Derrek Lee gets to play his first game as the Braves first baseman playing the team he just left, the Chicago Cubs. He’ll face Ryan Dempster and help defend Jair Jurrjens. Control bothered Jurrjens before his stint on the disabled list, but he’s allowed 17 walks in 58 2/3 innings since rejoining the Braves. Dempster is as hot as the month of August, allowing just three earned runs during his last three starts, but six unearned runs.

The Seattle Mariners, 6-3 under their new manager, invade Yankee Stadium as Felix Hernandez faces A.J. Burnett. Since the start of July, Hernandez’s ERA stands at 1.87, but his record stands at 2-5. Part of that is poor defense, as eight of the 22 runs scored against him were unearned. A bigger part is poor run support. The Mariners only scored 16 runs in those nine games, eight of those in the first two of the sequence. Burnett’s pitching better lately, with four good efforts in his last five starts. When he keeps the ball in the park, he does well.

Finally, the Giants try to hold off the Cardinals in the NL Wild Card race as Madison Bumgarner takes on Jake Westbrook. Bumgarner’s excellent July has been followed by a poor August, a month that saw Madison’s strikeout rate fall below the critical 4.5 per nine innings. He K’d just 8 batters in his last 16 1/3 innings. Westbrook greatly improved his control since joining the Cardinals, walking just two in 19 innings.

Enjoy!