Cleveland and Detroit go head to head for first place in the AL Central as Justin Masterson faces Justin Verlander. Masterson pitched an excellent game against the Tigers on May 1st, walking two and striking out seven. He’s walked 27 batters on the season, but he’s also hit six, including two Tigers. Verlander faces Cleveland for the first time in 2011, and for his caeer holds a 5.11 ERA against the Tribe in 24 starts.
The Yankees host the first place Rangers as Alexi Ogando battles CC Sabathia. The undefeated Ogando is blowing away batters with 60 strikeouts and 18 walks, and an amazing .210 BABIP. Sabathia is one of four AL pitchers with 100 innings pitched so far in 2011. He’s doing a much better job of keeping the ball in the park this season with four home runs allowed, after giving up 20 in 327 2/3 innings in 2010.
Jonathon Niese takes on NL ERA leader Jair Jurrjens as the Mets visit the Braves. Niese had some trouble on the road this season, where his ERA stands at 4.46. It’s not clear why, as most of his home and road statistics are very similar. Jurrjens walks about 1 batter every seven innings, which helps keep batters off base, and it’s really tough to score when you can’t get on base.
Tampa Bay trails Boston by 4 1/2 games as Carl Crawford goes back to his old stomping grounds to face James Shields. Tim Wakefield gets the call for the Red Sox. Tim no longer strikes out many batters, a bit reason is ERA is close to five this season. Shields sports great strikeout and walk numbers, but he does give up the long ball, and Boston has hit 15 home runs in their last nine games. In fact, the team is hitting like a league MVP.
Finally, one-half game separates the Giants and the Diamondbacks as they meet in Arizona. Matt Cain visits Josh Collmenter. It’s a typical year for Cain, as he’s pitching better than his won-loss record. He does give up more hits on the road, despite very similar strikeout numbers compare to what he does in San Francisco. Collmenter is off to a great start with a 1.12 ERA. Opposing batters are just 2 for 20 against him with runners in scoring position.
Enjoy!