Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
July 14, 2007
Games of the Day

Cole Hamels tries to tie Carlos Zambrano for the league lead in wins and pass Jake Peavy for the league lead in strikeouts as the Cardinals face the Phillies this afternoon. A win by Hamels will also stave off Philadelphia's 10,000th loss. Despite the hitter friendly dimensions of CBP, Hamels has allowed a lower batting average and slugging percentage there, mostly because he allows fewer doubles. Mike Maroth takes the hill for the Cardinals. They're polar opposites in walks and strikeouts. Hamels has struck out four times as many batters as he's walked, Maroth walked four more batters than he struck out.

The Dodgers try to drop the Giants 11 1/2 games out of first place as they send Derek Lowe against Matt Morris. Brad Penny was supposed start but a blister will keep him out of action until Monday. Lowe is only 8-8 despite a 3.12 ERA. Poor run support and poor luck landed him in that spot. He's lost games this year by scores of 1-0, 2-0, and 3-0. Morris continues to be tough with men in scoring position, allowing just a .219 batting average this season in that situation.

The Texas Rangers are pitching much better as of late, but the offense hasn't helped. Texas sports a 2.91 ERA in July, but a 5-4 record. They are only scoring just 2.9 runs per game. And they'll face another tough pitcher tonight as Kameron Loe faces Kelvim Escobar. Lowe is part of the Rangers mound resurgence as he's posted a 1.60 ERA in his last five starts. Escobar has pitched well all season as he goes for his eleventh win. His 0.47 HR per 9 is second in the AL to Chad Gaudin.

Enjoy!


Posted by David Pinto at 09:43 AM | Matchups | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Pssst... I think you mean John Lackey's going for the Angels tonight, not Kelvim Escobar (who dueled with Millwood last night). ;)

Posted by: Czar at July 14, 2007 01:56 PM
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