Either way, Arizona lost the game Brandon Webb started, which creates serious problems for the rest of the series. Friday night’s game (first pitch 7 p.m. PT) features slop-balling left-hander Doug Davis and young flamethrower Ubaldo Jimenez. If Jimenez is on his game (anyone’s guess given his lack of experience), he should have little trouble with Arizona’s hitters. Davis, as is his custom, will be perfectly average in all respects.

Over in the American League, we have a great pitching matchup. The Indians are in Boston for Game 1 of the ALCS. First pitch is at 4 p.m. PT. The two leading candidates for AL Cy Young hook up in this one — C. C. Sabathia and Josh Beckett. Holy smokes, I was just looking at Sabathia’s numbers against left-handers this year: .203/.229/.317, with 75 strikeouts against 4 walks.

Looking for a weakness in either guy’s game? Check out — scratch that, there are none. If you love great pitching (as do I), you’re in for a treat.

Happy Friday, folks, and happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Let’s see what in store for Thursday, shall we?

• Rockies at Phillies, 12 noon PT — Dropping Game 1 at home with Cole Hamels puts Philadelphia in a very uncomfortable position. Rookie Kyle Kendrick put up a nice ERA and win totals, but his complete inability to throw the ball past hitters could present a serious problem against the Rockies, who tend to hit the ball hard when they make contact. Another rookie, the even younger and less battle tested Franklin Morales, goes for Colorado. (When is the last time two guys age 22 or younger faced off in a playoff game?) Morales held left-handed batters to a .129/.206/.226 line this year. It’s a tiny sample, so who knows how telling this will be, but — well, I was going to note that the Phillies’ lineup is stacked with lefties, but despite that fact, they actually hit southpaws a little better. Eh, rookie pitchers. Who knows.
• Yankees at Indians, 3:30 p.m. PT — Two pitchers with identical 19-7 records square off in Cleveland. One of them is a leading candidate for Cy Young, while the other benefits from 7.04 runs per game behind him. The Yankees scored 968 runs this year, which is obscene. They’ve gotten well above average production from every position except center field, where they’ve been merely okay. To say that C.C. Sabathia will have his hands full would be to grossly understate the situation. Cleveland’s offense is pretty solid as well, but it has holes — notably at second base and in the corner outfield spots. Guess we’ll find out whether good pitching really does beat good hitting…
• Cubs at Diamondbacks, 7 p.m. PT — Arizona won a battle of the bullpens in the opener. Two left-handers hook up in Game 2: Ted Lilly and the eminently average (75-75 career record, 104 ERA+) Doug Davis. The latter tends to put guys on base via the walk (90+ each of the past three seasons), but the Cubs tend not to draw walks. Only Derrek Lee (71) and Mark DeRosa (58) had as many as 50 in 2007. Among National League teams, only the Pirates drew fewer bases on balls. Irresistible force, immovable object…

Happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Red Sox at Yankees, 10:05 a.m. PT — This series doesn’t need any more hype. Either you love it or you don’t care. Watch (or don’t) accordingly.
• Mariners at Indians, 4:05 p.m. PT — Playoff implications in this one, plus a potentially volatile pitching matchup. Two finesse lefties — the execrable Horacio Ramirez and the too-unknown-to-have-an-unflattering-adjective-attached-to-the-front-of-his-name Aaron Laffey — hook up in this one. Philosophical question for the day: When does batting practice end and game begin?

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 10:05 a.m. PT — We’re all anxious to know whether Philadelphia can reach the post-season with two guys named Kyle in the rotation. Orlando Hernandez goes for the Mets. Your grandkids will be telling you about him one day.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — The preview says that Livan Hernandez is pitching for Arizona, but he started on Monday; it’s actually left-hander Doug Davis. San Diego counters with Chris Young, who missed his previous start due to a bad back. These two teams find themselves in a virtual tie for first place in the NL West with a month to go. The Padres are one game up in the loss column.

As you know by now, I’m very biased, but I honestly believe that the NL West race is the most compelling in baseball right now. It certainly is the closest. If you have to choose one game to watch, I recommend Arizona vs San Diego, although the Mariners and Indians could be “interesting” — any chance they could get that game moved to Coors Field?

As always, happy watching…

Post from: Knuckle Curve

American League

• Mariners at Twins, 5:10 p.m. PT — How in the world can Horacio Ramirez have a 7-4 record despite a 7.38 ERA? If his performance doesn’t convince you that won-loss record is a terrible way to evaluate starting pitchers, then nothing will. Opponents are batting .341/.407/.518 against the southpaw; that’s roughly what Joe Mauer did last year. Right-hander Matt Garza (2-3, 2.05 ERA) starts for Minnesota.
• Yankees at Angels, 7:05 p.m. PT — New York has won 21 of its last 30 and is now just four games back of Boston in the AL East. The Angels are up by two games in the AL West. Two young pitchers, Philip Hughes and Dustin Moseley, face each other in this one. Both have been brilliant at times but, as you might expect, very inconsistent. Both lineups are stacked, too, and the pitchers will have their hands full.

National League

• Brewers at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. PT — After leading the NL Central for much of the season, Milwaukee has slipped behind the Cubs into second place. Rookie Yovani Gallardo gets the call for the Brewers. He’s allowed 18 runs over 8 1/3 innings covering his previous two starts. Milwaukee features MVP candidate Prince Fielder and ROY favorite Ryan Braun on offense. Veteran lefty Doug Davis gets the start for Arizona against his old team. Davis is 10-10 this year, after going 11-11 each of the past two seasons, and 12-12 the year before that. Weird.

One game: Yankees at Anaheim. It’s the most compelling pitching matchup and has the most playoff implications. Happy watching…

Post from: Knuckle Curve