Wednesday's we have plenty of pitchers with ERA's under 3.00 in their last 5 outings for a total of six pitchers. On the other side we have 4 starters with ERA's over 6.00 in their last 5 starts. We'll break down some surprising pitchers on both sides including Jon Niese and A.J. Burnett two New York pitchers.

Hot Starters:

Jon Niese (4-0, 33.2 IP, 2.67 ERA, 1.01 WHIP)

Niese has been great for the Mets and better at home where he has a 3-1 record and 3.19 RA that is better than his opponent Bronson Arroyo who has a 4.30 ERA and a 5-2 record on the road. Arroyo gave up 4 ER in 7 IP vs. the Mets at home earlier this year while the Mets Jon Niese gave up 12 hits and 4 ER in 6 IP. That is one obvious thing to be said about Niese which is rare in a young pitcher. This kid battles. A young pitcher giving up that many hits normally gets run from the game early and for more damage than just 4 ER.

With that said I think Niese will bounce back against the Reds at home as the Reds are just 6-13 in their last 19 road games vs. a LH starter and may be 6-14 in their last 20 if they lose Tuesday night to Johan Santana. Arroyo who is starting to pitch well as of late 2.84 ERA in his last three starts is just 7-16 in his last 23 starts vs. a team with a winning record. While the Mets and Niese are 7-0 in his last 7 home starts. I like the value you get here at home with the Mets who are 24-8 in their last 32 and are small favorites.

Josh Johnson (2-1, 37 IP, 1.22 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 38K's)

A regular on this list is a little bit questionable going up against the hot hitting Dodgers who seem to hit him pretty well. Despite Johnson being 4-1 in 5 career starts vs. the Dodgers he holds a 6.23 ERA lifetime against the Dodgers. He'll go up against Kuroda who will look to rebound after his worst start of the year @Arizona where he gave up 6 ER in just 1.2 IP.

Kuroda has been solid against the Marlins and usually rebounds from poor starts. He's got a 3-2 home record and the Dodgers are 6-2 in his home starts with a 3.55 ERA. Johnson has his work cut out for him despite having a 2.43 ERA on the road. The Dodgers have been hitting with a .292 average and have scored 6.49 runs per 9 vs. RHP.

Honorable Mention L5 Starts

Ryan Dempster (2-2, 33.1 IP, 2.97 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 35K's)
Max Scherzer (3-1, 34 IP, 2.12 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 39K's)
David Price (3-2, 33 IP, 2.73 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 37K's)
Colby Lewis (3-1, 35 IP, 2.83 ERA, 0.94 WHIP)

Cold Starters:

AJ Burnett (0-4, 23.2 IP, 8.75 ERA, 2.07 WHIP)

Burnett had a decent start in his last outing, but don't count on another one here as he's struggled against the A's the last two years with 15 ER in 24.1 IP and a 1-3 record. That's good for a 5.56 ERA. The Yankees go up against a lefty who they are always vulnerable against specifically on the road where they have a .250 average and 4.94 runs per 9 on the season vs. LHP.

Gio Gonzalez has been on a tear at home with a 2.36 ERA and the A's are 4-2 during those starts. He's got one start vs. the Yankees this year and it was not a good one, but I think he rebounds here. After 4.1 IP and 5 earned runs vs. the Yankees he looks to rebound at home. In that start he only gave up 3 hits, but it was the walks that killed him with 5.

Burnett 2.20 WHIP and a 8.56 ERA in his last three starts vs. Gio Gonzalez 0.46 ERA in his last three. Looks like a pitching mismatch to me considering Burnett has a 6.51 ERA on the road this year. The line is the A's at +108 but I am expecting it to move on Wednsday making the the A's favorites at some point.

Ice Cold:

Brad Brgessen (0-2, 17.1 IP, 7.79 ERA, 1.50 WHIP)
Kevin Slowey (2-2, 35.1 IP, 6.39 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
Dan McCutchen (1-2, 20 IP, 6.30 ERA, 1.60 WHIP)