The Yankees play at 1:05 EDT, hosting the Royals and Kyle Davies. Kyle allowed Alex Rodriguez‘s 500th home run, and may become the first pitcher to allow someone’s 500th and 600th home runs (not that there have been many chances for that to happen.) Alex is 3 for 4 with a double, homer and a walk against Davies. The one out was a GDP.

I’m a little peeved that Fox decided to show the Mets/Dodgers as the National game, when I’d rather see Ubaldo Jimenez pitch against the Phillies and Kyle Kendrick. Ubaldo goes for his 16th win, but only his second in July. It’s interesting to note that early on Ubaldo won with a great ERA, going 13-1 in his first 14 starts, posting a 1.15 ERA. In his last five starts, however, he hasn’t lost despite a 6.39 ERA, picking up two wins along the way. Kyle Kendrick returns to the rotation due to the injury to Jamie Moyer. Kendrick is allowing home runs at a rate of 33.2 per 200 innings this season.

David Price tries to stop the red hot Indians as he takes on Mitch Talbot. Price posts a 3.57 ERA on the road as he walks more batters and strikes out fewer. Talbot is a right-handed pitcher who is effective at stopping left-handed batters. He gives up few hits overall for a low strikeout pitcher.

We’ll see if Roy Oswalt‘s ankle is okay as Houston hosts the Reds and Johnny Cueto. Roy left his last start when he was hit on the ankle by a batted ball. Roy is going for the Astros record for wins, looking to tie Joe Niekro with 144. Oswalt is also an important trade chip, so a bad performance might lessen his value. Cueto also is having a tremendous year against left-handed batters. The righty is holding them to a .218 BA.

Finally, Jon Lester is in the AL ERA hunt as the faces the “Fighting” Mariners and David Pauley. Lester cut his home run rate in half from last season, bringing his ERA down 0.6 runs. A win tonight brings his career winning percentage up to .730. Pauley is making just his third start of the season, but I like his control. The former Red Sox pitcher has walked five in 15 innings this year, but two were intentional. We’ll see how he does facing a selective team.

Enjoy!