It’s always nice to come into a game after battering the opposing pitchers the night before. When the M’s are on, they can really hit, and that’s with Jean Segura and Mitch Haniger sidelined. Jake Odorizzi isn’t chopped liver, though tonight’s starter, Alex Cobb, is probably a bit better.
I’ve always thought of Cobb as an American version of Hisashi Iwakuma. His splitter doesn’t quite have Kuma’s movement, but he throws it a ton, and it plays well off of his four-seam and sinker. It doesn’t hurt that Cobb’s got a bit more oomph on his fastball, and it really doesn’t hurt that Cobb never really tried to throw a slider (forget the slider, Kuma.