For those that love seeing zeros on the scoreboard, Wednesday figures to be an exciting evening.
First and foremost, Jacob deGrom will get the ball for the New York Mets against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field at 7 p.m. ET. We don't yet know who will pitch for the Cubs, but frankly, that's not especially important. deGrom - now the odds-on National League MVP favorite - has a .056 ERA, 0.92 FIP and 3.7 fWAR. The two-time National League Cy Young Award winner could be opposed by a high schooler at this point and it would still be must-watch TV. It will be interesting to see how far Luis Rojas is willing to push deGrom, who had a clean MRI after leaving his last start with right elbow discomfort.
Right about the time that the Mets-Cubs game will be ending, the Los Angeles Dodgers will be hosting the Philadelphia Phillies at Chavez Ravine. In addition to marking the return of the Phillies red jerseys, the Dodgers-Phillies game will feature the best pitching matchup of the night: Clayton Kershaw vs. Zack Wheeler. Kershaw, a three-time National League Cy Young Award winner, is 8-5 with a 3.39 ERA, 2.73 FIP and 2.4 fWAR. It's Wheeler, though, who trails only deGrom in fWAR (he's at 3.2), while leading the National League with 90 1/3 innings.
Elsewhere, there's quite a few other All-Star candidates that will be on the mound Wednesday:
- Sandy Alcantara vs. St. Louis Cardinals in St. Louis at 1:15 p.m. ET: An All-Star in 2019, the Miami Marlins righty is again an All-Star candidate in 2021. The 25-year-old has a 3.39 ERA, 3.45 FIP and 1.5 fWAR in 14 starts this season.
- Gerrit Cole vs. Toronto Blue Jays in Buffalo at 7:07 p.m. ET: Cole is 7-3 with a 2.31 ERA, 2.10 FIP and 3.1 fWAR. He'll have his hands full against American League MVP candidate Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who is hitting .346 with 22 home runs, 56 RBIs and a 1.148 OPS.
- Aaron Civale vs. Baltimore Orioles in Cleveland at 7:10 p.m. ET: Audacy MLB Insider Jon Heyman suggested earlier this week that Civale should be an All-Star, and he's certainly got a case. Civale, 26, has a 9-2 record with a 3.17 ERA, 4.25 FIP and 0.9 fWAR.
- Ian Anderson vs. Boston Red Sox in Boston at 7:20 p.m. ET: The Braves have had a lot of bad luck with their starting rotation in 2021, but Anderson has helped to keep them afloat in 2021, with a 3.26 ERA, 3.47 FIP and 1.3 fWAR.
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