Minnesota heads to Kansas City to take on the Royals after winning three of four games in Baltimore. The Twins will send Francisco Liriano to the mound. He's won two straight outings since the All-Star break giving up just two runs and 12 hits over 14.7 innings of work. Liriano has yet to face the Royals this season. In two outings against Kansas City last season, he went 1-1 giving up four runs and six hits in 8.7 innings of work. Yuniesky Betancourt (2-17), Billy Butler (3-14), Scott Podsednik (2-8), Willie Bloomquist (2-8), Mitch Maier (1-6), Brayan Pena (0-2), and Chris Getz (0-1) all have poor numbers against Liriano. The Royals are 9-12 against left-handed starters this season scoring just four runs per game against them. Minnesota's bullpen has an ERA of less than 3.00 on the road this season.

Zack Greinke will make his third start against the Twins this season. He is 0-2 against Minnesota with a 7.20 ERA giving up 10 runs and 15 hits over 10 innings of work. The righty struggles with Michael Cuddyer (7-25), Jason Kubel (7-22), Delmon Young (5-16), Denard Span (5-14), JJ Hardy (1-3), Danny Valencia (1-2), and Jason Repko (1-1). The Twins scored 24 runs in four games against Baltimore. They are 24-15 against the rest of the A.L. Central scoring 5.3 runs per game against them. Minnesota holds all the pitching and hitting edges in this game which means we expect them to get a solid road win tonight.

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The Reds can pick up a 3-game road sweep in Houston with a win on Sunday afternoon. They'll turn to rookie sensation Mike Leake who is 7-1 with a 3.45 ERA. On the road, he's been even better going 3-0 with a 2.66 ERA. The righty has faced Houston twice giving up just one run and 12 hits over 13 innings of work. Carlos Lee (0-6), Lance Berkman (0-6), Humberto Quintero (0-5), and Michael Bourn (1-5) all have poor numbers against Leake. The Astros are hitting just .229 in daytime games. As a team, they are hitting slightly under .240 overall and they

Detroit had a costly loss last night as both Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez left the game with injuries. Ordonez will be out 6-8 weeks while Guillen will be day to day with his injury. They'll play a doubleheader against the Blue Jays on Sunday with this selection coming in Game 1. Brett Cecil gets the start for Toronto. He's 8-5 with a 3.99 ERA this season. In his last three starts, Cecil is 1-0 with a 2.33 ERA giving up just five runs over his last 19.3 innings of work. Only Johnny Damon (0-3, 2 K's) has seen Cecil before, but Damon is questionable with a stomach ailment.

Armando Galarraga gets the start for the Tigers. He's 0-2 with a 6.50 ERA in his last three starts giving up 13 runs and 26 hits over 18 innings pitched. His last time out, he gave up four runs and nine hits in 7.3 innings of work at home against Texas. Lyle Overbay (2-5), John McDonald (1-3), and Edwin Encarnacion (1-2) all have had success against Galarraga in limited at-bats. Toronto

Madison Bumgarner has been a great story for the Giants this season. The lefty makes his 5th straight road start as San Francisco continues their series in Arizona. Bumgarner is 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA in his last three starts giving up just three runs and 16 hits over his last 19.7 innings pitched. That stretch includes wins at the Dodgers, Nationals, and Brewers. Arizona has struggled against left-handed pitching this season as they are hitting less than .250 as a unit against them. The Diamondbacks hit even worse against the rest of the N.L. West as their batting average is around .225 against those opponents.

Ian Kennedy makes the start for Arizona. The team is trying to limit his innings so don't expect him to go too deep in this one, especially since he has averaged just 5.3 innings per start in his last three outings. The righty is 5-7 with a 4.02 ERA in 19 overall starts this season. In two starts against San Francisco, Kennedy has given up three runs and eight hits in 14 innings of work. Aubrey Huff (2-7), Pablo Sandoval (2-6), and Buster Posey (3-3) all hit Kennedy well. San Francisco has had a winning road trip so far, and we expect their winning to continue tonight in Arizona.

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Detroit snapped their 7-game losing streak on Thursday when they beat the Blue Jays. They'll hope to build off of that win behind Rick Porcello tonight. The righty made an outstanding return from the minors his last time out. He gave up six hits and one run in eight innings pitched against the Indians. Porcello gave up six runs and 13 hits in 11 innings pitched last year against the Blue Jays. Vernon Wells (1-6), Aaron Hill (1-6), Lyle Overbay (1-4), and John Buck (0-2) all struggle to hit Porcello. The Blue Jays have lost three of their last four games on this road trip. Toronto is 24-26 on the road hitting slightly over .235 as a team. The Tigers bullpen is solid at home where they've only blown one save all season.

Toronto

The Pirates have enjoyed home cooking since the All-Star break. They'll conclude this homestand with a 3-game set against San Diego beginning on Friday night. Paul Maholm makes the start for the Pirates. He's 6-7 with a 4.18 ERA in 19 starts this season. The lefty is coming off a complete game shutout of the Astros in which he gave up just three hits. Last year, Maholm gave up only three runs in six innings to the Padres as Adrian Gonzalez (1-8), Chase Headley (1-4), Scott Hairston (0-3), Chris Denorfia (0-1), and Tony Gwynn (0-1) all struggle with Maholm. San Diego is hitting just .245 as a team on the road this season. Maholm is backed by a Pittsburgh bullpen that has a sub 3.50 ERA at home and an 11-2 record.

San Diego

San Francisco won two of three games from the Dodgers and they will now go to Arizona for a 4-game set with the Diamondbacks. Matt Cain is 7-8 with a 3.30 ERA in 19 starts this season. He's coming off a solid win against the Mets in San Francisco. Cain gave up two runs and four hits in seven innings to get that win. The righty defeated the Diamondbacks once already this season holding them to just one hit over nine innings pitched while striking out nine. Adam LaRoche (4-16), Mark Reynolds (4-16), Chris Young (2-15), Justin Upton (2-12), Chris Snyder (2-11), Gerardo Parra (1-8), Augie Ojeda (1-7), and Tony Abreu (0-4) all struggle against Cain.

Arizona

Seattle has been a house of horrors for Gavin Floyd over his career. The righty is 1-4 with a 7.41 ERA when facing the Mariners in Seattle. Earlier this season, Floyd took on the Mariners in Chicago and gave up five runs and seven hits in 6.3 innings of work. The righty is just 2-6 on the road this season and he is coming off a loss in Minnesota where he gave up seven hits and walked three in five innings of work. Ichiro (9-19), Jose Lopez (7-19), Chone Figgins (4-15), Franklin Gutierrez (3-9), Ryan Langerhans (1-3), and Milton Bradley (2-2) all hit Floyd well.

Despite the lack of run support, Felix Hernandez continues to pitch outstanding for the Mariners. He's 7-6 with a 2.90 ERA in 20 starts this season. At home, the righty is 5-3 with a 2.86 ERA. Last year, he faced the White Sox twice holding them scoreless over 15 innings of work while giving up just 10 hits with 19 strikeouts. AJ Pierzynski (4-16), Omar Vizquel (0-8), Carlos Quentin (1-8), Juan Pierre (0-4), Andruw Jones (0-3), Gordon Beckham (0-3), Brent Lillibridge (0-2), and Ramon Castro (0-1) have failed to hit King Felix well. Seattle holds the pitching and hitting edges in this game, and we expect them to get a solid home win tonight.

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Florida took one on the chin against Colorado on Tuesday night. The two teams will play game three of their series on Wednesday. Ricky Nolasco gets the start for the Marlins. He's 9-7 with a 4.66 ERA and 102 strikeouts against just 23 walks. The righty defeated the Rockies in Coors Field back in April while holding them to just one run and seven hits in eight innings of work. In that game, he struck out nine and walked none. Nolasco is 4-0 in four starts against the Rockies in his career. Clint Barmes (1-9), Ian Stewart, (1-9), Carlos Gonzalez (1-7), Ryan Spilborghs (0-5), and Dexter Fowler (0-1) all struggle against Nolasco. The Rockies are only 20-26 on the road this season where they've struggled to get things going offensively.

Colorado

Tim Lincecum gets the start for the Giants as they continue their series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers. He's 2-1 with a 2.05 ERA in his last three starts and he

The Rangers and Tigers continue their series on Tuesday night as Texas sends one of their most consistent pitchers to the mound. Tommy Hunter is 6-0 with a 2.39 ERA in his last eight starts. The righty is 2-0 with a 2.75 ERA in his last three outings winning in Boston his last time out. Last year, he defeated the Tigers in Texas holding them to one run and five hits in seven innings of work. Carlos Guillen (0-3), Gerald Laird (0-3), and Miguel Cabrera (0-3), are looking for their first hits off of Hunter. Detroit is hitting under .250 as a team over their last eight games, and outside of last night, their offense has really struggled as of late.

Detroit

The Red Sox hit the road to Oakland after losing three of four games at home to Texas. They'll send enigmatic Dice-K to the mound for game one of the series. He's 6-3 with a 4.56 ERA in 12 starts this season. The righty is 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA in his last three starts giving up 10 runs and 18 hits over his last 17 innings pitched. The righty gave up three runs and 10 hits to Oakland in Boston already this season. His last outing in Oakland, Dice-K gave up five runs and five hits in one inning of work. As a team, the A's have hit .300 in their career against Matsuzaka. The A's have won five straight games while scoring 40 runs in those games. Boston's bullpen is 4-9 with a 5.60 ERA on the road this season.

Oakland

Two teams going in opposite directions meet in Kansas City on Monday night. The Blue Jays have won three straight games and six of their last eight games overall. They'll send Brett Cecil to the hill tonight. He's 8-5 with a 3.97 ERA in 15 starts this season. The lefty is 5-2 with a 2.92 ERA on the road. He'll face the Royals for the first time in his career which gives him a nice advantage in this game. Kansas City is 18-24 at home and 7-11 against left-handed starters. They've lost six straight games including three straight at home to the Oakland Athletics.

Kyle Davies will be making his first start for the Royals since July 7th. He's 4-6 with a 5.57 ERA in 17 starts this season. Davies is not a fan of pitching at home where he's just 1-4 with a 5.35 ERA. The righty fell to Toronto already once this season giving up four runs and six hits in six innings of work. Overall, he's 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA in three career starts against the Blue Jays. Vernon Wells (3-8), Lyle Overbay (5-8), Fred Lewis (2-4), and John Buck (1-2) all hit Davies well. Toronto has won three straight games as they swept the Orioles in Baltimore, and come into tonight in much better current form than Kansas City.

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The Reds can sweep the Rockies with a win on Sunday afternoon. They'll send surprising rookie Travis Wood to the mound who is looking for his first career victory. Wood is coming off an effort where he gave up just one hit in nine innings pitched against the Phillies in Philadelphia. He's making his first start at home this season, and he'll face a Rockies team that has yet to find their offense on the road. They are 18-25 away from Coors Field hitting close to .230 as a team. Colorado has lost three straight games as their pitching and hitting have been non-existent.

Aaron Cook gets the start for Colorado. He's 0-5 with a 6.70 ERA away from home in nine starts this season. Cook has managed to walk more batters (23) than he has strikeouts (22) away from Coors Field. The righty is 2-0 with a 5.35 ERA against the Reds in his career. Scott Rolen (5-14), Brandon Phillips (6-14), Orlando Cabrera (5-12), Joey Votto (4-9), Laynce Nix (3-6), Jonny Gomes (4-6), Miguel Cairo (1-3), and Corky Miller (1-3) all have great numbers against Cook. At home, the Reds are 29-19 and hit over .290 as a team while averaging over five runs per game. Cincinnati holds the pitching and hitting edges here so we expect them to get a solid home win this afternoon.

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Cliff Lee will make his second start for the Texas Rangers when they take the field against the Red Sox in Fenway Park. Lee is 5-2 with a 2.24 ERA in seven road starts while walking only five batters overall. Lee shutout the Red Sox over eight innings last year giving up just five hits while striking out five as well. Adrian Beltre (4-26), David Ortiz (5-21), Kevin Youkilis (3-15), Kevin Cash (1-6), and Ryan Shealy (0-4) all struggle against Lee. Boston has lost two straight games to the Rangers as their offense hasn't quite shown up yet. Lee is backed by a bullpen that has an ERA around 3.20 on the road.

Boston

The Blue Jays are 7-0 against the Orioles this season. They

Kansas City

Pittsburgh

The National League finally has the pieces to snap their 13-game losing streak to the American League. This season has been dominated by great pitching slowing down great hitting. An example of that is the season N.L. starter Ubaldo Jimenez has put up. He's 15-1 in the tough N.L. West with a 2.20 ERA. Backing him up are Cy Young candidates Josh Johnson, Adam Wainwright, Chris Carpenter, and Roy Halladay. Manager Charlie Manuel has put Arthur Rhodes and Evan Meek on the team along with Hong Chi Kuo to pick up the tough outs in the middle innings. If they have a lead late in the game, the N.L. can turn to Brian Wilson, Jonathan Broxton, and Matt Capps to close it out.

David Price starts for the American League and he's 12-4 with a 2.42 ERA. He's backed up by a wide array of talent with Cliff Lee and Jon Lester from the left side, and Trevor Cahill and Fausto Carmona from the right. The big difference is that Cahill and Carmona along with New York

Carlos Silva will start Sunday night baseball for the Cubs as they take on the Dodgers in Los Angeles tonight. Cubs manager Lou Pinella said, "I don't know how long he'll go. Let's see if he gives us four, five, six innings, and we'll be very happy." This doesn

Colorado has won six games in a row and they can close out their homestand in style with another win on Sunday. Jeff Francis gets the start for the Rockies today and he is 2-3 with a 5.12 ERA on the year striking out 28 in 58 innings pitched. The lefty has been good against San Diego in two of his last three starts against them; Francis has given up just one run and nine hits in 14 innings of work in two of those games. Adrian Gonzalez (4-26), David Eckstein (1-12), Chase Headley (1-5), Chris Denorfia (0-4), and Oscar Salazar (0-1) all have poor numbers against the Rockies starter. The Padres are not in good current form as they've lost four of their last five games.

San Diego

Houston picked up another win against the N.L. Central on Saturday as they defeated the Cardinals. These two wrap up their series on Sunday as the Astros send one of their hotter pitchers to the mound. Wandy Rodriguez has won three straight starts giving up just two earned runs and 15 hits over his last 20 innings pitched. The lefty has always been a better pitcher at home than on the road, and his numbers were ugly against the Cardinals in two previous starts this season, but both of them were in St. Louis. Albert Pujols (8-36), Yadier Molina (7-32), Brendan Ryan (4-23), Aaron Miles (2-11), Jason LaRue (2-9), Colby Rasmus (0-9), and Nick Stavinoha (1-6) all struggle against the lefty. The Cardinals are now 19-26 on the road this season as they

Houston's 3-game winning streak was snapped on Friday night. They'll look to bounce back against St. Louis' fifth starter in Jeff Suppan. He's 0-3 with a 5.65 ERA in six starts this season. The righty has lost two straight games giving up six runs and 16 hits in 10.7 innings of work. Suppan is 4-8 with a 4.53 ERA in 19 career starts against the Astros. Lance Berkman (15-40), Pedro Feliz (9-25), Hunter Pence (4-14), Chris Johnson (1-3), and Jason Michaels (1-2) have all had success against Suppan. The righty is backed by a shell shocked bullpen whose ERA is close to 4.50 on the road. They are 3-9 as a unit with three blown saves this season.

Astros starter Brett Myers has yet to lose at home this season going 4-0 with a 2.68 ERA in eight starts in Houston. The righty is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in two starts against the Cardinals with both taking place in St. Louis. Myers gave up four runs and 12 hits in 13 innings of work in those two outings. Yadier Molina (5-23), Randy Winn (2-10), Colby Rasmus (0-8), Brendan Ryan (0-4), and Nick Stavinoha (0-1) all struggle with Myers. The Cardinals have lost six of their last nine games, and they are 1-3 on their current 6-game road trip. The Astros are 18-13 against the rest of the N.L. Central while averaging over four runs per game against those teams. Houston holds a huge pitching edge in tonight

The Giants 4-game winning streak was snapped on Friday night at the hands of Stephen Strasburg. Tonight they

The Marlins close out their West Coast road trip with a final series in Arizona against the Diamondbacks beginning on Thursday night. Anibal Sanchez gets the start for Florida. He's 7-5 with a 3.35 ERA in 16 starts this season. Sanchez last faced the Diamondbacks in 2008 when he gave up four runs and eight hits in 6.3 innings of work. Kelly Johnson (2-10), Miguel Montero (1-5), and Chris Young (1-4) have poor numbers against Sanchez. As a team, Arizona has lost five straight home games (19-23 at home) with their offense deserting them during this time.

Arizona

Games are never over at Coors Field as Colorado proved in the 9th inning last night. St. Louis must try and bounce back after that disastrous finish which saw the Rockies score nine runs in the bottom of the ninth to pick up the 12-9 win. Aaron Cook is a fan of home games for the Rockies. He's 3-0 with a 2.64 ERA in seven starts at Coors Field. He is coming off a 7-3 win over the Giants at home where he gave up three runs and seven hits in 6.3 innings of work. Last year, Cook gave up one run and eight hits in 13 innings pitched against St. Louis. Randy winn (5-29), Felipe Lopez (3-15), Skip Schumaker (1-10), Aaron Miles (0-9), Matt Holliday (1-6), Tyler Greene (0-3), and Colby Rasmus (0-2) all struggle against the righty.

St. Louis

The Pirates continue their series with the Astros in Houston on Wednesday night. Daniel McCutchen makes his 5th start of the season. While his numbers are not pretty right now, he is coming off his best outing of the year. McCutchen gave up two runs and six hits in 5.3 innings of work at home against the Phillies. Now he'll take on an Astros team that isn't very good offensively. Houston is 17-24 at home where they are averaging just over three runs per game. The Astros have lost three of their last four games as they

Colorado begins a 3-game series with the Cardinals on Tuesday night. The Rockies took three of four games from the Giants including a wild 15-inning win on Sunday afternoon. Lefty Jeff Francis looks to get back on track after struggling in San Diego. Francis is 1-1 with a 3.58 ERA in five home starts. He's had success against St. Louis in his career going 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in seven outings against the Cardinals. Yadier Molina (2-14), Jason LaRue (2-12), and Albert Pujols (3-12) have poor numbers against Francis. St. Louis is just 18-22 on the road where they average 3.9 runs per game.

Blake Hawksworth makes his fourth start for the Cardinals. He's 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in three outings so far for St. Louis. Hawksworth's longest outing was going six innings his last time out. He took the loss in that game giving up three runs and six hits in six innings pitched against the Milwaukee Brewers. Hawksworth has yet to start against the Rockies in his career. He'll face a Rockies team that is 26-15 at home while hitting .291 as a unit. Their offense is in terrific current form as they are hitting .296 and averaging 6.3 runs per game over their last seven games. Colorado rates the pitching and hitting edge here, and we expect them to get a solid home win tonight.

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Jered Weaver looks to continue his dominance of the White Sox when the Angels continue their series in Chicago on Tuesday night. Weaver has faced Chicago five times in his career going 4-0 with a 0.52 ERA. The righty has given up just one run and eight hits in his last three outings against them. Weaver has been hot in general going 2-0 with a 0.86 ERA in his last three starts. Over that span, he has struck out 28 while walking only three. Alex Rios (3-14), AJ Pierzynski (3-13), Paul Konerko (1-11), Omar Vizquel (2-8), Andruw Jones (0-7), Carlos Quentin (0-6), and Alexei Ramirez (0-4) all struggle against Weaver.

Chicago

The Mets return home after splitting a series in Washington with the Nationals. They'll host the Reds who took three of four from the reeling Cubs. Mike Pelfrey enjoys pitching at home where he's 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA in nine starts this season. He's 10-2 with a 2.96 ERA in 16 starts overall. Pelfrey defeated the Reds twice last season and is 3-1 against them overall in his career. Joey Votto (2-8), Ramon Hernandez (0-4), Laynce Nix (0-3), and Paul Janish (0-1) all struggle with Pelfrey. The Reds are only hitting around .258 on the road and they figure to have problems against Pelfrey in this game.

Cincinnati

Tampa Bay welcomes a banged-up Boston Red Sox team to town for a 3-game series beginning on Monday night. It will be a rematch as Dice-K takes on Matt Garza. Garza is 9-5 with a 4.08 ERA in 16 starts this season. His last time out, he got the win over Boston giving up three runs and six hits in seven innings of work. Garza is 2-1 against the Red Sox this season and 9-3 against them in his career. Marco Scutaro (10-40), Kevin Youkilis (6-31), David Ortiz (5-26), JD Drew (3-21), Mike Cameron (0-7), Darnell McDonald (0-4), and Bill Hall (0-3) all struggle against Garza. Boston has scored just 17 runs in their last four games and is coming off a 6-1 loss at home to Baltimore on Sunday afternoon.

Daisuke Matsuzaka took the loss against the Rays his last time out. He gave up three runs and four hits in six innings pitched to Tampa. Overall, he's 3-5 with a 4.09 ERA in 12 career starts against his divisional rival. Last year, he took the loss against the Rays giving up four runs and nine hits in 5.3 innings of work. Carlos Pena (6-20), Kelly Shoppach (3-8), Evan Longoria (4-8), Willy Aybar (2-6), Sean Rodriguez (1-3), and John Jaso (1-3) all have success against Matsuzaka. Tampa Bay is 16-9 against the Red Sox at home over the past three seasons, and since Boston's bullpen has eight losses and seven blown saves with a 6.14 ERA on the road, Tampa Bay rates the edge in tonight

Despite losing yesterday, the Rockies hit Barry Zito well after getting six runs and eight hits off the left hander. Today they

Texas

Clayton Mortensen will make his season debut for the A's as they continue their series in Cleveland with the Indians. Mortensen was 10-2 with a 3.58 ERA in 15 starts with Triple-A Sacramento. While there, he struck out 77 while walking only 31. Mortensen defeated the Indians last September giving up two runs and four hits in five innings of work. Jhonny Peralta (0-3), Travis Hafner (0-1), and Matt LaPorta (0-1) are all hitless against Mortensen.

Cleveland

The Giants have lost six straight games (1-8 their last 9) as they play the Rockies in Colorado on Friday night. Tim Lincecum takes the mound for the Giants tonight; he's 8-3 with a 3.13 ERA in 16 starts this season. Lincecum is coming off a short three inning start against the Red Sox where he gave up four runs and five hits. The righty has already lost to the Rockies this season giving up four runs and six hits in 5.7 innings of work. Todd Helton (10-22), Seth Smith (5-17), and Chris Ianetta (6-12) have good numbers against Lincecum. The Rockies are 24-14 at home where they are hitting close to .290 as a team. Colorado

Tampa Bay picked up a nice road win yesterday scoring one run in the 9th and 10th innings to beat the Twins. They continue their series in Minnesota on Friday night as David Price, 11-3 with a 2.44 ERA, gets the start. Price is 6-2 with a 2.88 ERA in eight road starts this season. He defeated the Twins in his lone start against them last season. In that game, he gave up one run and five hits striking out 11 in 5.7 innings of work. Justin Morneau (1-4), Michael Cuddyer (0-3), Delmon Young (0-3), Jason Kubel (0-1), and Matt Tolbert (0-1) struggled with the lefty. The Rays are now 26-13 on the road which is one of the best away records in the majors.

Scott Baker is 6-7 with a 4.97 ERA for the Twins. He is not in good current form as he

Despite their loss last night, the Angels are still in good current form as they

Fresh off a 4-2 homestand, Cincinnati hits the road to begin a series in Chicago against the Cubs. Travis Wood makes his first career start for the Reds. He has been particularly nasty in AAA giving up just two earned runs over his last four starts. Wood had a 3.12 ERA and a 97:23 K:BB ratio in AAA. He'll face a Cubs team that managed to score only four runs off of the Pirates mediocre staff. And in fact, they

The Angels and Rangers play Game 2 of their series on Wednesday night. Texas is sending 26 year old Omar Beltre to the mound to make his major league debut. He battled elbow problems in spring training and was sent to AAA Oklahoma City. He posted a 0-5 record with a 2.39 ERA in 15 appearances including five starts. Beltre had visa issues which didn

Zack Greinke is slowly rounding into his Cy Young form as the Royals host the White Sox on Wednesday night. Greinke is 2-0 with a 2.62 ERA in his last three starts giving up nine runs and 18 hits in 24 innings of work. During that span, he defeated the Cardinals and Reds. Paul Konerko (7-51), Alexei Ramirez (3-20), Carlos Quentin (4-17), Mark Kotsay (1-5), and Brent Lillibridge (0-2) all struggle at the plate against Greinke. The White Sox have lost two of three after their 11-game winning streak was snapped. They are just 13-16 in the division while hitting .244 against A.L. Central pitching.

Chicago

The Angels can close the gap on Texas when they host the Rangers beginning on Tuesday night. Joel Pineiro is finally pitching like the Angels had hoped going 3-0 with a 1.11 ERA in his last three starts. He is 4-2 with a 2.25 ERA in eight starts at home this season. Pineiro hasn't faced Texas since 2006, and only four Rangers have faced him with Nelson Cruz (0-3) having the least success. Texas is still only 18-17 on the road where they are hitting .257 as a team and averaging only 4.4 runs per game.

Texas

The Mets and Marlins begin a 3-game series in Puerto Rico on Monday night. R.A. Dickey gets the start for New York. The knuckleballer is 6-0 with a 2.33 ERA in seven starts this season. He has already defeated the Marlins once this season giving up three runs and seven hits in 6.3 innings of work. Cody Ross (1-5), Dan Uggla (0-5), and Brett Hayes (0-3) all struggle to hit Dickey. The Marlins are on a 4-game losing streak as they

A pair of stud left handers square-off tonight in Los Angels as the Dodgers and Yankees wrap up their 3-game series. New York

The White Sox have won 11 straight and they

Cincinnati

The White Sox are blistering hot right now as they took game one of their series with the Cubs. Carlos Silva is charged with slowing them down. He's already taken a loss to the White Sox; he gave up two runs and seven hits in seven innings of work earlier this season. Silva has lost six straight starts to the White Sox, and he's also dealing with a sore hamstring which caused him to get his start pushed back to tonight as he was originally scheduled to face Seattle on Thursday. Paul Konerko (15-47), AJ Pierzynski (8-29), Omar Vizquel (4-8), and Gordon Beckham (1-3) have had the most success against Silva. ??

Freddy Garcia has won five straight starts for the White Sox. He's given up three runs or less in four of his last five games and in seven of his last nine starts. The righty is 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA in five career starts against the Cubs. Alfonso Soriano (5-20), Derrek Lee (2-8), Xavier Nady (0-3), and Marlon Byrd (0-2) are the only hitters to have seen Garcia. The Cubs are hitting below .190 as a team against right-handed starters over their last 11 games. They have also scored a total of just four runs in four games on their current road trip so far. The White Sox hold big pitching and offensive edges here, and we expect them to get a solid home win tonight.

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Milwaukee has finally played well at home as they continue their series with the Mariners in Miller Park. The Brewers have won five straight games and seven of their last 10 games. They'll face Seattle

Baltimore's bats have come alive as of late scoring 29 runs over their last five games as they get set to host the Nationals on Friday night. J.D. Martin gets the start for the Nationals in this one. He is 0-3 with a 3.55 ERA in four starts this season. The righty got touched up for seven runs and nine hits in his last road outing against the light-hitting Indians. Baltimore is hitting over .260 as a team in their last eight games. Martin is backed by a Washington bullpen that is 3-11 on the road sporting a 4.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.54.

Young stud Jake Arrieta makes his fourth career start for the Orioles. He comes into tonight

Hisanori Takahashi has been a great find for the Mets. He is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA in six starts this season. Takahashi has given up just one run and 10 hits in his last 13 innings of work, defeating the Orioles and Yankees in his last two games. Not a single Detroit hitter has faced the left hander which gives him nice advantage here. With their loss last night, the Tigers fell to 13-21 on the road this season.

Detroit

A managerial change didn't matter to the Marlins who out-slugged the Orioles on Wednesday night for the second straight night. These two teams wrap-up their series on Thursday as Nate Robertson (5-5 with a 4.67 ERA) gets the start for Florida. The lefty won his last time out slowing down the Rays for six innings. Robertson is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA in nine career starts against Baltimore. Nick Markakis (3-17), Corey Patterson (2-10), Ty Wigginton (1-5), Cesar Izturis (0-3), Lou Montanez (0-3), Adam Jones (0-1), and Matt Wieters (0-1) have struggled against the Marlins starter. Baltimore is 11-23 at home and 6-19 against left-handed starters as they score just three runs per game against southpaws.

Baltimore

Minnesota

R.A. Dickey has been terrific for the Mets this season. He is 5-0 with a 2.82 ERA in six starts. Dickey has given up just 13 runs in 38.3 innings of work. The righty will take on the Tigers on Wednesday night. The knuckleballer faced the Tigers in 2008 when he got a no-decision in a 3-2 win. Dickey gave up two runs and four hits in six innings of work in that game. Johnny Damon (2-10) has the worst numbers against the righty. The Tigers are 13-20 on the road scoring just 4.1 runs per game.

The road has also been unkind to Jeremy Bonderman. He is 1-2 with a 6.03 ERA in six outings away from Detroit. In his last road start against Kansas City, he gave up seven runs and 11 hits in 5.7 innings of work. The righty faced the Mets in 2007 giving up six runs and eight hits in six innings against them. David Wright (1-3) has had the most success in limited at-bats against Bonderman. The Mets are now 25-10 at home, and also 10-3 in interleague play. New York has scored 53 runs over their last eight games. Detroit went thru a lot of their bullpen on Tuesday night so they'll need to get innings out of Bonderman tonight which leaves them at a big disadvantage. The Mets are laying a cheap price here considering their dominance at home and Detroit

Seattle is riding a four game winning streak as they begin a series with the Cubs on Tuesday night. Jason Vargas gets the start for Seattle; he has 11 quality starts in 13 tries which ties him for sixth in the majors in that category. He's 4-1 with a 2.61 ERA in eight starts at home this season. The lefty gave up one run and five hits in 7.7 innings of work against St. Louis his last time out. He faced the Cubs three times as a member of the Marlins from 2005-2007. Marlon Byrd (2-11), Alfonso Soriano (1-4), Ryan Theriot (1-4), Chad Tracy (0-3), and Derrek Lee (0-2) all struggle against Vargas. As a team, the Cubs are just 13-20 on the road hitting .249 away from Wrigley Field. Vargas is backed by a bullpen that has a 3.87 ERA at home and only two blown saves this season.

Ryan Dempster gets the start for the Cubs. He is 5-5 with a 3.67 ERA on the season. On the road, he's only 2-2 with a 3.77 ERA in seven starts. Dempster is averaging 6.1 innings per outing in his last three starts, meaning a Cubs

Minnesota heads to Milwaukee after taking two of three from the Phillies in Philadelphia. It's not like the Brewers have much homefield advantage as they are just 11-19 in Miller Park. Chris Narveson gets the start for the Brewers and he's 4-4 with a 5.53 ERA in 10 starts this season. He has given up at least four earned runs in four of his last five starts. The Twins hitters are 2-5 against the lefty with Brendan Harris and Matt Tolbert providing the hits. Minnesota is 13-9 against left-handed starters and 17-16 on the road. They are hitting .296 in their last seven games scoring 5.3 runs per game. The Twins are also 4-2 in their last six trips to Milwaukee and 11-4 overall against the Brewers over the last three seasons.

Scott Baker is coming off his best start of the season striking out 12 Rockies in a 2-1 win in Minnesota. The righty is 6-5 with a 4.41 ERA in 14 starts this season. He's 4-2 in six career starts against Milwaukee including a 6-4 win last season on the road. Craig Counsell (2-14), Ryan Braun (2-13), Corey Hart (2-9), and George Kotteras (0-1) have poor numbers against Baker. Milwaukee has lost three of their last four games, and they've also lost three of their last five home games. We expect Minnesota to get a solid road win in this game tonight.

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Cincinnati comes into this game after getting swept in Seattle after their offense scored just one run in the 3-game set. Tonight they travel to Oakland to take on the Athletics. Oakland won only two games on their nine-game A.L. roadtrip, but the Athletics are much better at home. Oakland is 21-13 in front of their fans hitting .270 as a team. Gio Gonzalez gets the start for Oakland and he is 4-2 with a 2.90 ERA in six home starts. Orlando Cabrera (1-4), Miguel Cairo (0-2), and Scott Rolen (0-2) all have poor histories against Gonzalez. Cincinnati is now 11-11 against left- handed starters and just 14-16 on the road. They are hitting just .236 over their last eight games. Oakland's bullpen has a 2.83 ERA at home and they

Colorado will send Jeff Francis to the mound on Saturday night. The lefty is 2-2 with a 3.29 ERA in six starts including 1-1 in four starts at home. Francis hasn't faced Milwaukee since 2008, but Jim Edmonds (1-12), Prince Fielder (2-8), and Rickie Weeks (1-4) all struggle against the left hander. As a team, Milwaukee is 9-10 against southpaws hitting just .251 against them. The Brewers are struggling offensively hitting slightly over .220 as a team over their last eight games. Francis is also backed by a solid Rockies bullpen that has a 3.24 ERA this season.

Milwaukee

Los Angeles

Jake Peavy will make the start for the White Sox as they take on the Nationals on Saturday afternoon. Peavy is dealing with shoulder soreness and fluid which will have to be monitored all season. He was expected to start on Friday, but that was pushed back when he wasn't ready to go. The righty is 5-5 with a 5.62 ERA this season. On the road, Peavy is 3-2 with a 6.26 ERA in seven starts. He hasn't faced the Nationals since 2007 when he gave up six runs and 16 hits in 14 innings over two starts. Cristian Guzman (6-14), Ryan Zimmerman (3-10), Nyjer Morgan (2-3), and Mike Morse (1-2) all hit Peavy well. Despite losing yesterday, Washington is 18-13 at home where they are hitting nearly .290 as a squad.

Washington

R.A. Dickey has been an outstanding story for the Mets so far this season. He is 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA in five starts this season including a 2-0 mark on the road. He last faced the Indians way back in 2004 giving up one run and six hits in 6.7 innings of work. Travis Hafner (1-6), Jhonny Peralta (0-5), Russell Branyan (0-1), Andy Marte (0-1), Shelley Duncan (0-1), and Luis Valbuena (0-1) all struggle to hit Dickey. The Indians have lost three straight games and they are just 12-19 at home. They are hitting just .235 against right-handed pitching this season as well.

Cleveland

After being swept at home by the Angels, the Dodgers can do the same to Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon. John Ely makes his 10th start of the season for Los Angeles. He's 3-3 with a 3.37 ERA so far in his young career. Ely has struggled a bit giving up eight runs in his last two outings combined, but he has still been solid this season. Ely is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA in three starts on the road. He'll face a Cincinnati team averaging just four runs per game in 21 day games this season. The Reds have scored just five runs over their last three games, and they are 3-6 on their current homestand. The Dodgers bullpen sports a 3.56 ERA on the road and will be able to support Ely if he needs help.

Cincinnati

The Astros turn to Roy Oswalt to try and end their slide as Houston takes on Kansas City tonight. Oswalt is 4-8 with a 3.16 ERA in 13 starts this season. The righty is 3-1 with a 1.24 ERA on the road and he

The Blue Jays hope that Ricky Romero can help them leave San Diego with a victory. Romero is 5-3 with a 3.29 ERA in 13 starts this season. He's managed to give up seven runs and 18 hits in his last 22 innings pitched. Only one Padre has faced the tough left hander and that was Scott Hairston who went 1 for 3. The Padres are hitting only .247 as a team during the daytime, and we don

Tampa Bay takes their show on the road to Atlanta to face the Braves. The Rays are pretty solid on the road going 22-8 away from Tropicana Field as they are averaging almost six runs per game. The Rays are hitting over .300 as a team in their last seven games so they'll be bringing hot bats to Atlanta as well. Atlanta

Aaron Harang gets the start for Cincinnati bringing a 5-5 record into the contest with a 5.16 ERA. But even with two straight solid home outings, Harang is just 4-3 with a 4.44 ERA in eight home starts. The righty was already torched once by the Dodgers this season giving up seven runs and 10 hits in 5.7 innings pitched. Before that, Harang gave up five runs and 10 hits in five innings of work to Los Angeles in 2008. Multiple Dodger hitters love facing Harang including Ronnie Belliard (9-22), Rafael Furcal (7-15), Manny Ramirez (6-11), Russell Martin (6-11), Andre Ethier (3-11), Blake DeWitt (2-6), and Garret Anderson (2-3). The Dodgers are scoring almost five runs per game on the road, and with the Reds bullpen having a 5.03 ERA at home with eight blown saves this season, the Dodgers offense should do a lot of damage in this game.

Hiroki Kuroda goes for Los Angeles with a 5-4 record and a 3.30 ERA. The righty is coming off seven shutout innings of the Cardinals at home giving up just four hits. Kuroda was on the winning end of Harang's outing this season in Cincinnati. The righty went 5.7 innings giving up six runs (three earned) and seven hits. Orlando Cabrera (1-5), Corky Miller (0-3), Jonny Gomes (0-3), Ramon Hernandez (0-2), and Miguel Cairo (0-1) all struggle to hit Kuroda. The Reds are only 3-4 so far on their current homestand losing two of three to the Kansas City Royals. Brandon Phillips is questionable for the game with leg cramps, and if he's out, that would be an important piece missing from Cincinnati

The Blue Jays head to San Diego where the Padres are fresh off winning two of three from the Seattle Mariners. Toronto will send Shaun Marcum to the hill where he's glad to not be facing Tampa Bay. The Blue Jays starter took two losses at the hands of the Rays in two straight outings. Overall, the righty is 5-3 with a 3.38 ERA in 13 starts this season. He's never faced the Padres in his career, and only three San Diego hitters have seen Marcum and they are Jerry Hairston Jr. (1-3), Yorvit Torrealba (1-1), and Oscar Salazar (0-1). The Padres are hitting .248 as a team and have split their last six games.

San Diego

Kansas City

The Blue Jays play game two of their series with the Rockies in Colorado. Brandon Morrow gets the start for Toronto, and he's pitching well going 1-0 with a 2.37 ERA in his last three starts. He managed to hold the Yankees, Rays, and Angels to a combined five runs and 10 hits in 19 innings of work. Morrow gave up one run and three hits in a three inning stint at Coors Field last year. Rockies hitters are 5 for 22 against Morrow in their careers, and Colorado is hitting just .251 against right-handed pitching this season.

Jason Hammel is 3-3 with a 5.23 ERA in nine starts for the Rockies. He's been better as of late going 2-0 in his last three starts. Upon closer inspection, he did it against weak hitting Houston, San Francisco, and inconsistent Arizona. The Blue Jays are familiar with Hammel from his days with Tampa Bay. The righty has a career 4.95 ERA against Toronto. Vernon Wells (3-8), Fred Lewis (6-7), Jose Molina (2-4), and Jeremy Reed (1-1) all have had good hitting numbers against Hammel. Toronto is getting a square price in this game, and we expect them to get a nice road win in Colorado tonight.

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The Atlanta Braves are regretting their free agent deal with Derek Lowe who has been a complete bust for the Braves. Lowe is 8-5 with a 5.04 ERA this season. On the road, he's 3-3 with a 6.82 ERA, 19 strikeouts, and 19 walks. He's coming off a seven run, eight hit outing against Arizona on the road. Lowe is a woeful 0-4 with an 8.31 ERA in six career starts against the Twins. Granted, his last outing against them was in 2006, but those are still horrific numbers. Justin Morneau (4-9), Joe Mauer (5-7), Nick Punto (2-4), Brendan Harris (1-3), Jason Kubel (1-3), and Delmon Young (2-3) all smack Lowe around. The Braves are 16-21 on the road as they are hitting .250 away from Atlanta.

Minnesota

Minnesota hosts Atlanta on Friday night, and they

Jonathan Niese gets the start for the Mets in Game two of the doubleheader. He made a triumphant return from the DL last time out giving up one run and six hits in seven innings of work. The lefty has never started against San Diego in his career which gives him a nice advantage tonight. The Padres have lost three of their five games so far on this roadtrip, and they'll face a tough lefty in New York in this game.

San Diego

The Brewers picked up a solid come from behind victory last night off Chicago

The last three times that Zack Greinke has pitched, the Royals have scored zero runs while he's been in the game. Greinke is 1-7 with a 3.60 ERA in 12 starts this season with Kansas City going 2-10 in those 12 games. The righty is 0-3 with a 7.05 ERA his last three starts giving up 13 runs in 15.3 innings pitched. Minnesota already beat Greinke this season hitting him up for four runs and six hits in five innings of work. Greinke is 2-5 with a 3.87 ERA in 12 career starts against the Twins with his team going 3-9 in those games. Jason Kubel (5-19), Delmon Young (4-13), Denard Span (3-11), Brendan Harris (2-4), and JJ Hardy (1-3) all have the most success against Greinke. Minnesota is 18-9 at home where they average 5.2 runs per game. They are also 15-8 against the rest of the A.L. Central.

Minnesota

The Angels and their extremely hot offense head to Oakland to take on the Athletics tonight. Los Angeles has scored 58 runs over their last eight games, winning seven of them. Oakland

Los Angeles

Minnesota plays game two of their West Coast trip against the Oakland Athletics Saturday night after an extra inning win on Friday. Francisco Liriano makes the start for the Twins. He's delivered quality starts in three of his last four picking up his first win since May 2nd last time out. He's 5-3 with a 3.29 ERA so far this season. The lefty gave up three runs and five hits in six innings against the Athletics in Oakland last season. Before that he gave up just one earned run in his last 12 innings against them. Jack Cust (2-10), Kurt Suzuki (2-9), Daric Barton (1-5), Cliff Pennington (1-5) and Ryan Sweeney (0-4) all struggle to hit the lefthander. The A's are scoring just 3.9 runs per game against southpaws this season.

Trevor Cahill is 4-2 with a 3.02 ERA this season. He's managed to shut down three light hitting offenses in a row in Detroit, Baltimore and San Francisco, but the Twins represent a bit of a bigger challenge tonight. Justin Morneau (3-5), Delmon Young (2-3) and Denard Span (2-3) have had success in limited at-bats.

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There's a pulse in Houston as the Astros have won four straight and five of their last six. Houston hopes to continue their hot play behind their ace Roy Oswalt on Saturday. Oswalt is 3-7 with a 2.78 ERA this season. He'll be fresh after only pitching 2.3 innings against the Nationals last time out. Oswalt picked up a victory over the Cubs once this season. On April 17th, he threw seven shutout innings giving up just five hits in a 4-3 Houston win. Oswalt has given up just two runs over his last 15.2 innings pitched against the Cubs. Aramis Ramirez (16-70), Alfonso Soriano (10-42), Xavier Nady (3-19), Marlon Byrd (4-19) and Kosuke Fukudome (2-19) all have had their troubles with Oswalt. The Chicago lineup as a whole has struggled to score putting up just 31 runs in their last 12 games. They have gone under the total in 16 of their 27 road games and 30 of their 54 games overall.

Ryan Dempster is coming off a terrible outing at home against the Cardinals. The righty gave up six runs and nine hits in 6.2 innings. He is 4-9 with a 4.74 ERA in 19 starts against the Astros. Dempster did get a no decision earlier this season against the Astros. He gave up one run and four hits in 7.2 innings that day. Astros ended up winning 3-2 at Wrigley. Geoff Blum (15-51), Carlos Lee (8-27), Hunter Pence (9-26), Jeff Keppinger (10-21), Michael Bourn (6-17) and Tommy Manzella (1-3) hit Dempster well. The Cubs pen sports a 6.11 ERA on the road with a 1-6 record. Houston is hitting over .275 in their last eight games and are averaging slightly over 4.5 runs per game. These are two teams heading in opposite directions.

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The Pirates continue their series with the Giants on Saturday. San Francisco sends Todd Wellemeyer to the mound. He's 3-4 with a 5.03 ERA this season. On the road, the righty is 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA in four starts. Wellemeyer faced Pittsburgh three times last season giving up 14 runs and 25 hits in 16.1 innings. He took the loss in two of those games. Ryan Doumit (7-15) and Lastings Milledge (1-3) are hitting the Giants starter the best.

Paul Maholm is pitching better right now. He's 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts. Maholm has given up six runs and 20 hits in 20 innings. In a start in San Francisco this season, the lefty gave up three runs and eight hits in five innings. He's 1-1 with a 3.13 ERA in seven starts against the Giants. Aaron Rowand (4-17), Juan Uribe (3-13), Andres Torres (1-7) and Aubrey Huff (1-5) all struggle to hit Maholm. The Giants as a team are 7-9 against southpaws scoring just 3.6 runs per game.

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Kansas City

The Nationals hope to salvage a split with the Astros in Houston on Thursday afternoon. They'll face Houston

Johan Santana has been the ace pitcher that the Mets have been hoping for this season. The lefty is 1-0 with a 1.19 ERA in his last three starts giving up just three runs in 22.7 innings pitched. Santana is 2-2 with a 2.41 ERA in five career starts against San Diego. Last year, he got the victory in a 5-1 Mets win in San Diego. Santana gave up one run and five hits in eight innings of work. Jerry Hairston Jr. (0-10), Adrian Gonzalez (2-9), David Eckstein (0-7), Luis Rodriguez (1-4), Tony Gwynn (0-4), Oscar Salazar (0-3), and Nick Hundley (0-3) all have poor numbers against the Mets starter.

Clayton Richard gets the start for the Padres. He is coming off a losing effort at home against the Nationals. In that one, he gave up four runs and four hits in seven innings of work. Richard defeated the Mets last year giving up three runs and five hits in 5.7 innings of work, but the Mets lineup is much more productive this year. In limited at-bats, Fernando Tatis (2-3), Jeff Francoeur (1-3), and Angel Pagan (1-3) hit Richard well. New York holds a huge pitching edge with Santana over Richard in this game so we expect the Mets to get a solid road win tonight.

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John Ely has been a great story for the Dodgers so far this season. He's 3-2 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts. The righty has yet to lose at home going 2-0 with a 2.29 ERA. Arizona already lost to Ely this season, and in that game, he only gave up two runs and six hits in six innings of work. He struck out six without walking any to get the win. Adam LaRoche (0-3), Conor Jackson (0-3), Kelly Johnson (0-3), and Chris Snyder (0-2) went hitless in that game.

Arizona

Chicago returns home after going 4-3 over their seven-game road trip. The White Sox host a Rangers team that has lost four straight and six of their last seven ballgames. Mark Buerhle has improved after a slow start this season. The lefty is 3-1 with a 3.28 ERA in five starts at home. He's thrown 10.3 innings of shutout ball in a row entering this one. The lefty is 11-4 in 15 career starts against Texas despite losing to the Rangers earlier this season. Michael Young (10-51), Esteban German (3-19), Ian Kinsler (3-13), Elvis Andrus (1-5), and Justin Smoak (0-2) all struggle against Buerhle. Texas brings an 8-15 road record to Chicago because the Rangers are hitting .239 as a team away from home while scoring just 3.7 runs per game.

Texas

Minnesota

New York hits the road to begin a series with the Padres in San Diego. The Mets will send Hisanori Takahashi to the mound. He's making his third start of the season, and the left hander has put up two solid outings against the Yankees and Phillies as he shutout both thru six innings. Takahashi has 11 K's and 1 walk as a starter, and overall, he is 4-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 38 innings pitched this season. He'll face a Padres team hitting just .236 against lefties while averaging 3.7 runs per game. San Diego hasn't seen the Mets starter yet which is another edge that favors Takahashi.

Kevin Correia is having some control issues for San Diego. The righty has walked 10 over his last 17.3 innings of work. Correia is 0-2 with a no decision over his last three starts. San Diego has only provided him with four runs in those outings. David Wright (9-11), Alex Cora (3-10), Jeff Francoeur (3-10), Angel Pagan (1-2), and Gary Matthews Jr. have had good at-bats against Correia. The Mets come into this game in good current form after scoring 16 runs in a three game series in Milwaukee, and that momentum carries over here as they get a solid road win tonight.

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Minnesota can sweep the Rangers with a win on Sunday night. Texas continues to struggle on the road as they are just 8-14 away from home on the season. The Rangers are hitting below .240 away from home. Scott Baker gets the start for the Twins tonight. He's 4-4 with a 4.47 ERA on the year. Baker's numbers are so much better at home though where he is 3-1 with a 3.31 ERA. The righty is 2-2 with a 5.25 ERA against the Rangers. He gave up eight runs and 21 hits over his last three starts against Texas last season. Vlad Guerrero (4-17), Josh Hamilton (2-12), David Murphy (1-10), Esteban German (0-2), and Andres Blanco (0-2) all struggle against Baker.

Texas

Boston has lost two straight to the Royals at Fenway Park. Despite the recent struggles, they are still 7-3 at home against KC over the last 10 meetings. Boston sends Clay Buchholz to the mound where he's won three straight decisions. The righty is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA defeating the Rays, Twins, and Tigers in his last three starts. Buchholz has defeated the Royals once already this season going five innings giving up three runs and seven hits. Mitch Maier (2-8), Yuniesky Betancourt (0-4), Mike Aviles (1-4), David DeJesus (0-3), Willie Bloomquist (0-2), and Chris Getz (0-2) all struggle against the Red Sox starter.

Kansas City

Brett Anderson comes off the DL for the Athletics after dealing with a left forearm strain and left elbow inflammation. Anderson will be on a pitch count of about 75 pitches meaning the Oakland bullpen will play a factor in this game which is not good since they have a 5.56 ERA away from home. Anderson gave up seven runs in his last two starts against Cleveland and Baltimore who are two of the lighter hitting teams in the league. Anderson's last start in Detroit was terrible as the Tigers defeated the A's 14-1. In that game, Anderson gave up nine runs and six hits in 3.3 innings of work. Johnny Damon (3-10), Miguel Cabrera (3-5), Magglio Ordonez (3-4), and Brandon Inge (1-3) have good numbers against the lefty. Detroit is 7-4 against southpaws while hitting .263 against them. Despite yesterday's loss, Detroit is still a solid 14-7 at home.

Detroit

Minnesota continues their homestand after picking up a win over the Yankees on Wednesday night. They'll host the Rangers tonight who are 8-12 away from home this season. Texas is hitting .237 while scoring just 3.9 runs per game on the road. Kevin Slowey gets the start for Minnesota. He's 5-3 with a 4.53 ERA on the year, and the righty is 2-2 at home this season. Slowey faced the Rangers in 2007 giving up one run and four hits in six innings of work. Vladimir Guerrero (1-8), Esteban German (0-4), and David Murphy (0-3) all struggle against Slowey. Texas has lost three of its last four games against the Cubs and Royals, and things don

Cincinnati begins a series with the Astros on Friday night. They'll send Sam LeCure to the hill for his major league debut. He's 5-2 with a 2.55 ERA in nine starts in AAA walking just 15 batters while striking out 51. He threw 16 scoreless innings over his last two starts which garnered him International League Pitcher of the Week honors. He

Jaime Garcia continues his outstanding campaign in San Diego as the Padres host the Cardinals. The St. Louis lefty is 4-2 with a 1.28 ERA in eight starts. He has given up just three runs in his last 17.3 innings of work. Garcia has faced three Padres batters before holding Nick Hundley (0-2) and Jerry Hairston Jr. (0-1) hitless. San Diego is hitting just .235 against lefties this season scoring 3.9 runs per game.

San Diego

Houston

Detroit

The Angels return home after a 3-4 road trip thru Texas, Chicago, and St. Louis. They'll welcome the road weary Toronto Blue Jays who have gone thru Seattle and Arizona so far. Toronto will face Joe Saunders who has been hot as of late going 2-0 with a 0.81 ERA in his last three starts. The left hander has won two straight starts beating the White Sox and Athletics. Saunders has already defeated the Jays once in Toronto this season giving up just five hits in eight innings of work. Vernon Wells (3-19), Lyle Overbay (3-13), Jose Molina (1-9), Jose Bautista (2-8), and Mike McCoy (1-4) all struggle against the lefty. As a team, Toronto hits just .189 against southpaws as they

The A's and Giants finish their series on Sunday as Oakland goes for the sweep. Ben Sheets takes the hill for Oakland, and he's been a lot better at home where he's 2-1 with a 3.00 ERA in five starts this year. Sheets has given up just seven runs over his last 19 innings of work for the A's. He's 4-2 with a 2.36 ERA against the Giants in his career as Freddy Sanchez (4-18), Aubrey Huff (1-5), and Bengie Molina (0-3) have poor numbers against him. The Giants offense, as a whole, has managed just 41 runs over their last 13 games and just 17 runs so far on their current road trip.

San Francisco

Baltimore

Arizona has won three straight games as they continue their series with the Blue Jays tonight. Edwin Jackson is coming off his best start of the season as he gave up just four hits in eight innings pitched against the Marlins in Florida. Jackson struck out 12 and walked only two in that game. The righty has faced Toronto twice, picking up two no decisions while allowing seven runs in 14.3 innings of work. Toronto, as a team, is hitting .236 against Jackson with Lyle Overbay (4-27), Aaron Hill (5-26), Adam Lind (5-21), Jose Molina (1-9), and Edwin Encarnacion (0-3) struggling the most. Toronto is struggling a bit right now after losing two straight and they are hitting just .229 on the road.

Dana Eveland is not in good current form for the Blue Jays right now. He's given up 11 runs over his last eight innings pitched against the Twins and Red Sox. The lefty will face an Arizona team that is hitting .276 against left-handed pitching while scoring 5.8 runs per game. The Diamondbacks have broken out the bats as well scoring at least six runs per game over their last three. These two teams are heading in opposite directions right now, and because of that, there

Toronto

Philadelphia will look to snap a two-game losing streak as they host the Cubs on Thursday afternoon. Joe Blanton makes his fourth start of the season. He is 1-2 with a 5.49 ERA so far, but he hasn't pitched all that bad in any of those games. Blanton has two no decisions in his history against the Cubs. Last year, he gave up one run and five hits in seven innings in a 4-1 Philadelphia victory. Aramis Ramirez (1-6), Derrek Lee (1-5), Ryan Theriot (1-5), Kosuke Fukudome (1-5), Marlon Byrd (0-3) and Mike Fontenot (0-3) all have poor numbers against Blanton. The Cubs are 8-12 on the road and just 10-10 in the daytime this season.

Chicago

Detroit