Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
September 08, 2008
Games of the Day

The big AL East showdown starts today in Boston as Edwin Jackson and the Rays visit Jon Lester and the Red Sox. Boston picked up four games on Tampa Bay last week as the Red Sox won as many (5) as the Rays lost. The season series so far stands at 6-6, with all the games won by the home team. Jackson, however, pitches better on the road for the Rays, so they have the right person on the mound to try to break that streak. He posts a 3.26 ERA away from Tampa Bay, 4.83 at home. That may be a bit of luck, however, as his averages allowed are nearly identical. Lester faced the Rays twice, both at home, and held them to two earned runs in 12 1/3 innings. While this series is unlikely to keep either team out of the playoffs at this point, winning home field advantage is very important to both.

The Brewers have trouble winning without Sheets or Sabathia on the mound lately. Dave Bush gets the added problem of facing Edinson Volquez. Despite an ERA in the fours the last two months, Volquez is still 6-2 over that time, and hasn't allowed a home run since July. Bush has been very consistent with all his averages this year, but with better offensive support he's 4-2 since the All-Star break.

The Blue Jays try to make it nine in a row as they take on the first place White Sox in Chicago. A.J. Burnett takes on Javier Vazquez. Burnett is making a good push in the second half if he decides to opt out of his contract. He's struck out 75 in 66 1/3 innings since the All-Star break while walking just 21, good for a 3.53 ERA. Vazquez showed improvement in the second half as well, posting a 3.79 ERA and lowering his home run rate by 1/3.

Arizona tries to get back in the win column as they face the weak hitting Giants, but Tim Lincecum stands in their way. He gave up five runs in a game for the third time this season in his last start. Against the Diamondbacks this season, he's struck out 20 in 14 1/3 innings while walking just three. Yusmeiro Petit takes the hill for Arizona.
Petit posts great K and BB numbers, but teams tend to take him deep. He is giving up home runs at a rate of 34.4 per 200 innings this season.

Enjoy!

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Posted by David Pinto at 09:07 AM | Matchups | TrackBack (0)
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