The Cardinals go for a sweep of the Brewers as they send Brandon Dickson against Yovani Gallardo. Dickson makes his first major league start, as deuces were wild for the pitcher in two relief appearances. He pitched four innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out two. His did not allow a run, however. At seasonal age 26, Dickson is not a prospect, but his walk rate did drop in his second season at AAA. Gallardo has walked just 13 batters in 73 innings since the beginning of July.

The Yankees and Red Sox play the rubber game of their series as A.J. Burnett faces Jon Lester. Pitchers have gone against form in this series, with CC Sabathia pitching well against the Sox and Josh Beckett pitching poorly against the Yankees. Does that mean Burnett will pitch well? His spot in the rotation is on the line. He only made one start against Boston this season, but allowed eight runs in 5 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits, four walks and a home run. Lester hasn’t pitched all that well against the Yankees this year, allowing ten runs in 18 innings.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Rays finish their series with Texas as Jeff Niemann faces C.J. Wilson. As far as the three true outcomes go, Niemann is fairly even home and road. He allows many fewer hits on the road, however, where his ERA stands at 2.83, versus 4.03 in Florida. Wilson did a very good job of repeating his 2010 success. He should up his innings pitched while greatly lowering his walk rate.

Enjoy!