The Wingnuts begin a four-game series at Sioux Falls tonight with a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. Wichita sends Leonard Landeros and Justin Young to the mound tonight.
Wichita needs at least a split in this series, which would keep them 1 1/2 games behind the Canaries in the American Association North Division. St. Paul is also 1 1/2 up on the Wingnuts, and the Saints are playing a series at last-place Sioux City, splitting a doubleheader last night.
A split keeps the Wingnuts in third place but puts them in a great position to make a move in the final week-plus of the first half. Wichita has series remaining with El Paso, Shreveport and Sioux City, three of the bottom feeders in the league. There will be plenty of opportunity to pick up ground in the standings in those series.
Sioux Falls has statistically the best offense in the league, but the Canaries didn’t impress me much during their series in Wichita last month. They swing at pretty much everything and it’s easy to get them out by just throwing strikes.
That’s why I see a split in today’s doubleheader — Young throws strikes while Landeros sometimes struggles in that area. I’ve noticed that walks in this league have a lot to do with wildness of the pitcher, rather than patience on the part of the hitters. If Landeros is in the zone, he should be OK.