Former Yankee Ramiro Mendoza takes on former Red Sox Roger Clemens at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. It will be Mendoza’s first start of the year, and he hopes he gets the support Lowe got yesterday. Clemens is 2-2 in his last five starts despite a 2.25 ERA.
Baltimore hosts a battle of 10 game winners as Cory Lidle takes on Sir Sidney Ponson. Although they both have 10 wins, Ponson has pitched much better, posting an ERA over a run lower than Lidle. However, Lidle has gotten the best run support in the AL, 7.6 runs per 9 innings pitched.
At the opposite end of the run support spectrum are the Tiger pitchers, including today’s starter Mike Maroth. Maroth will be trying to avoid joining Jeremy Bonderman as the 2nd 13 game loser in the AL as he takes on Brad Voyles at KC. The top three Detroit pitchers have combined for 37 losses this year.
Montreal at Atlanta could be titled “When Good Pitchers Go Bad” as Javier Vazquez faces Greg Maddux. Both are 1-3 over their last 5 starts with ERAs in the 5.40s.
Finally, Jason Schmidt and the Giants host the hot SD Padres. The Padres are 6-2 over their last eight. Schmidt has the best ERA in the league, but the Padres have been scoring nearly six runs a game during this winning streak.