Marte Arizona Diamondbacks 0.6
Kolten Wong St. Louis Cardinals 0.6
Colin Moran Pittsburgh Pirates 0.6





Dan Szymborski is a senior writer for FanGraphs and the developer of the ZiPS projection system. He was a writer for ESPN.com from 2010-2018, a regular guest on a number of radio shows and podcasts, and a voting BBWAA member. He also maintains a terrible Twitter account at @DSzymborski.

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SucramRenrutmember
3 years ago

You guys really have voices for print. However, I am still very entertained by this, so thanks!

boofbonser26member
3 years ago
Reply to  Dan Szymborski

Really enjoyed this w/o the in-game announcers. Your booth is like listening to baseball with only color-commentators and no play-by-play and it’s just the content/silliness I want out of this.