American League

• Mariners at Yankees, 4:05 p.m. PT — I’m contractually obligated to pimp the Yankees game, because no-one else will. Philip Hughes gets the start for New York. He’s coughed up five runs in each of his past three starts, but whatever. Outfielder Wladimir Balentien is up for Seattle. In addition to the great name, Balentien has some of the sickest power I’ve seen in the minors. Dude hit some serious shots when he was in the California League. Big kid.
• Orioles at Devil Rays, 4:10 p.m. PT — Dude, don’t actually watch this one. I just couldn’t resist including Radhames Liz and Andy Sonnanstine in this post. And now that I think of it, B.J. Upton is worth watching, as is the inexplicably resurgent Carlos Pena.

National League

• Dodgers at Cubs, 5:05 p.m. PT — Eric Stults takes the mound for LA. I loved him in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (some jokes never get old, they’re just lame to begin with). On the other side, Ted Lilly gets the call against his former employer. Lilly never made it to the big club, but he was drafted by the Dodgers back in ‘96. Lilly also was part of a July 2002 trade that included the aforementioned Pena. The Tigers ended up with Pena and Jeremy Bonderman, the A’s got Lilly, and the Yankees drew the short straw, er, I mean Jeff Weaver.
• Pirates at Cardinals, 5:10 p.m. PT — Mark Mulder makes his 2007 debut for St. Louis, bringing new meaning to the term “fashionably late.” As was the case in ‘06, the Cardinals find themselves in the thick of a pennant race despite being a .500 ballclub. Yippee for them. Rick Ankiel continues to defy logic by being a productive everyday outfielder. He’s even destroying lefties. It’s a small sample, but how could would that be if Ankiel ends up having a decent big-league career after all? Russell Branyan also somehow has found his way to St. Louis. Elvis is everywhere? No, Russell is everywhere.
• Padres at Diamondbacks, 6:40 p.m. PT — Jake Peavy, Livan Hernandez, battle for supremacy in the NL West, etc.

One game? As usual, I’m partial to San Diego/Arizona. Happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Some great games on Monday’s schedule, including four big playoff contender showdowns:

American League

• Yankees at Tigers, 4:05 p.m. PT — Mike Mussina and Justin Verlander hook up at Comerica Park. Mussina has given up seven runs in each of his last two starts and now sports a 5.22 ERA on the season. It might not be time to stick a fork in him just yet, but maybe someone should poke around a little. Yikes, and now I see that Verlander’s ERA over his past seven starts is 5.95. The Tigers have lost 20 of their last 30? Ugh, that’s not good.
• Angels at Mariners, 7:05 p.m. PT — John Lackey goes against Miguel Batista. Looks like a mismatch, until you realize that Seattle leads the wild card despite 61 starts from the likes of Batista, Jeff Weaver, and Horacio Ramirez. I have to admit, as much as I want the Padres to win it all this year, there’s a part of me that wouldn’t mind seeing a Seattle/Arizona World Series because, seriously, what’s up with that?

National League

• Mets at Phillies, 4:05 p.m. PT — Terrible pitching matchup in a bandbox park. Citizens Bank Park isn’t the most conducive to scoring runs, but no other park in baseball is as generous when it comes to giving up the long ball. San Diego’s Terrmel Sledge hit a pop up to left on Saturday night that just kept carrying and somehow left the yard. Brett Myers may have acted like an idiot, but he also made a good point, which is that his home park is a little ridiculous.
• Diamondbacks at Padres, 7:05 p.m. PT — Jake Peavy needs one strikeout to pass Andy Benes as San Diego’s all-time strikeouts leader. Only once in his career — June 22, 2003, against Seattle — has Peavy failed to punch out at least one batter. I’m liking his chances. And, of course, three games separate these two teams atop the NL West.

Happy watching!

Post from: Knuckle Curve

Looking for games with the biggest playoff implications? Try the Yankees at Indians (Andy Pettitte vs Jake Westbrook, 10:05 a.m. PT), or Braves at Phillies (Buddy Carlyle vs Jamie Moyer, 5:05 p.m. PT).

Enjoy…

Post from: Knuckle Curve