The Yankees go for a sweep of the Giants as Yusmeiro Petit faces Andy Pettitte in what should be Andy’s last regular season start at Yankee Stadium. This would be a game of the day no matter what, just because the more economical Petit is going against the Pettitte who insists on double letters. Petit pitched well in his short time in the majors this season, striking out 38 batters in 38 innings and allowing just one home run. The ancient Pettitte goes for his 100000000th regular season win (binary). There are some computers that would consider Andy’s current win total -1.

The Reds and Pirates play the rubber game of their series, Bronson Arroyo taking on Jeff Locke. Bronson made just one start against the Pirates, holding them to one run seven inning, despite walking three batters and only striking out three. Locke owns a 4.41 ERA at home this year, where eight of his 10 home runs allowed left the yard.

The Nationals will be rooting for Pittsburgh as they play a split admission double header to make up Saturday’s rainout. Pitching wise, the second game features Stephen Strasburg returning a minor injury. We’ll see how he holds up. The Nationals need to sweep and hope the Reds lose. That would put them three games down with six to play.

The Orioles are desperate for a win as they play game three of their four game series against the Rays in Tampa Bay. Scott Feldman faces Enny Romero. Feldman pitched as well for the Orioles as he had for the Cubs. I suspect that the Orioles thought he would get better support in Baltimore, but his record is one-game over .500, just like it was in Chicago. Romero makes his MLB debut, and he doesn’t look like much of a prospect, as he walks too many batters and his strikeout rate dipped as he rose in the minors. The Rays were forced into the move due to the 18 inning game on Friday.

Alexi Ogando and James Shields battle in a must win game for the Royals and the Rangers. Ogando is hot in September, mostly as a reliever. He struck out nine and walked two in 11 innings. A Texas loss gives the AL West to Oakland, and makes obtaining a wild card slot tougher. Shields is 3-1 in September, but with a 4.74 ERA, it wasn’t all him.

Finally, the pitching matchup of the day pits Zack Greinke against the Padres and Andrew Cashner. An early season injury suffered at the hands of the Padres may keep Zack from serious Cy Young consideration. He handled this opponent well, 2-0 with 1.80 ERA, not allowing a home run in 20 innings. Cashner is ending his season on a very high note, owning a 1.41 ERA in his last six starts, walking just seven in 44 2/3 innings.

Enjoy!