The Diamondbacks and Cubs kick off the post-break season this afternoon, but the best contests start Friday night. The Angels travel to New York to face the Yankees with C.J. Wilson taking on Hiroki Kuroda. Wilson earned every dollar of his free agent contract so far, posting a 2.43 ERA. He keeps the ball in the park, and turning around the Yankees switch hitters should help him in that regard pitching in The Bronx. Kuroda pitches well at Yankee Stadium, holding opponents to a .218/.277/.343 slash line.

The Cardinals and the Reds battle for second place in the NL Central with Adam Wainwright taking the hill against Mat Latos. Wainwright is pitching well in terms of his three true outcomes, but not in terms of his ERA. His main problem is power allowed with men on base. He gives up a .403 slugging percentage with the bases empty, but that goes up to .473 with men on. Power with men on does a great job of pushing runs across the plate. Latos has not lost a game since the middle of April. He’s 7-0 in 14 starts, hurt a big by his high home run rate, but his walks and strikeouts are excellent.

Finally, the Pirates visit the Brewers as James McDonald takes on Zack Greinke, both 9-3. Zack will become the first pitcher since 1917 to start three consecutive games. Given that Zack is pitching on regular rest, it’s not quite that impressive. McDonald will try to add to his Cy Young resume. He does not quite get the ERA results on the road that he does at home, although he pitches as well away in terms of his K/BB/HR. Greinke is impressively consistent against left and right handed batters, with a .259/.303/.345 line against lefties, .257/.298/.359 line against righties.

Enjoy!