August 29, 2006
Games of the Day
The teams with the two best records in the American League meet tonight as the Tigers visit the Yankees. The Tigers are 0.71 runs better in terms of ERA, the Yankees 0.64 better in terms of runs per game. The Yankees appear to have the better pitcher on the mound tonight as Nate Robertson faces Chien-Ming Wang. The big difference between the two pitchers is the long ball. Wang's home run rate is 0.55 per 9, the lowest in the AL. Robertson is twice that, at 1.28. New York trails Detroit by four games for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, so despite opening a big lead on the Red Sox, this is an important series. While Detroit is very even home and away, the Yankees pitching and W/L record is superior at Yankee Stadium.
If Atlanta is going to make the playoffs, one of the team they need to pass is the Giants. They trail San Francisco by three games as the big men visit Atlanta. Jason Schmidt takes the mound for San Francisco against Tim Hudson of the Braves. It appears that Jason doesn't get much support outside of the Bay Area. His 3.14 ERA at home produced a 7-1 record, while his 3.33 road ERA was good for a mere 3 wins in nine decisions. After a rough July, Hudson is posting a 2.97 ERA in August, allowing just one home run in 33 1/3 innings. (There's a whole generation that doesn't know the significance of that number.)
The Brewers and Astros are both in the wild card race, but the big story tonight is Willy Taveras going for game 31 in his hit streak. The pitching matchup favors Willy as he's four for eleven vs. Ohka.
The Marlins try to extend their eight game winning streak and their run at the wild card as they face the Cardinals in St. Louis. If Florida is going to make the playoffs, they'll earn it as their schedule is full of teams they need to beat, including 10 games against the Phillies and three games against the Reds, not to mention seven against the Mets. They start Scott Olsen against Mark Mulder tonight. Among pitchers with 130 innings this season, Olsen ranks 7th in the majors in K per 9. This is Mulder's second start since returning from the DL. The Mets pounded him for nine runs in three innings his last time out. But he's pitched better in St. Louis this season, posting a 3.26 ERA and a 4-1 record at the new Busch Stadium.
San Diego continues its series against Arizona as Chris Young takes on rookie Enrique Gonzalez. Gonzalez has used Chase to his advantage so far, allowing a .191 batting average there vs. .324 on the road. Young is undefeated on the road this season with a 5-0 record and 2.63 ERA. He's less susceptible to the long ball outside of PETCO.
The team that can't seem to win nor lose the wild card, the Cincinnati Reds tries to get back in the win column in a battle of former AL lefties. Eric Milton battles Mark Hendrickson in Los Angeles. Right-handed hitters pounded Milton this season for a .500 slugging percentage. Hendrickson's ERA is nearly a run higher with the Dodgers, despite no designated hitter. Opponents hit .241 against him with the Devil Rays, .302 since joining the Dodgers.
Finally, it's the old Jarrod vs. the new Jered as the Mariners host the Angels. Weaver goes for his 10th win vs. one defeat. Washburn tries not to lose his 13th.
Enjoy!
Posted by David Pinto at
03:31 PM
|
Matchups
|
TrackBack (0)
Don't be so sure the Tigers have the better pitcher on the mound. Wang's numbers in Yankee are much better than his road numbers. At home, he's 9-2 with a 2.97 ERA & 3 no decisions....but anywhere else, he's 6-3 with a 4.88, and 6 no decisions. He's also a better pitcher in night games than day, by a full run.
OOps...I misread, you did say the Yanks have the better pitcher on the mound. My bad.
The Yanks trail the Tigers by 4 for best record, which means they lead the Twins/White Sox by less than 2 games as well. How cool would it be to have the wild card team finish with the second-best record in the league, and get home field advantage in the ALDS? Pretty cool, that's how cool.
I don't think it works that way: the Wild Card team can't get home field advantage, even if it has a better record than the Division Winner it faces.