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Posted at 11:20 AM EST. 

8:10 PM EST. Adalberto Mejia is not the target here. The target is fading the Rangers with A.J. Griffin starting but before we give you the details, we’ll tell you that Medjia will face a Rangers team that is last in the AL in road OPS at .687 and that has only a .680 OPS against LHP. This is a favorable matchup for Minnesota’s starter.

One of our fade angles this year has been to bet against starters off a long layoff and that applies here to A.J. Griffin. Griffin last pitched on May 26 against the Blue Jays and lasted 1.1 innings in that start. A.J. Griffin is only 29-years-old but it seems like he’s over 35 because he’s a broken day starter that always winds up on the DL. Griffin needed a Rust-Oleum break for May shoulder stiffness, otherwise pitched creakily in the rotation all of last season in 23 starts and in his eight starts this year. Recent repairs (2104 TJS, 2015 shoulder) and poor results kept his run times short (5 IP/start). His 2nd half struggles last year and his first eight starts this year (5.71 xERA, line-drive % jump, 38% hard-hit balls) warn that his recovery is still in progress. Starters coming off long layoffs have been absolutely torched this season in their first game back (even Madison Bumgarner) and this broken down starter figures to be no different. The Twinkies are tough at home while the Rangers are meek on the road.

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