Two starts from Chris Young sounds like a good week to us.
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The Games to Watch
Series of the Week, the Early Edition
Milwaukee Brewers at Arizona Diamondbacks – Monday through Wednesday
The Brewers (63-61) are fighting to stay in the race, while the Diamondbacks (71-54) look to build on their four game lead within the division and one game lead on the Mets for the best record in the league. These teams are heading in opposite directions, with the Brewers just 3-7 over their last ten games and the Diamondbacks 7-3 over their last ten games.
The Brewers face a familiar face in the series opener, with Doug Davis (10-10, 3.92) taking the mound for the Diamondbacks against the team that resurrected him from the scrap heap. Davis is 5-0 over his last seven starts, but 20 walks and just 29 strikeouts during that stretch do not make one feel all warm and fuzzy about his success last much longer – those are not exactly 5-0 control numbers. Can someone with mediocre control, a 1.57 WHIP, and .275 batting average against maintain an ERA under 4.00 for long? Probably not.
The Brewers counter with rookie phenom Yovani Gallardo (4-3, 4.84). Gallardo has shown the problems that come with trusting a rookie pitcher in a playoff hunt, as consistency has not been his friend. Six of his nine starts have been quality starts, but two of those non-quality starts have come in his last two outings. In those two, Gallardo allowed 19 earned runs in just 8 1/3 innings. Of course, even ten more innings – heck, 20 – would not have made those 19 runs any more palatable.
The hitter to watch for the Brewers is J.J. Hardy, who has once again been swinging the big lumber for the Brewers. Hardy is hitting .325 with five home runs, six RBI, and six runs scored in the last ten games. Hardy was ice cold in July, with a .241 batting average and no homers for the month, but he is heating back up at the right time.
The spotlight hitter for the Diamondbacks is catcher Chris Snyder. Snyder is hitting just .253 with 11 homers and 34 RBI for the season, but the last 10 games for Snyder have seen him go off offensively. In that time, Snyder has a .303 batting average, five runs scored, ten RBI, and two home runs.
Series of the Week – Weekend Edition
New York Yankees at Detroit Tigers
We get to do this weekend’s series all again, in Detroit, and the battle for the American League East, American League Central, and American League Wild Card hangs in the balance. The Tigers are going to be looking for revenge after losing three straight games in the Bronx this weekend. Trailing the Indians by 1.5 games in the Central and trailing the Yankees by three games and the Mariners by 3.5 games, this series is a must-win one for the Tigers.
The series kicks off with a battle of youth versus experience, with Roger Clemens (5-5, 3.92) facing off against Andrew Miller (5-4, 4.42). Miller has struggled with consistency, and his last quality start came back on July 6, five starts ago. Clemens, meanwhile, hit a rough patch at the end of last month, but it lasted for just two starts and he has rebounded with back-to-back six inning wins. Is he the Clemens of old? No, but he is still pretty darned good.
The hitter to watch for the Tigers is rookie phenom Cameron Maybin. Is the superstar prospect ready for the bigs, or is he going to be overmatched? Maybin has gone hitless in two of his three starts, but he did pick up two hits, including a home run, in his second start, which just happened to come against Clemens.
For the Yankees, Melky Cabrera has been red hot, hitting .333 with four home runs, 21 RBI, and 14 runs scored in 36 games since the All Star break. Before the break, he would have been an obvious choice to lose playing time to Jason Giambi when he returned, but the Yankees need to keep finding ways to get him into the lineup on a regular basis.
The Two-Timers
American League
American League East
Baltimore Orioles: Daniel Cabrera, vs. Texas and vs. Minnesota; Erik Bedard, vs. Texas and vs. Minnesota
Boston Red Sox: Tim Wakefield, at Tampa Bay and at Chicago; Jon Lester, at Tampa Bay and at Chicago
New York Yankees: Phil Hughes, at Los Angeles and at Detroit
Tampa Bay Devil Rays: Scott Kazmir, vs. Boston and vs. Oakland; Andy Sonnanstine, vs. Boston and vs. Oakland
Toronto Blue Jays: Shaun Marcum, vs. Oakland and at Los Angeles; Dustin McGowan, vs. Oakland and at Los Angeles
American League Central
Chicago White Sox: Mark Buehrle, vs. Kansas City and vs. Boston; Javier Vazquez, vs. Kansas City and vs. Boston
Cleveland Indians: Fausto Carmona, at Detroit and at Kansas City
Detroit Tigers: Jair Jurrjens, vs. Cleveland and vs. New York
Kansas City Royals: Gil Meche, at Chicago and vs. Cleveland
Minnesota Twins: Matt Garza, vs. Seattle and at Baltimore; Scott Baker, vs. Seattle and at Baltimore
American League West
Los Angeles Angels: Kelvim Escobar, vs. New York and Toronto
Oakland Athletics: Joe Blanton, at Toronto and at Tampa Bay; Dan Haren, at Toronto and at Tampa Bay
Seattle Mariners: Horacio Ramirez, at Minnesota and at Texas; Jarrod Washburn, at Minnesota and at Texas
Texas Rangers: Vicente Padilla, at Baltimore and vs. Seattle; Edinson Volquez, at Baltimore and vs. Seattle
National League
National League East
Atlanta Braves: Tim Hudson, at Cincinnati and at St. Louis; Chuck James, at Cincinnati and at St. Louis
Florida Marlins: Sergio Mitre, vs. San Francisco and at Cincinnati; Daniel Barone, at St. Louis and at Cincinnati
New York Mets: John Maine, vs. San Diego and vs. Los Angeles
Philadelphia Phillies: Kyle Kendrick, vs. Los Angeles and vs. San Diego
Washington Nationals: Tim Redding, at Washington and at Colorado; Joel Hanrahan, at Washington and at Colorado
National League Central
Chicago Cubs: Ted Lilly, vs. St. Louis and at Arizona; Jason Marquis, at San Francisco and at Arizona
Cincinnati Reds: Phil Dumatrait, vs. Atlanta and vs. Florida; Bobby Livingston, vs. Atlanta and vs. Florida
Houston Astros: Jason Jennings, vs. Washington and vs. Pittsburgh; Wandy Rodriguez, vs. Washington and vs. Pittsburgh
Milwaukee Brewers: Yovani Gallardo, at Arizona and at San Francisco
Pittsburgh Pirates: Matt Morris, at Colorado and at Houston; Tony Armas, at Colorado and at Houston
St. Louis Cardinals: Joel Pineiro, at Chicago and vs. Atlanta; Adam Wainwright, vs. Florida and vs. Atlanta
National League West
Arizona Diamondbacks: Doug Davis, vs. Milwaukee and Chicago; Livan Hernandez, vs. Milwaukee and Chicago
Colorado Rockies: Ubaldo Jimenez, vs. Pittsburgh and vs. Washington; Elmer Dessens, vs. Pittsburgh and vs. Washington
Los Angeles Dodgers: Brett Tomko, at Philadelphia and at New York
San Diego Padres: Chris Young, at New York and at Philadelphia
San Francisco Giants: Russ Ortiz, at Florida and vs. Milwaukee; Tim Lincecum, vs. Chicago and vs. Milwaukee
You Want These Guys…
Here are your top five two-time starters:
- Chris Young
- Erik Bedard
- Dan Haren
- Tim Hudson
- Mark Buehrle
Eh, Not So Much…
These, meanwhile, are the five two-timers you would rather avoid…
- Phil Dumatrait
- Joel Pineiro
- Matt Morris
- Edinson Volquez
- Russ Ortiz
The Schedule Advantages
Here are the teams that have an off day this week: the Indians, Tigers, Royals, Yankees, Brewers, Mets, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Padres, and Dodgers. All the rest play seven this week.
Looking for games in Coors Field? The Rockies play all seven there this week, with the Pirates getting four and the Nationals three.
Questions and comments may be sent to Mark at markhaverty@sportsgrumblings.com
