McDonald Ks eight in ND: Pirates pitcher James McDonald recorded his sixth quality start of the season on Tuesday night against the Mets. He allowed one run on four hits over seven innings of work. The right-hander gave up an RBI single to Mike Nickeas in the second before cruising over his final five frames. He was done after throwing 104 pitches, 71 for strikes, and left with the scored tied at 1-1. McDonald also struck out eight and walked two in the no-decision. (Updated 05/22/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/23/12).
Fantasy Analysis
McDonald has gotten off to a solid start this season as he has not allowed more than three runs in any of his nine starts. He also has a 58-to-18 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 57 1/3 innings. A lot of his success has to do with his ability to keep the ball in the park and the 27-year-old is on pace for a career campaign. Consider adding McDonald in deeper mixed leagues heading into Week 9 (May 28-June 3). His next outing is scheduled for Monday against the Reds, setting him up for two starts during the upcoming scoring period. When McDonald faced Cincinnati on May 5, he allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings in the win. (Updated 05/22/2012).
05/22/2012 21:59 Mets back dominant Dickey vs. Bucs
Lucas Duda smacked a go-ahead RBI single in the top of the eighth in support of starter R.A. Dickey and the New York Mets edged the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 on Tuesday night.
05/20/2012 08:36 Top 70 starters for Week 8
A lot to take into consideration before setting your pitching staffs for Fantasy Week 8. Our Al Melchior runs through his Top 70 starting options and has all the matchups.
05/17/2012 14:59 By the Numbers: Weighing in on the Chens
Which starting pitchers have ratios that suggest a correction -- good or bad -- is in their immediate future? Our Al Melchior shares some buy-low and sell-high starting pitchers in his By the Numbers.
James McDonald was able to make 30 starts for the first time in his career in 2011 and showed some signs of improvement in his first full season with the Pirates. He posted a 10.13 ERA over his first four outings before settling down in a big way. The right-hander would go 5-2 with a 3.08 ERA over his next 14 starts and finished the first half with a 4.42 mark. He towed the line down the stretch and ended up 9-9 with a 4.21 ERA in 31 starts. He posted a 142-to-78 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 171 innings pitched but surrendered 24 gopher balls. McDonald still has some decent upside at age 27 and should be in line for a career campaign as long as he can avoid another slow start. He all but has his spot in the rotation locked up so target McDonald in NL-only formats and some deeper mixed leagues on Draft Day. (Updated 1/12/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
= probable start