There’s not a lot to choose from in terms of pitching match ups today. One of the better ones takes place in Chicago where Mark Buehrle host Ryan Dempster and the Cubs. Dempster is finishing up a strange June in which he pitched well (2.10 ERA) but hasn’t won. The Cubs scored just two runs in his last three starts. Buehrle is posting his best ERA since 2005, and like that season pulled his OBA allowed below .300.
Four pitchers return to the majors today. The first, Homer Bailey, makes the 19th start of his major league career and second of the season. He has not been able to translate his high minor league strikeout totals to the majors. His high walk totals get even worse with the Reds, to the point that he’s walked more major league batters than he’s struck out. He’ll go against the Indian’s Tomo Ohka. The Cleveland righty depends on his defense as he’s struck out nine and walked five in 23 innings this season.
Bruce Chen, last pitched in 2007. He takes the place of Kyle Davies in the Royals rotation as they visit the Pirates and Paul Maholm. Chen pitched well at AAA this season, with low walks and hits allowed. Maholm started the season strong, but saw his ERA climb every month. He’ll try to lower his 6.38 ERA in June this afternoon.
Scott Kazmir comes off the diabled list for the Tampa Bay Rays as they battle the Florida Marlins. Chris Volstad takes the hill for the Fish. He’s posting an 8.02 ERA in June as his strikeouts collapsed to 11 in 21 1/3 innings. Kazmir for the first time in a major league season is giving up more hits than innings pitched. His falling strikeout rate was a sign that he was hurt. We’ll see if he’s recovered tonight.
Finally, Eric Milton returns to action for the Dodgers as they continue their series against the Mariners. His 2.89 ERA seems low for a pitcher allowing a .299 BA and a .365 OBA. Opponents have been held to a .158 batting average with runners in scoring position however. He gets a tough challenge in Felix Hernandez. The Seattle ace is coming into Cy Young form as he’s pushed his ERA below 3.00 this season by cutting down on his walks and home runs.
Enjoy!