With interleague play done for 2010 (I believe this is the first time in a while there’s no postponement to be played), the American League once again dominates, going 134-118, a .532 winnings percentage. Average runs per game were even with the season, 8.9 per game, the AL simply out-pitched the NL, allowing about 0.3 fewer runs per game.
As far as teams are concerned, the big winners where the White Sox, Rangers, Mets and Red Sox. Chicago posted a 15-3 record against the NL, pulling themselves back into the AL Central race. The Rangers, 14-4, used interleague to establish a strong lead in the AL West and are just one game behind the Yankees for best record in the AL. The Mets and Red Sox both went 13-5, are find themselves in second place in the their divisions after slow starts to their seasons.
The usual suspects are at the bottom of the list, with Pittsburgh, Houston, Washington and Cleveland all doing poorly in interleague play. The biggest loser, however, goes to the Dodgers. Their 4-11 record cost them five game to San Diego, and that’s the difference between the two teams in the standings right now.
Amazingly, the designated hitter hurt NL teams. When the AL team was the home team, the AL outscored the NL on average 4.9 runs to 4.0 runs per game. When the pitcher batted, however, the NL outscored the AL 4.7 runs to 4.4 runs. So the AL lost half a run per game when the lost the DH, but the NL gained 0.7 runs per game when they let the pitcher bat. NL designated hitters posted a .218/.286/.366 slash line.
When the Diamondbacks played the Red Sox at Fenway, their manager used a DH who was hitting like 220 over Dan Haren who was batting over 400 in 40+ AB (his true ability is probably closer to 250 but he has been swinging the bat well this year).
The Diamondbacks announcers complained that the DH robbed them of Harens bat. But I guess the manager who let one of his pitcher throw 149 pitches could not make the tough decision here. Maybe one of his hitters, I use the word loosely, would be upset.