The red hot Reds face off against the Phillies in the pitching matchup of the day as Johnny Cueto battles Cole Hamels. Since the start of 2011, Cueto owns the lowest ERA in the majors among pitchers with at least 300 IP. Johnny doesn’t strike out that many batters, but he keeps the ball in the park despite playing his home games in a stadium that is conducive to home run hitting. Hamels is not far behind on the list. He owns a better strikeout and walk rate than Cueto, but gives up home runs twice as often.

The Athletics travel to Tampa Bay as the wild card leaders try to knock each other out of the top two spots. The Rays occupy the first slot, 1 1/2 games ahead of Oakland. The teams are playing an odd three-game series, with both teams off on Sunday. Tyson Ross faces Alex Cobb on Thursday. Ross takes Bartolo Colon‘s place. Tyson is a low strikeout, high walk, high home run pitcher, so it’s not surprising his ERA is over 6.00. Cobb allowed six home runs this season, all on the road.

Enjoy!