It’s the sweepee versus the sweeper in Boston tonight as the Tigers face the Red Sox. Detroit lost three at the hands of the White Sox, while Boston took all three games from Baltimore over the weekend. Nate Robertson tries to stop Detroit’s slide while Josh Beckett attempts to continue the Boston winning streak. Robertson’s lowered his ERA every year in the majors, mostly by pulling down his slugging percentage allowed every year. Beckett’s 13 wins are more a function of his 6.7 runs per 9 in support than his 4.92 ERA.
An even better supported pitcher is Randy Johnson. The Yankees are getting the Big Unit 7.66 runs per 9, making him a winner despite a 5.03 ERA. Runs may be tough to get this evening as the Yankees face John Lackey. The Angels starter ranks sixth in the AL in ERA at 3.33. The Yankees have a history of doing well vs. John, at least in the regular season. Even in the post season, New York manages to draw a good deal of walks against him.
It’s the old version of Pedro vs. the young version of Pedro as Martinez faces Cole Hamels in Philadelphia this evening. Since returning from the DL, the strikeouts were not there for Pedro in two of his three starts. Meanwhile, Hamels struck out 37 while walking just seven in his last four outings.
The Astros are five games back in the NL Central and 3 1/2 back in the wild card as they send Roy Oswalt to the mound to host Carlos Zambrano and the Cubs. Houston is 8-4 in August as they try to make another late run at the playoffs. The offense is scoring over five runs per game while the staff is posting a 3.31 ERA. The Cubs offense is doing a great job of getting on base lately, but the pitching staff OBA allowed is going up as well.
Finally, the Dodgers try to make it 16 of 17 tonight as Dontrelle Willis faces Derek Lowe. Willis took a huge step backward this year as he’s having his worst season in terms of issuing walks. Meanwhile, Lowe has not issued a walk in August, and only three in his last five starts.
Enjoy!