The Boston Red Sox get to face a tougher pitcher than yesterday as they try to clinch a playoff berth. Cliff Lee makes his penultimate start of the season against Tim Wakefield. Lee walked as many as three men in a game for only the second time this season in his last start. The seven issued in those two starts comprises 23% of his total for the year. Tim Wakefiled appears to have lost it in September. He's allowed 13 runs, all earned in 12 innings of work. He's only walked four, but he allowed three home runs.

The Yankees send Mike Mussina out to try for win number 19 and to keep the Yankees chances alive if the Red Sox lose. He'll need to get by Jesse Litsch. Mussina is showing signs of fatigue, lasting less than six innings a start in September. The Yankees pounded Litsch in his two starts against New York. He gave up 17 hits in 8 innings of work, and his defense allowed five unearned runs on top of that.

One thing in Milwaukee's favor is a three-game series against the Pirates, the worst team in the NL Central. The Dave Bush/Jeff Karstens matchup should also favor Milwaukee. Karstens is a low BB, low K pitcher so it's no surprise the league is batting .288 against him. With a higher K total and a low walk rate, Bush has both a low batting average against and a low OBA allowed. He does tend to give up extra base hits, however.

The biggest game of the night involves the White Sox and the Twins as they send Javier Vazquez and Scott Baker to battle for the AL Central title. With Chicago's magic number standing at five, the Twins really need to sweep the series to have a chance at taking the division. That's the only way they make up the three losses. Chicago leads the season series 8-7, and all but four games ended in blow outs. The Twins need to keep the contests close, as they are 3-1 against the White Sox in one and two run games.

After a great August, Vazquez's walk and home run rate nearly doubled in September compared to last month. He's 2-0 against the Twins despite a 5.11 ERA, thanks to good run support. It's tough to go deep on Scott Baker in the Metrodome. He allows home runs at half the rate he does on the road. Like Vazquez, he's undefeated against the White Sox this season despite a 5.73 ERA. Something has to give.

Tim Lincecum pitches against Colorado in San Francisco tonight. He's always fun to watch, and another great performance enhances his Cy Young chances.

Enjoy!

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