Pitching matchups for Monday, April 5 MLB games

There are 13 games set for Monday in Major League Baseball, so that means we got 26 starting pitchers to choose from on the slate. The most notable guy on the hill is a two-time Cy Young winner. The New York Mets start their season after their series against the Washington Nationals was canceled. That means Jacob deGrom is on the mound for the Mets, who have World Series aspirations this season. Let’s go over some pitching matchups and then look at projected starters.

Best matchup: Dustin May vs. Frankie Montas

Nothing against deGrom, but going up against LHP Matt Moore isn’t really doing anything for us. So we’ll look at a matchup of young, promising starters in May vs. Montas. The A’s hurler struggled a bit in the spring and in 2020, the shortened season. Back in 2019, Montas went 9-2 with a 2.63 ERA and 10.2 K/9 in 16 starts. We’ll see which Montas shows up this season.

May posted 17 K’s in 13.2 IP over the Spring and enters 2021 with breakout potential. Ginger Thor pitched well in his rookie season in 2020, posting a sub-3.00 ERA over 12 appearances (10 starts). May has the type of stuff to make the jump into All-Star consideration with easy matchups pitching behind Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler and Julio Urias in the rotation. May might be one of the best fifth starters in MLB.

Sleeper matchup: Carlos Rodon vs. Justus Sheffield

This is a matchup of one former top prospect and one top prospect. Rodon was a highly-touted prospect out of NC State, going No. 3 overall in the 2014 MLB Draft. Sheffield also went in the first round back in 2014. Sheff started 10 games last season and pitched well, though he had some things to work on over the offseason. It was a rough spring for Sheffield, who is the 4th starter on a M’s team looking to make the playoffs this season. Rodon is a similar case at the back-end of the rotation for a White Sox team looking to contend. This matchup could be underrated. It also could be all offense.

Here’s a look at the pitching matchups for Monday’s 13-game MLB slate on April 5th.

Twins @ Tigers, 1:10 p.m.: Matt Shoemaker vs. Jose Urena
Blue Jays @ Rangers, 4:05 p.m.: Steven Matz vs. Mike Foltynewicz
Royals @ Indians, 4:10 p.m.: Danny Duffy vs. Logan Allen
Orioles @ Yankees , 6:35 p.m.: Jorge Lopez vs. Jordan Montgomery
Pirates @ Reds, 6:40 p.m.: JT Brubaker vs. Jose De Lion
Cardinals @ Marlins, 6:40 p.m.: Daniel Ponce de Leon vs. Trevor Rogers
Mets @ Phillies, 7:05 p.m.: Jacob deGrom vs. Matt Moore
Rays @ Red Sox, 7:10 p.m.: Michael Wacha vs. Nick Pivetta
Brewers @ Cubs, 7:40 p.m.: Brett Anderson vs. Trevor Williams
Astros @ Angels, 9:38 p.m.: Luis Garcia vs. Jose Quintana
Dodgers @ Athletics, 9:40 p.m.: Dustin May vs. Frankie Montas
White Sox @ Mariners, 10:10 p.m.: Carlos Rodon vs. Justus Sheffield
Giants @ Padres, 10:10 p.m.: Anthony DeSclafani vs. Adrian Morejon