A nice 4-3 walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth inning last night for the Marlins and they are now 6-1 SU in their past seven games. They should continue their momentum with their best pitcher on the mound tonight. Josh Johnson is having a fantastic season with a 9-2 W/L record and a 15-5 SU team record in his 20 starts with a 2.80 ERA and 1.104 WHIP, including a powerful 113/35 strikeout/walk ratio. Johnson has been even stronger at home with an 8-2 SU team record and a 1.98 ERA and 1.010 WHIP in his 10 home starts with a 63/16 K/BB ratio.

Atlanta is averaging just 3.9 runs per game against right handed starters and Kenshin Kawakami has been much weaker on the road in his eight starts with a 5.06 ERA and an awful 1.664 WHIP with a terrible 27/23 strikeout/walk ratio.

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St. Louis took the first game of their series with the Dodgers and they will now take their cracks against Chad Billingsley who is 10-5 with a 3.72 ERA. In his last three starts, Billingsley went 1-1 with a 9.23 ERA. He's 0-1 all time against the Cardinals with a 3.60 ERA and a WHIP of 1.867. Billingsley has thrown the third most pitches in baseball behind only Justin Verlander and his opponent Adam Wainwright. Billingsley has won only one of his last seven starts. Albert Pujols (2-7), Mark DeRosa (2-6), Yadier Molina (2-6) and Skip Schumaker (1-3) have hit Billingsley the best. St. Louis has scored 22 runs in their last four games and they remain red-hot offensively with Matt Halladay in the lineup.

LA will face Adam Wainwright who is 11-6 with a 2.95 ERA this season. In his last three starts he's gone 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA. Wainwright's last time out against the Dodgers was in Los Angeles in May of 2008 where he gave up one run and five hits in seven innings. Wainwright has done his best work against Brad Ausmus (2-12), Juan Pierre (1-8), James Loney (1-7), Mark Loretta (0-4), Orlando Hudson (0-4) and Blake DeWitt (0-3). The Dodgers have now lost three of their last four games and they stand just 6-5 SU since the All-Star break, compared to 56-32 SU before the break.

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Atlanta

The Phillies made their statement on Saturday night after getting pounded by the Cardinals on Friday. Philadelphia looks for the series win on Sunday as they send Joe Blanton to the hill. His last three starts have been masterful going 2-0 with a 0.83 ERA giving up 2 runs in 21.3 innings pitched. Blanton has faced the Cardinals twice on the road in his career and beat them 6-1 this year and 2-1 last year. They are hitting .217 against him with Yadier Molina (1-6), Albert Pujols (0-4), Rick Ankiel (0-2) doing the worst.

Blanton will be opposed by Todd Wellemeyer who is 7-8 with a 5.68 ERA on the season. On the road Wellemeyer is 3-3 with a 6.18 ERA and a 1.787 WHIP. He's faced the Phillies three times and the Cardinals have lost all three of those games. Last year Wellemeyer fell 5-4 and 20-2 to Philadelphia. The Phillies hit .306 against the righty with Chase Utley (4-8), Paul Bako (4-6), Ryan Howard (2-5), Shane Victorino (1-3) and Carlos Ruiz (1-3) hitting him the best.

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The Angels continue to smack the ball around despite the absence of Torii Hunter and Vladimir Guerrero and Anaheim enters on a red-hot 11-1 SU run today. Going for LAA is Matt Palmer who is 7-1 with a 4.75 ERA this season. The last time he started was on June 28th when he got the win in Arizona over the Diamondbacks. At home Palmer is 4-1 with a 4.26 ERA. He has yet to face the Twins who are 20-29 SU on the road and are hitting only .257 away from the Metrodome.

The Angels will see Nick Blackburn on the mound for the second time this season. The first time he gave up four runs and eight hits in 6.3 innings of work in an 11-9 Twins

NOTE: Check back for an additional nighttime update at 2 pm ET.

Detroit blew a 1-0 lead late in the game last night and lost 2-1, but they now look to rebound and take this three-game versus Seattle today. Luke French

Pitching change in this game as Dustin Nippert is now scheduled to start for Texas in place of Vicente Padilla, while Clay Buchholz is the listed starter for the Red Sox. Regardless of the pitchers the Red Sox are a play tonight (action) as Boston fits a solid 155-72 bounce back situation which plays on solid teams on an extended losing streak. Despite dropping four straight, the Red Sox still rate as the second best team in the American League with a 55-38 (.591) record which is just 1.5 games behind the Yankees.

Both offenses are struggling, but Boston holds a solid pitching edge with Clay Buchholz who looked strong in his first start this season when he allowed just 1 run and only 4 hits in 5.7 innings last Friday in a 4-1 win at Toronto. Buchholz might see limited innings again tonight, but the Red Sox have an excellent bullpen with a 3.30 ERA and 1.298 WHIP in 267.3 innings this season.

The Red Sox offense should wake up tonight against the Rangers

The Rockies return home for the first time in the second half of the season as they host Arizona. Colorado took three of four in San Diego and will face a D-Backs team that lost two of three in St. Louis. Doug Davis goes for Arizona who is 4-9 with a 3.41 ERA. He's 1-1 with a 4.15 ERA in his last three starts including an 8-1 loss at home to Florida. Davis is 2-4 all time against the Rockies with a 3.53 ERA. He's lost to Colorado already this season 9-2 in Arizona giving up four runs and four hits in five innings. Colorado is hitting .341 as a team against the soft tossing lefty with Garrett Atkins (5-13), Troy Tulowitzki (4-13), Ryan Spilborghs (4-10), Todd Helton (5-9) and Ian Stewart (2-4) all hitting Davis well.

The Rockies hope that Jorge De La Rosa continues his hot pitching as he's 3-0 with a 2.21 ERA in his last three starts, giving up just five runs in 20.3 innings pitched. De La Rosa had two good outings against the D-Backs this season, winning 5-0 at home and losing 2-0 at Arizona. In 14.7 innings combined against the Snakes, the lefty has given up just two runs and 10 hits. Arizona is hitting only .200 against De La Rosa with Chris Snyder (2-11), Stephen Drew (2-10), Mark Reynolds (2-9), Chad Tracy (1-6), Justin Upton (1-6) and Augie Ojeda (0-3) struggling the most.

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The Astros and Cardinals begin a series on Monday in Houston. Going for the Cardinals is Kyle Lohse who is 4-5 with a 4.26 ERA this season. In his last three starts Lohse is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA. He's already beaten the Astros this season throwing a three hit complete game shutout in April in St. Louis. Overall he's 5-3 with a 2.45 ERA against Houston. He's done his best work against Lance Berkman (5-25), Darin Erstad (4-23), Kaz Matsui (4-17), Michael Bourn (1-11) and Jason Michaels (1-6). Berkman is questionable for this game due to a calf injury. Darin Erstad and Kaz Matsui are also questionable due to hamstring injuries.

Brian Moehler is 6-5 with a 5.08 ERA this season. He's not a fan of pitching at home as he's 1-4 with a 6.03 ERA in front of the home fans. St. Louis hits .280 against the righty with Albert Pujols (9-15), Skip Schumaker (4-8), Rick Ankiel (2-6) and Chris Duncan (2-3) hitting him the hardest. St. Louis is averaging 4.8 runs per game on the road and is backed by a bullpen that has a 2.86 ERA away from home. The Cardinals have the better offense and pitching tonight at a Pick

The A's and Angels wrap up a four game series Sunday afternoon. An Athletics win would give them the split in this series. Their hottest pitcher takes the mound in Brett Anderson. He's 2-0 with a 0.49 ERA in his last three starts giving up just one run in his last 18.3 innings pitched. Anderson faced the Angels early in his career falling 5-2, but in that outing he managed to hold Jeff Mathis (0-2), Kendry Morales (0-2), Howie Kendrick (0-2) and Maicer Izturis (0-1) hitless. He'll also be facing an Angels

Pittsburgh can sweep the Giants with a win on Sunday afternoon. They'll turn to lefthander Zach Duke to get that done. He's 8-8 with a 3.29 ERA in 18 starts. Duke is 6-3 with a 2.77 ERA at home. Last season the lefthander faced the Giants twice and got two victories including a complete game shutout in San Francisco where he gave up only six hits. Aaron Rowand (2-9), Bengie Molina (1-8), Edgar Renteria (1-6), Emmanuel Burriss (1-6), Nate Schierholtz (1-4) and Pablo Sandoval (0-4) have all struggled versus Duke. The Giants have managed only 7 runs their last four games and only 12 hits in their two games against the Pirates so far this series. The Pirates are 6-2 against the Giants in Pittsburgh over the last three seasons.

San Francisco turns to Matt Cain who is 10-2 with a 2.38 ERA this season. In his last start he left with an injury going only 1.7 innings pitched. Cain has yet to beat the Pirates going 0-2 with a 5.63 ERA in four starts. Last season he went a combined 13 innings against them giving up nine runs and 19 hits. Freddy Sanchez (7-13), Adam LaRoche (3-10), Andy LaRoche (2-6) and Jack Wilson (2-4) enjoy seeing Cain on the mound. Pittsburgh is 24-17 at home while the Giants are 18-26 on the road and San Francisco only manages 3.6 runs per game away from home this season.

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The Rockies can take their four-game series against the Padres with another road win on Saturday. They send Jason Hammel to the hill where he's 5-4 with a 4.43 ERA. Hammel is 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA on the road where he pitches much better away from the thin air and altitude of Coor

The Angels had a brief hiccup yesterday falling 7-3 to the A's, but Anaheim has still won four of their last five games and will try and take game three of their series with Oakland today. Jered Weaver is 10-3 on the year with a 3.22 ERA and he has faced the Yankees and Rangers twice in his last three games so he'll welcome the offensive break that Oakland brings. Weaver is 2-2 with a 2.56 ERA against the A's in his career. Oakland hits just .222 against Weaver with Mark Ellis (2-12), Jack Cust (2-10), Bobby Crosby (2-9), Kurt Suzuki (1-8), Orlando Cabrera (0-6) and Nomar Garciaparra (1-4) doing the worst. Oakland is averaging 3.7 runs per game in division games and only four runs per game in their last eight.

Oakland sends Vin Mazzaro to the hill where he's 2-5 with a 3.59 ERA. At home he's 1-2 with a 3.44 ERA giving up 17 hits in 18.1 innings pitched. After starting his career out well, he has leveled off going 0-2 with a 5.73 ERA in two starts this month. Batters are hitting .362 against him. The Angels have yet to see the righty. In their last eight games, the Angels are 5-3 and averaging almost 7 runs per game and are hitting over .300 in that span, despite the absence of Guerrero and Hunter.

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The Angels are shorthanded on offense as two of their key hitters are currently out of the lineup due to injuries. Vladimir Guerrero is out with a knee injury, while Torii Hunter is out with an abdominal strain. Guerrero is batting .290 this season, while Hunter is hitting .305 and leads the team with a .558 slugging percentage and 17 home runs and 65 RBI.

The Angels have a terrible bullpen which sports a 5.10 ERA and 1.538 WHIP this season and this will be an issue with Joe Saunders on the mound tonight as he is averaging just 5.9 innings per road start this season with a weak 5.74 ERA and 1.511 WHIP. Saunders is in awful current form with an 11.57 ERA and 2.286 WHIP in his past three starts, going just 4.7 innings on average.

Oakland is not a strong offensive team, but the Athletics do have the pitching edge tonight as Trevor Cahill has been solid at home with a 4.22 ERA and a strong 1.207 WHIP and Oakland has an excellent bullpen with a 3.09 ERA and 1.110 WHIP at home this season.

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The Rockies begin their 2nd half on the road with a series against San Diego. Colorado is sending Aaron Cook to the hill where he's 8-3 with a 3.98 ERA. On the road Cook is 5-2 with a 3.60 ERA. He's faced San Diego twice this season getting a 7-5 win in Colorado and a 2-1 no decision loss at San Diego. In that game he gave up just one run and five hits in eight innings. Overall Cook is 12-4 with a 2.37 ERA against the Padres. Cook has done his best work against Kevin Kouzmanoff (6-24), Luis Rodriguez (2-10), David Eckstein (1-8), Edgar Gonzalez (1-7) and Eliezer Alfonzo (1-6). The Padres are 1-6 in their last seven games, hitting just .229 in that span with an average of just 3.4 runs per game.

San Diego sends Chad Gaudin to the hill where he's 4-7 with a 5.03 ERA this season. At home he's 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA in four outings. In their limited at-bats against the righthander, Garrett Atkins (2-6), Dexter Fowler (2-6), Yorvit Torrealba (2-5), Brad Hawpe (2-3) and Troy Tulowitzki (1-2) have hit well. Colorado is 24-22 on the road this season and they have won five of their last seven games, averaging 5 runs per game and a .286 average in that span.

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NOTE: Check back after 1 pm ET for a possible play in the Sunday night game (Cardinals/Cubs).

Washington is looking to close their first half with a win streak when they take the field against Houston on Sunday. The Nationals will see Brian Moehler who is 5-5 with a 5.52 ERA this season. He has yet to win a home game, going 0-4 with a 7.15 ERA in Minute Maid Park. He's coming off a 6-3 loss to the light hitting Pirates who got him for four runs and three hits in 6.3 innings pitched. Moehler faced the Nationals in DC earlier this year and got the no-decision in a 9-4 Nationals

Winners of two straight, the Dodgers look to put up double digit runs for the third straight game as they continue their series with the Milwaukee Brewers. Mike Burns goes for the Brew Crew and he's 1-2 with a 6.88 ERA in three starts. Burns just gave up seven runs and nine hits in 4.7 innings pitched in Chicago. Burns is backed by a bullpen that was ravaged by the Dodgers last night and gave up six runs in the 10th inning with Trevor Hoffman blowing a save in the ninth inning. Los Angeles is averaging more then 6 runs in their past eight games hitting over .308 in the process.

Going for the Dodgers is Jeff Weaver who is 2-0 with a 3.15 ERA in four starts this season. He is coming off a victory against the Angels going five innings and giving up just six hits and two runs. That was exactly a month after he gave up just one run in five innings to the Mets. The Dodgers are 3-1 SU as a team in Weaver's four starts this season. Weaver has won his last two starts against the Brewers which last came in 2006. Frank Catalanotto (6-29), Craig Counsell (2-16), Prince Fielder (0-5), Mike Rivera (1-4) and JJ Hardy (0-3) have done the worst against Weaver. Milwaukee has lost two straight home games and four of their last five overall and they might suffer a hangover after the extra inning loss last night.

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The Bronx Bombers have won three straight and six of their last seven as they begin a weekend series in Anaheim with the Angels. Going for New York is Joba Chamberlain who is 4-2 with a 4.04 ERA on the season. He's 4-0 with a 2.74 ERA on the road, joining the rest of the Yankees who seem to pitch better away from Yankee Stadium. Chamberlain has never started against the Angels, but he has held them to just two hits in 10 at-bats during relief work. He'll be facing an Angels

The Cubs have underachieved this season and they are better than their .500 record indicates as they have battled numerous injuries, but were still the preseason favorite to win the National League pennant. Chicago is finally getting healthy and they actually stand just one game behind the Cardinals in the loss column entering today. The Cubs also provide value at a rare home underdog price and they have been a much stronger team at home this season with a 25-16 SU mark, compared to just 16-25 on the road.

My pitcher performance ratings predict a solid bounce back effort from Chicago

Chicago will be bolstered by some players coming off the disabled list for the start of their home series with the Braves on Monday night. Aramis Ramirez, Reed Johnson and Angel Guzman are all set to come off the DL with Ramirez most ready to help the lineup out. They'll all get their first crack at Jair Jurrjens who is 6-6 with a 2.73 ERA this season. Jurrjens has given up 10 runs in his last 21.3 innings with Atlanta being 8-9 in his starts overall this year. Jurrjens will be facing a Cubs

Game analysis will be available at 1 pm ET.

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The Giants can sweep Houston right out of San Francisco without scoring a run on Sunday with another victory. Houston has been shut out in their first two games against the Giants and they have scored just 20 runs total in their last six games. Things don't get much easier with Randy Johnson on the hill. Johnson is 8-5 with a 4.70 ERA and is 5-2 with a 4.24 ERA at home. The Giants have won the Big Unit's last three starts scoring 18 runs of support. Randy is 4-1 with a 3.64 ERA against Houston doing his best work against Pudge Rodriguez (19-76), Darin Erstad (6-24), Geoff Blum (4-23), Jason Michaels (3-16), Lance Berkman (3-13) and Jeff Keppinger (0-5). Houston is 6-8 against left handed starters this season.

Houston will go with Roy Oswalt who is 4-4 with a 4.02 ERA this season. Oswalt has been inconsistent on the road going 2-2 with a 3.78 ERA. Roy is 4-5 with a 3.98 ERA against the Giants in his career. Many Giants have had success against the righty with Edgar Renteria (8-25), Rich Aurilia (6-18), Fred Lewis (8-14), Bengie Molina (4-12), Emmanuel Burriss (2-6) and Kevin Frandsen (2-3) doing the best against him. San Francisco's offense has been scorching averaging 6.4 runs per game and a .319 average before last night's 9-0 win. They've also held opposing teams to an average of .202.

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Francisco Liriano may have turned the corner in his last outing giving up two runs on four hits in seven innings in a 6-2 victory in St. Louis. Liriano has won two straight decisions and will face a Tiger team that he's already beaten once this year. On May 4th, Liriano gave up two runs and four hits in 7.3 innings in Detroit in a 7-2 win. Overall, the lefthander is 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA against Detroit. Brandon Inge (4-17), Curtis Granderson (4-17), Adam Everett (1-6), Gerald Laird (1-6) and Miguel Cabrera (1-5) have done the worst. Detroit has yet to win a dome game this season going 0-4 SU. The Tigers have also been weaker against southpaws, averaging just 3.4 runs per game and batting only .227 on the road against LHP, compared to 4.4 runs and .255 versus RHP.

Liriano will be opposed by Edwin Jackson who is 6-4 with a 2.49 ERA this season. Jackson hasn't gotten a win in his last three starts going 0-1 with a 3.60 ERA giving up eight runs in 20 innings. Jackson was the loser in the May 4th game against Liriano giving up five runs and seven hits in six innings. Overall Jackson is 1-3 with a 7.00 ERA against Minnesota. They hit .319 against Jackson with Joe Mauer (3-8), Jason Kubel (2-6), Denard Span (4-6), Michael Cuddyer (3-4) and Matt Tolbert (1-3) doing the best in limited at-bats. Minnesota is averaging 5.4 runs at home and 5.7 runs against divisional opponents this season.

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Cincinnati has won four of their last six games and will look to take game two of their series with the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon. The Reds will turn to Micah Owings for help. He's 5-8 with a 4.63 ERA this season but is coming off one of his best outings of the season going six innings giving up five hits and one earned run. Owings is 3-2 at home and will face a Cardinal team that was averaging 2.6 runs per game and a .217 average in their last seven games before last night. Khalil Greene (2-11), Rick Ankiel (0-2) and Chris Duncan (0-2) have struggled against Owings in limited at-bats.

St. Louis sends Brad Thompson to the hill where he's 2-4 with a 4.69 ERA. In six starts Thompson has struck out nine while walking 10. In his last three starts Thompson is 1-2 with a 6.50 ERA giving up 13 runs in 18 innings pitched. In his last two outings the Cardinals lost 11-0 and 10-0. Thompson has been dominated by Edwin Encarnacion (5-14), Brandon Phillips (4-14), Alex Gonzalez (4-9), Jerry Hairston Jr. (2-6) and Ramon Hernandez (1-3). Cincinnati has been averaging 4.3 runs per game and hitting close to .300 in their last eight games which was around the time Joey Votto returned to the lineup.

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The Rays bring their hot streak to Arlington to begin a three game series with the Texas Rangers. Tampa has won seven of eight and nine of their last 11 games. If Tampa hopes to win the AL East, then they'll need Scott Kazmir to improve. The lefty is 4-4 with a 7.28 ERA in 10 starts. In his first start off the DL he went five innings giving up two runs and four hits against the Marlins in a 3-2 no decision victory. Kazmir is 4-0 against Texas with a 2.09 ERA with Tampa winning all seven of his starts against them. Last year he gave up five runs in 21 innings of work against the Rangers. They are hitting .152 all time against Kazmir with Michael Young (2-13), Ian Kinsler (2-13), Hank Blalock (0-6), David Murphy (1-6), Jarrod Saltalamacchia (0-5) and Nelson Cruz (0-3) all not looking forward to facing the lefty. The Rangers are just 18-23 against teams with winning records this season.

Tommy Hunter has made two starts in the majors this year going 0-1 with a 3.86 ERA. In his last time out he lost 2-0 to the Padres giving up two runs and seven hits in 6.3 innings pitched. In his major league career Hunter is 0-3 with a 9.93 ERA in five starts the past two years. None of the current Rays have faced Hunter but they average 5.8 runs per game against righties and 6.1 runs per game at night. In their last eight games, Tampa Bay is hitting .285 and has gone 7-1 straight-up.

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The Braves have been a much stronger offensive team versus left handed pitchers this season as they average 6.0 runs per nine innings and bat .277 at home versus LHP, compared to just 3.2 runs and only .248 versus RHP. This was evident last night as the Braves crushed the reigning Cy Young award winner as Cole Hamels allowed 9 hits and 7 runs in just four innings. The Braves won easily 11-1 and they should fare well again tonight against another southpaw as J.A. Happ now takes the mound for the Phillies.

Happ is due for a correction after his best start of the season which was as complete game shutout last Saturday in Toronto as Happ has now thrown 100+ pitches in each of his past five starts and this might start to wear down this former relief pitcher.

Meanwhile, the Braves send Javier Vazquez to the mound and he remains one of the most underrated pitchers in the league this season and he has pitched much better than his 5-7 W/L and 6-10 SU team records indicate. Vazquez has a solid 3.04 ERA and a 1.059 WHIP with a fantastic 125/23 strikeout/walk ratio, including a 2.95 ERA and a 1.033 WHIP in his nine home starts with a 76/13 K/BB. His strong numbers should continue tonight against a Philadelphia squad that is just 4-13 SU in their past seventeen games.

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The Diamondbacks wrap up their series with the Reds in Cincinnati on Thursday afternoon in this early start which is 10:35 a.m. local time for the Diamondbacks. Arizona turns to Doug Davis who is 3-8 with an awful 4-12 SU team record in his sixteen starts this season. Davis has pitched worse than his 3.48 ERA and 1.476 WHIP on the road indicates as Davis has an awful 28/22 strikeout/walk ratio in his seven starts away from home.

The Diamondbacks remain one of the weakest offensive teams on the road this season with a .229 batting average and just 4.2 runs per game. Arizona is likely to struggle again this afternoon against Aaron Harang who is due for a bounce-back after a rare bad outing last Friday when he allowed 10 hits and 7 runs in just 4.7 innings at Cleveland. Harang should respond with a strong showing tonight as he has an excellent 2.87 ERA at home with a 1.191 WHIP this season and a powerful 43/8 strikeout/walk ratio.

Harang has also dominated the Diamondbacks during his career with a fantastic 1.66 ERA and 0.939 WHIP in eight career starts versus Arizona. Last year he lost 4-2 and 3-2 giving up just four runs in 13 innings of work versus the D-Backs. Chad Tracy (3-17), Mark Reynolds (1-9), Stephen Drew (2-8), Tony Clark (1-6), and Justin Upton (0-4) have done the worst against Harang.

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The Angels six game win streak ended last night at the hands of the Texas Rangers. LAA looks to start a new winning streak when they finish their series in Arlington with the Rangers tonight. Jered Weaver is 8-3 for the Angels with a 2.65 ERA this season. He's 3-2 with a 3.77 ERA on the road and is 2-1 in his last three starts. Weaver is 2-2 against the Rangers with a 2.64 ERA all time and lost 3-0 to them despite pitching well giving up three runs in eight innings of work. Weaver has managed to hold Ian Kinsler (5-21), Nelson Cruz (3-14), Chris Davis (0-8), David Murphy (1-6) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia (1-4) in check.

Kevin Millwood has resurrected himself this season going 8-5 with a 2.64 ERA this season. Millwood got the win in an earlier game against the Angels 10-8 only going six innings giving up two runs and nine hits. Millwood is 4-4 all time against the Angels with a 3.75 ERA and is facing a better team right now. The Angels are hitting nearly .300 as a team against Millwood with Vlad Guerrero (.333), Bobby Abreu (.314), Torii Hunter (.406), Gary Matthews Jr. (7-22), Mike Napoli (5-11) and Kendry Morales (2-4) doing the best. LAA has scored 47 runs in their last six games overall.

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Detroit goes for the series win on Wednesday when they finish up a three game set with Oakland. The ace of the Tigers staff Justin Verlander takes the mound and brings an 8-3 record with a 3.40 ERA to the hill. Verlander has 124 strikeouts to just 34 walks on the season. He hasn't seen the A's since 2007 and is 4-2 with a 3.12 ERA all time against them. Verlander has done his best against Orlando Cabrera (6-26), Mark Ellis (4-17), Adam Kennedy (2-9), Jack Cust (2-8) and Bobby Crosby (0-8).

Detroit will face Dallas Braden who is 5-7 with a 3.26 ERA. He's lost two straight decision eclipsing the 100 pitch mark both times which he's only done four times overall this season in 16 outings. Braden has struggled versus the Tigers, going 1-2 with a 9.13 ERA in his career against them, including a 9-1 loss in Detroit this season where he gave up six runs and nine hits in five innings. Placido Polanco (7-14), Magglio Ordonez (4-10), Ryan Raburn (5-10), Gerald Laird (4-9), Marcus Thames (4-8) and Carlos Guillen (1-3) hit the lefthander well. Detroit is 15-8 against lefthanders scoring 5.1 runs per game. They are 20-7 in day games where they average 5.9 runs per game and hit a whopping .293 as a team.

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The Cubs return to National League play when they take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in PNC Park on Monday. Chicago will be glad to see the interleague season end as they lost six of their last seven games. The Cubs send Rich Harden to the hill where he's 4-4 with a 4.95 ERA this season. On the road, Harden is 2-1 with a 2.96 ERA this season. He has yet to face the Pirates in his National League career. Pittsburgh is 24-30 vs. right handed pitchers.

The Pirates send Zach Duke to the mound. He's 8-5 with a 3.09 ERA this season and has already faced the Cubs once getting a no decision in a Chicago 5-2 win. In that game he went seven innings giving up two runs and eight hits striking out three while walking two. Duke has lost three straight to the Cubs who are 5-4 against him all time. Many Cubs hitters have had success against him including Alfonso Soriano (15-29), Ryan Theriot (11-28), Aaron Miles (5-13), Ryan Freel (4-10), Milton Bradley (3-7).

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The Yankees can break out the brooms with a win in Sunday Night baseball against their cross town rival Mets in Citi Field. The Yankee offense has put up 33 runs in their last four games and it should continue tonight against Livan Hernandez. He is 5-2 with a 3.95 ERA this season, but in his last three starts he is 0-1 with a 4.66 ERA with his team losing all three games. Livan has yet to beat the Yankees going 0-3 lifetime against them with a 6.94 ERA. He's already faced them once giving up six runs and seven hits in 5.3 innings pitched in Yankee Stadium. The Bronx Bombers hit .403 against the righty with A-Rod (11-19), Derek Jeter (8-19), Nick Swisher (5-14), Jorge Posada (4-12), Robinson Cano (4-9), Hideki Matsui (3-7), Mark Teixeira (3-6) and Melky Cabrera (2-5) all having success.

Chien Ming Wang is looking for his first win of the season as he brings his 0-6 record and 11.20 ERA to the mound on Sunday. He's coming off a solid outing against the Braves going five innings and giving up just six hits and three runs while striking out four. Wang has seen the Mets twice in his career splitting the two games. His WHIP in those two was 0.979 meaning he's not putting many runners on base. The Mets are hitting just .224 against Wang with David Wright (2-8), Jeremy Reed (1-6), Luis Castillo (1-5), Brian Schneider (0-4) and Gary Sheffield (0-2) struggling the most.

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Minnesota can win their second straight series on their three town road trip with a win on Sunday against the St. Louis Cardinals. Francisco Liriano is still working on getting back into form but is coming off one of his better outings of the season going five innings giving up seven hits and three runs striking out six at Milwaukee. Liriano will be facing a Cardinal team that averages only 3.5 runs and a .242 average against left handed pitchers. No one in the current Cardinal lineup has faced the lefthander before.

Joel Pineiro is 6-8 this season with a 3.40 ERA. He has lost two of his last three decisions falling at home to the Tigers and on the road at Cleveland in interleague play. The righty is familiar with the Twins as he's 2-5 against Minnesota with a 4.45 ERA and a WHIP of 1.542, but he hasn

Anaheim

The Blue Jays can sweep the Reds with a win on Thursday night in Toronto. The Jays send Brett Cecil to the hill where he's 2-1 with a 4.26 ERA this season. Cecil is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA at home in two outings and he will be making his second start since coming off the disabled list. In his previous outing, he went seven innings and gave up just eight hits and three earned runs while striking out four. Outside of one poor outing in Boston before going on the disabled list, Cecil has been stellar this season. He gave up eight earned runs in that one poor start at Boston, but he has only given up seven earned runs total in his other four starts this season. He'll be facing a Reds team that is 9-11 against lefthanders this season and was already shut down by Brian Tallet in this series. Tallet pitched that game with just three days rest on Tuesday, but Cincinnati still managed only six hits in the entire game. The Reds are also a weak 3-8 in Interleague play this year.

Going for the Reds is Johnny Cueto who is 6-4 with a 2.55 ERA this season. Cueto's last outing was at home against the struggling White Sox where he gave up five runs and 10 hits in just 4.7 innings pitched. Before that he gave up five runs in six innings to the light hitting Royals. Cueto will now be facing a Blue Jays

The Angels cooled off the Rockies last night and look to do the same tonight when they finish their series against Colorado. Going for the Angels is Joe Saunders who is 7-4 with a 3.80 ERA this season. Saunders is 3-2 with a 3.12 ERA at home giving up just 17 earned runs in 49 innings pitched. He's coming off a no decision victory over the Dodgers and a dominant effort against San Diego at home. Saunders hasn't faced the Rockies who are hitting .248 on the road and are 11-11 against left handed starters.

Colorado sends Jason Marquis to the bump where he's 9-4 with a 3.71 ERA. Marquis hasn't been tested in his last two starts facing light hitting Seattle and Pittsburgh at home. The Angels are hitting .303 in interleague play and are 10-4 so far. They are 19-15 at home and are scoring 4.9 runs per game in their building.

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The Marlins enjoy Interleague play as they are 8-5 so far against the tough AL East, including winning three straight and four of their last five games. Going for Florida is Ricky Nolasco who has been stellar since returning from AAA. He has a 2.50 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and a .235 BAA in three contests. In two of those games he faced Toronto and Boston getting the rain shortened win in Fenway. Ricky has held Ty Wigginton (0-6), Nick Markakis (0-3) and Cesar Izturis (0-2) hitless. The Orioles average 3.9 runs per game on the road and are hitting .238 away from Camden Yards.

The Orioles send rookie Jason Berken to the hill where he's 1-3 with a 6.84 ERA this season. Berken has made one start on the road giving up nine runs and seven hits in 3.3 innings pitched against the light hitting Oakland A's losing the game 9-4. Berken's ERA in his last three starts is 10.68 going 0-2 in that span, falling to the Braves and getting a no decision against the Mets. The Marlins offense has picked up a bit since returning home.

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MLB Steamroller

After losing two straight to the Nationals, Toronto is looking for their third win in a row when they host the Reds on Wednesday. Cincinnati has lost three straight and will have to deal with Scott Richmond. Richmond is 5-4 with a 3.79 ERA this season as both a reliever and starter. He is coming off his best outing of his season going eight innings giving up just five hits and one earned run striking out 11 Phillies in Philadelphia in a 7-1 victory. Richmond has walked only three batters in his last 17.7 innings pitched.

Cincinnati sends Bronson Arroyo to the hill where he's 8-5 with a 5.16 ERA this season. Arroyo is 4-3 on the road with a 4.53 ERA this season. He'd like to forget his last outing against Toronto in 2008 where he lasted only one inning giving up 10 runs and 11 hits and three home runs. The Reds lost that one 14-1 in Toronto. Scott Rolen (9-25), Marco Scutaro (4-14), Aaron Hill (3-9), Kevin Millar (3-6), Alex Rios (2-5) and Michael Barrett (6-16) have done against Arroyo.

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The Astros picked up their second interleague victory yesterday beating the Twins in the Metrodome, but it is unlikely to happen again on Sunday. Houston is sending Wandy Rodriguez to the hill where he's 5-6 with a 3.33 ERA. Wandy is completely different away from home going 2-4 with a 4.78 ERA and a 1.699 WHIP in seven starts. In his last three road starts he's given up 6 earned runs in just 4 innings, 5 earned runs in 4.2 innings and 6 runs in 4 innings. Those three games were against the Rangers, Pirates and Reds who aren

Boston has the chance to wrap up their NL East homestand 4-2 if they beat the Braves and Jair Jurrjens on Sunday. Jurrjens is 5-5 with a 2.89 ERA this season, but he has lost three straight decisions going 0-3 with a 4.20 ERA in his last three starts. Jurrjens only went two innings in his last outing due to a rain delay in Cincinnati. The Red Sox haven

Detroit's offense has pounded on the Brewers for two games so far. On Sunday runs may be at a premium when a pair of aces now take the hill. Going for Milwaukee is Yovani Gallardo who is 7-3 with a 2.93 ERA on the season. Gallardo has given up four earned runs in his last 10 innings pitched and has walked 10 batters as well. He has walked four or more in five of his last seven outings. One Tiger has faced Gallardo and it was Josh Anderson who is 2 for 3 against him with two walks and a strikeout. He'll be facing a Tiger offense that has scored 25 runs in their last three games and is averaging 5.7 runs per game at home where they are 19-11.

Justin Verlander goes for the Tigers where he's 7-3 with a 3.39 ERA. At home he's been nearly unhittable, going 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA striking out 43 batters in 33 innings. The last time Verlander saw the Brewers in 2007, he threw a no hitter striking out 12 and walking four in a 4-0 win at home. The current Brewers are hitting .182 against the righty with Frank Catalanotto (1-10), Craig Counsell (0-4), JJ Hardy (0-3), Prince Fielder (0-3) and Corey Hart (0-3) all struggling the most against him.

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The Mets and Rays play game two of their series in NYC as Tampa tries to slow a three game losing streak. The Mets will send ace Johan Santana to the hill where he

The Orioles and Mets look to take the series when they take the field on Thursday night. Baltimore has gone 4-4 so far on their 9 game homestand and will send rookie Jason Berken to the hill where he's 1-3 with a 7.32 ERA. At home Berken has made three starts and is 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA. He gave up only one run in seven innings to the Detroit Tigers on the 31st and will face an inconsistent Mets offense without Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado.

Going for the Mets is Livan Hernandez who is 5-1 with a 4.21 ERA this season. On the road that ERA goes up to 4.75 with the Mets going 4-4 in his eight road starts. Livan got touched up by the Yankees in his last outing giving up six runs and seven hits in 5.3 innings pitched. The current Orioles are hitting .326 against Hernandez with Melvin Mora (4-13), Aubrey Huff (5-8), Brian Roberts (4-8) and Luke Scott (1-3) doing the best against him. The Orioles are hitting .299 in their last seven games and are averaging 5.2 runs per game at home.

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The Cubs have lost five of their last six and play the White Sox in game two of their rain shortened series on Thursday afternoon. Chicago turns to Carlos Zambrano who is 4-2 with a 3.39 ERA this season. At home Zambrano is 1-1 with a 4.62 ERA in four starts. Carlos hasn't pitched in seven days which benefits the White Sox as Carlos ERA on five days rest is 4.82. Carlos hasn't seen the White Sox since 2007 but lost his last home outing against them 10-6 in May of 2007. The White Sox hit .267 against the righthander with Paul Konerko (.318), AJ Pierzynski (.333) and Jim Thome (.333) doing the best against him. The White Sox have won four of their last five on the road and are hitting the ball well.

Going for the White Sox is Gavin Floyd who is 4-5 with a 4.94 ERA this season. In his last three starts he's 1-0 with a 1.66 ERA giving up just four runs in his last 21.7 innings pitched. Floyd has yet to start against the Chicago Cubs and has faced off only against Alfonso Soriano (1-4) and Ryan Freel (1-3) before. The Cubs have scored 10 runs in their last six games and are hitting around .220 during that span.

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The Royals welcome Arizona to town after Kansas City swept the Reds at home. Gil Meche takes the hill for Kansas City and since making alterations to his wind-up, he's gone 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA in his last three outings. During a span of 20 innings pitched he's given up just three runs striking out 20 while walking only 10. Meche faced Arizona last season on the road and won 8-3 there striking out 10 D-Backs in 7.3 IP while getting the win. Arizona hits just .170 against Meche with Chris Snyder (0-6), Tony Clark (0-3), Chad Tracy (0-3), Stephen Drew (0-3), Chris Young (0-3) and Justin Upton (0-3) all looking for their first hits against him. Arizona hits just .224 on the road going 13-14 away from their building.

Arizona sends Doug Davis to the hill where he is 3-7 with a 3.42 ERA. He is coming off a 6-4 loss to San Francisco where he gave up five runs and six hits in four innings. In that outing he walked three and struck out only one. Davis is 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA all time against the Royals. Mike Jacobs (6-8) and David DeJesus (2-3) do the best against the lefthander who will be facing an offense that has averaged 4.9 runs in their last seven games. They've also hit .290 during that span.

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Baltimore hosts a limping Mets team on Tuesday night for the first of three at Camden Yards. New York will be sending Mike Pelfrey to the hill where he's 4-2 with a 4.68 ERA. Pelfrey is worse on the road going 2-2 with a 6.33 ERA away from Citi Field. He hasn't been that stellar recently either going 0-1 with a 5.71 ERA in his last three starts including a terrible outing in Pittsburgh. Mike Pelfrey hasn't started against the Orioles and only three players have seen him before. The Orioles have found their bats scoring 19 runs in their last two home games and should get Adam Jones back for Tuesday's game.

New York's bats were silent on Sunday when they lost 15-0 to the Yankees. They'll face Jeremy Guthrie who is 4-6 with a 5.52 ERA this season. At home, Guthrie is 3-3 with a 3.94 ERA. He's coming off an outing where he gave up six hits and three earned runs in six innings pitched. Guthrie hasn

The Bay area rivalry continues on Saturday when the A

The Rockies have won nine in a row and will look for number ten on Saturday night when they once again host the Seattle Mariners. Going for Seattle will be former closer Brandon Morrow who will be limited to 60 pitches and is starting in place of Erik Bedard who was taken out of the start after experiencing some soreness. Morrow is 0-3 this season with a terrible 6.38 ERA, six saves and two blown. Morrow has never started against the Rockies yet Carlos Gonzalez has managed to go 2 for 6 against him.

Going for Colorado is Jason Marquis who is 8-4 with a 3.98 ERA. In his last three starts Marquis has gone 2-1 with a 2.61 ERA beating the Cardinals and shutting out the Padres in Coors Field. Marquis is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in two starts against the Mariners, beating them in 2007. Marquis has done the best against Endy Chavez (3-14), Russell Branyan (3-13), Ichiro (0-4), Jose Lopez (0-3), and Yuniesky Betancourt (0-2). The Rockies have averaged almost six runs a game at home and remain an underrated team on this current 9-0 hot streak.

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Interleague play hits Jacobs Field as the Indians host the St. Louis Cardinals. Going for the Cards is Joel Pineiro who is 5-6 with a 3.97 ERA this season. In his last three starts he's gone 0-3 with a 5.62 ERA as he's given up 24 hits in 16 innings pitched. Hitters are raking him lately hitting over .300 against the righthander. Pineiro is 3-2 with a 5.29 ERA all time against the Indians, but he hasn

The Orioles return home losers of five straight as they host the Mariners on Tuesday. Seattle handed the O

Winners of six straight, the Athletics welcome the Minnesota Twins to town for a four game set beginning tonight. Oakland sends lefthander Josh Outman to the hill where he is 3-0 with a 3.14 ERA on the season. Outman is 2-0 with a 2.57 ERA in his last three starts, including an impressive win on the road against the White Sox last Wednesday. Outman will face the Twins for the first time and will face a Minnesota squad that has scored 13 runs total in their last six road games. Home has been very friendly to the A

Detroit cooled off the Angels on Saturday night with a 2-1 win and Detroit now looks to take the series on Sunday afternoon behind rookie Rick Porcello who is 6-4 with a 3.70 ERA and 1.250 WHIP this season. In his last three starts, Porcello has gone 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.286 WHIP. In that span of 16.3 innings pitched, he has only walked four hitters, showing great control which a pitcher of his ilk needs. He has never faced anyone on this Angels

San Diego has come back to earth during the past week and are now losers of four straight and six of their last seven after an ugly 8-0 loss versus Arizona last night. They host the Diamondbacks again this evening and San Diego will send Kevin Correia to the hill where he is a weak 1-4 with a 5.37 ERA this season. In his last three starts he has gone 0-2 with a 6.06 ERA and has given up 10 earned runs in just 10 innings in his last two starts. Correia is 0-3 with a 5.34 ERA against Arizona in five career starts, including a 6-5 loss to them just last week in Arizona. In that game Correia gave up six runs and nine hits in only 5.7 innings pitched. Arizona hits .269 against the righthander with Mark Reynolds (4-14), Justin Upton (4-12), Chris Snyder (3-10), Augie Ojeda (2-4), and Ryan Roberts (3-3) doing the best.

Max Scherzer goes for the Diamondbacks and he brings a 2-4 record with a 4.47 ERA to the hill. His numbers are misleading as he has struggled at home in a hitter friendly park, but on the road Scherzer has been fantastic with a 1.86 ERA and 1.172 WHIP and a 31-12 strikeout/walk ratio. Scherzer has had five quality starts in his last seven this season and he is 1-0 in his only start against San Diego when he gave up just two runs and six hits in seven innings on May 26th with an awesome 10-0 K/BB ratio. Overall, San Diego is hitting only .200 against Scherzer with David Eckstein (0-3), Scott Hairston (0-3), Kevin Kouzmanoff (0-3), Edgar Gonzalez (0-3), and Nick Hundley (0-3) all going hitless.

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The Angels look to move two games over .500 as they finish their series in Toronto this afternoon. Going for the Angels is John Lackey who is 1-1 with a 6.05 ERA, but Lackey is working his way back from injuries which kept him out in the beginning of the season and he should continue to improve with each start. The former All-Star is 3-3 with a 3.39 ERA in his games against the Blue Jays, beating them twice in three games last year. Toronto hits only .234 against the righthander with Vernon Wells (5-21), John McDonald (3-18), Rod Barajas (3-16), Lyle Overbay (2-11), Scott Rolen (0-9), and Aaron Hill (1-8) doing the worst against Lackey.

Toronto sends Brian Tallet to the hill where he is starting after being moved from the bullpen. He is 3-3 with a 4.26 ERA on the year and his ERA goes down to 4.00 in games he has started. Tallet is 1-2 in his last three outings and has never faced the Angels as a starter. The Angels haven

Despite a 5-0 loss last night, the White Sox are still playing excellent baseball with an 8-3 record in their past eleven games, while the Athletics have been struggling with a weak 2-5 record during the past week.

The Athletics have been a terrible road team this season with a 9-17 record away from home where they average just 4.0 runs per game and bat only .240 as a team. The A

The Dodgers play game two of their series with the Diamondbacks on Tuesday night at Chavez Ravine. Going for LA is Randy Wolf who is 3-1 with a 3.23 ERA this season. He has yet to win a home game in five outings, but he has pitched well in all of those games as LA won four of the five. Wolf is 7-3 against the D-Backs, including a 3-1 win versus Danny Haren in Arizona earlier this season. Arizona hits just .245 against the lefthander with Eric Byrnes (2-12), Mark Reynolds (2-10), Augie Ojeda (2-9), Tony Clark (2-8), Stephen Drew (0-6), and Justin Upton (0-5) all struggling versus Wolf. Overall, the D-Backs are 5-10 against lefthanders this year with a weak .213 team batting average.

Going for Arizona is Danny Haren who is 4-4 with a 2.54 ERA this season. He has struggled a bit in his last three outings, going 1-1 with a 4.09 ERA which includes giving up five earned runs to weak hitting Oakland on May 23rd. As mentioned above, Haren has already lost to LA this season and has lost three straight to them overall. He is 3-4 against them and the Dodgers as a team hit .326 off the righty with Casey Blake (.385), Doug Mientkiewicz (.389), Andre Ethier (.412), James Loney (.313), Mark Loretta (.364), Matt Kemp (.364), and Juan Pierre (.375) all hitting the righty well.

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Baltimore hits the road after a 5-2 homestand to take on the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have won three of their last four as well and will turn to Jarrod Washburn to continue the win streak. Washburn is 3-3 with a 3.45 ERA this season, but in his last three starts he is 0-1 with a 5.29 ERA. He got shellacked in his last home start giving up six runs in five innings to the Angels. Washburn has lost three straight to the O