By Michael Cooper
There aren’t many big series this weekend around the baseball world, but there are a few to keep your eye on, most notably the red hot Brewers and the slumping Cardinals in St. Louis. With one week until interleague play, several teams will look to stay on track in their respective divisions this weekend.
Brewers at Cardinals: Four teams are virtually tied for first in the National League Central Division – St. Louis and Milwaukee are 21-14, while Chicago and Cincinnati are 20-14. With six teams in the division, each game matters in the standings.
The Cardinals and Brewers enter this series on vastly different paths.
There’s no hotter team than Milwaukee, which has won 9 of its last 11 games. Over the last seven days, the Brew Crew is slugging .521 with an on-base percentage of .374. It’s been feast or famine, however. They’re likely drawing walks (32), striking out (54) or hitting a home run (12) – all while batting .269.
They’re also taking a lead into the ninth and keeping it. Since coming off the disabled list, closer Trevor Hoffman has been lights out, converting all eight of his save opportunities. Dave Bush has been great as well, allowing just four earned runs in 14 innings pitched. He struck out 11 and walked just one.
St. Louis, on the other hand, is struggling. They’ve lost six of their last 10 games. Both Rick Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick are on the disabled list. Without them in the lineup, slugger Albert Pujols has faltered, hitting .174 over the last week. The Cards pitching staff has held up relatively well (fifth in the NL with a 4.10 ERA) despite Adam Wainwright’s struggles and the absence of Chris Carpenter. But in the last week, they’re 14th with a 5.82 ERA.
With St. Louis flailing, the Brewers have a big opportunity to take a small lead in this unpredictable division.
Pitching matchups – Friday: Yovanni Gallardo (4-1, 3.09) vs. Kyle Lohse (3-2, 4.25); Saturday: Jeff Suppan (2-2, 5.50) vs. Adam Wainwright (3-1, 4.35); Sunday: Manny Parra (2-4, 4.82) vs. Todd Wellemeyer (3-3, 5.80).
Angels at Rangers: It’s easy for most to think the Angels will win the AL west by 10 games or more. They’ve dominated the division for years.
But the Rangers won’t go down without a fight. They’re on top of the division with a 20-14 record. It will be important to take two of three the weekend from the Angels and stay in first. Everyone knows the Rangers can hit, but they’ll need their pitchers, as well as pitching coach Mike Maddux, to perform as they have all season to match wits with the Angels.
The bad news for the Rangers? The Angels’ pitching staff is getting healthy. Ervin Santana looked sharp against Boston on Thursday, John Lackey is scheduled to start his first game of the season and Saturday and Kelvim Escobar might make a return as early as mid-June.
Pitching matchups – Friday: Joe Saunders (5-1, 2.66) vs. Kevin Millwood (3-3, 2.92); Saturday: Lackey vs. Vincente Padilla (2-2, 4.97); Sunday: Jered Weaver (3-1, 2.45) vs. Scott Feldman, RHP (2-0, 4.85).
Mets at Giants: The Mets (19-15) have won eight of their last 10 games are back atop the NL East. They’re doing it with their superstars playing well over the last week. Jose Reyes (.462, 6 RBI, 4 SB) and David Wright (.393, 5 RBI, 5 SB) are starting to heat up, while the rest of the division (no other team is over .500) fades. Reyes missed Thursday’s series opener due to a painful calf injury, but is expected to play the rest of the set.
Gary Sheffield is filling in admirably for the injured Carlos Delgado, hitting .353 in his absence. If only they could while Johan Santana’s pitching, the Mets can start to make a run at a big lead in the division.
The Giants (18-16) are still trailing the Dodgers by five games in the NL West, but have won six of their last 10 games. They’ve got the pitching to silence the Mets’ bats and will look to play catch up this weekend.
Pitching matchups – Friday: Livan Hernandez (3-1, 5.08) vs. Tim Lincecum (3-1, 3.25); Saturday: Johan Santana (4-2, 0.78) vs. Randy Johnson (3-3, 5.89); Sunday: Mike Pelfrey (4-0, 4.89) vs. Matt Cain (3-1, 3.00).
For your viewing pleasure
Here’s a look at all the games scheduled for national TV audiences this weekend:
Friday: Astros at Cubs, 1 p.m., WGN.
Saturday: White Sox at Blue Jays, 1 p.m., WGN; Mets at Giants, or Indians at Rays, or Angels at Rangers, 3:30 p.m., MLB on Fox; Saturday Night Baseball, teams TBA, 7 p.m., MLB Network.
Sunday: Twins at Yankees, 1 p.m., TBS Sunday Baseball; Astros at Cubs, 1 p.m., WGN; ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, Mets at Giants, 8 p.m.
