It's quality, not quantity this August 1st. Only four games scheduled today, but they're all good ones.

It all gets started in Baltimore today as the White Sox go for a sweep of the Orioles. Chicago has scored twice as many runs as Baltimore in the series so far. Mark Buehrle takes the hill against Daniel Cabrera. Buehrle had a rough July, going just 3-1 with a 5.01 ERA. Still, he allowed just one homer in the month. Cabrera was just the opposite, posting a 2.53 ERA in July, despite giving up 20 walks in 34 innings.

The Pirates send pitcher of the month Zach Duke against the Braves to try to snap their five game losing streak. He'll face Tim Hudson. Duke's done every right so far; his strikeouts are high, his walks and homers are low, and the opposition is hitting just .048 against him with runners in scoring position. Hudson's been tough at Turner field this year, going 4-1 with a 2.70 ERA.

The Twins host the Athletics under the lights. It's the start of a four game series, and the Twins find themselves four games behind Oakland in the wild card race. On the morning of July 5th, Minnesota held a 6 1/2 game advantage Oakland. Since then, the A's have gone 18-5 to the Twins 8-16. Minnesota ace Johan Santana takes the mound against Joe Blanton. Santana's won three in a row, despite a dip in his strikeouts (just 11 in his last 19 innings). Blanton did not record a win in July after a 5-1 June. He's had back stiffness, which the A's are trying to fix by switching him from running to biking.

Finally, the St. Louis Cardinals return home to face the Florida Marlins. The Cardinals' lead in the NL Central is under 10 games, thanks to the incredible run by the Houston Astros. The Marlins are just 2 1/2 games behind the Astros for wild card. The Cardinals offense hasn't been hurt by all the injuries as they've average 8 runs a game over their last four contests. Miguel Cabrera's been the hot player for Florida. He's hit five home runs and driven in 11 during his 12 game hit streak.

Enjoy!

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