By James Bailey
We’ve reached the final weekend of interleague play, with a second round of “rivalry” matchups pairing nearby teams in New York, Chicago and the nation’s capitol. Statewide bragging rights are on the line in Florida and Ohio. More notably, it’s the last Manny-free weekend of the major league season—unless he’s dumb enough to do it again. Twins righthander Kevin Slowey seeks his 11th win Saturday and with a hot weekend Albert Pujols could finish June with 30 homers (he’s at 26, with 10 already this month).
Here are previews for three of the top matchups on tap as we kick off the last weekend of June.
Marlins at Rays: The two Florida teams haven’t often met while both have been above .500. Last month the Rays took two out of three down in Miami, outscoring the Fish 25-5 in the first two games before dropping the third 5-4 in 11 innings. This weekend they look to protect their home field. Both clubs have been playing well of late.
The top starters on each team will square off Friday night in a rematch of the finale of last month’s three-game set. Florida’s Josh Johnson ranks fifth in the NL with a 2.66 ERA. He’s 7-1 through 15 starts and has blossomed into a true No. 1 guy. The 25-year-old righthander has won his last four decisions, all against clubs with winning records. He’s allowed more than three runs in a game only once all season. He lasted seven against the Rays when they squared off in May, but took a no-decision in the only game Florida won that weekend. James Shields takes the hill for Tampa Bay. Though he leads the club with a 3.36 ERA his record stands at just 6-5. He’s 3-1 with a 2.86 ERA over his last five starts. The Marlins hit him hard in their previous meeting, rapping out 12 base hits in 6.2 innings.
It’s the Rays who should be favored in the hitting department, however. Tampa Bay is leading the majors with 419 runs. They’re fourth in home runs, led by first baseman Carlos Pena, who leads the AL with 22. Shortstop Jason Bartlett is riding a club-record 19-game hitting streak that dates back to May 15 because of his three-week stint on the DL. Tampa Bay expects third baseman Evan Longoria back in the lineup Friday. He sat out Thursday’s game after tweaking his hamstring running out a double on Wednesday. Longoria broke out of a minor slump earlier this week with a 4-for-5 game against the Mets and the Rays need him to get hot again if they want to move up in the AL East standings. Though their +79 run differential is tops in the AL, they open the weekend in fourth place in their division.
The Marlins have won their last five to move above .500 and into third in the NL East despite having allowed 20 more runs than they’ve scored on the year. Shortstop Hanley Ramirez is the team’s only offensive standout with a .335 average and 11 home runs. He’s knocked three homers and driven in 13 runs over the past four games. The Marlins will throw a new-look bullpen at the Rays this weekend with closer Matt Lindstrom on the DL due to an elbow sprain. Leo Nunez should get the bulk of the save opportunities, though lefthander Dan Meyer earned his first on Wednesday night and could factor into the late-inning mix.
Pitching matchups – Friday: Josh Johnson, RHP (7-1, 2.66) vs. James Shields, RHP (6-5, 3.36); Saturday: Chris Volstad, RHP (5-7, 4.74) vs. Jeff Niemann, RHP (6-4, 4.23); Sunday: Andrew Miller, LHP (2-3, 4.17) vs. David Price, LHP (1-2, 4.45).
Yankees at Mets: A fortnight ago these two met in the Bronx in a series that hinged on a Luis Castillo dropped popup in the bottom of the ninth. The Yankees wrapped things up that Sunday with a 15-0 pasting that saw Mets ace Johan Santana cough up nine hits and nine runs in three innings. That was more than twice as many earned runs than he allowed in five April starts combined. He has since righted the ship, but he won’t pitch in this series after outdueling Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter on Thursday.
The Mets have dropped their last three interleague series, all by 2-1 margins. They picked up some momentum this week, however, by taking three of four from St. Louis. Their offense has been decimated by injuries to first baseman Carlos Delgado (likely done for the year), shortstop Jose Reyes (projected back in late July), and now center fielder Carlos Beltran (out until at least All-Star break). Beltran was hitting .336 with eight homers and 40 RBIs, and his loss leaves third baseman David Wright (.356, 22 2B, 4 HR, 39 RBI) to do most of the heavy lifting with a supporting cast of fill-ins.
The Yankees have the advantage on the mound the first two nights, with free-agent signees CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett slated to start. All bets are off on Sunday, however, with Chien-Ming Wang scheduled. Wang has shown moderate progress his last two starts, allowing three runs in five innings both times, but that hasn’t been enough to get the Yanks into the win column. They haven’t fared well against the opposite league, dropping series against the Nationals and Marlins immediately after their last encounter with the Mets, though they took two of three from the Braves this week. In the last eight days they’ve been shut out by rookies Craig Stammen (Nationals) and Tommy Hanson (Braves). If they struggle in this series there could be changes coming sooner rather than later.
Pitching matchups – Friday: CC Sabathia, LHP (6-4, 3.71) vs. Mike Pelfrey, RHP (5-2, 4.74); Saturday: A.J. Burnett, RHP (5-4, 4.24) vs. Tim Redding, RHP (1-2, 6.08); Sunday: Chien-Ming Wang, RHP (0-6, 11.20) vs. Livan Hernandez, RHP (5-2, 4.05).
Giants at Brewers: The lone non-interleague series on the calendar this weekend, this one has implications for the NL playoff race as the Brewers are just a game behind the Giants for the wild-card lead.
June has not been kind to the Brew Crew, which has gone 8-14 on the month and 1-5 in the past week. The stellar pitching they saw in May has disappeared. Only young ace Yovani Gallardo has offered any consistency. Slumping Dave Bush hit the DL this week, prompting Seth McClung’s shift from the bullpen for his first start of the season this Saturday. The relief corps, which has been a bright spot, should be deep enough to handle the move. Closer Trevor Hoffman, who got a late start to the season, has converted 17 of 18 save opportunities. When Milwaukee has won lately it’s required a lot of offense. First baseman Prince Fielder ranks second in the NL with 68 RBIs and left fielder Ryan Braun has contributed another 51. Infielder Casey McGehee has thrived since taking over the No. 2 spot from a struggling J.J. Hardy. McGehee is batting .344 with three homers and 15 RBIs in 96 at-bats. His production helps make up for the loss of second baseman Rickie Weeks.
The Giants have enjoyed a much more fruitful month than the Brewers, going 14-8, with wins in five of their last six games. Randy Johnson started the festivities with his 300th win, but there have been plenty of other highlights, mostly involving twin aces Matt Cain and Tim Lincecum. Lincecum, the NL leader in strikeouts with 124, won’t pitch in this series, but Cain takes the hill Friday looking for his 10th win of the year. He hasn’t lost since May 2. The Giants never know what to expect from Barry Zito, Saturday’s starter. He’s held opponents to two runs or less six times this year, but has also been touched for four or more runs six times. He was great against Texas on Sunday, which means he may be overdue for a pounding this weekend. Jonathan Sanchez, who starts Sunday, is basically auditioning for his own job every time out. He’s 0-4 with a 7.45 ERA in June and has lasted at least six innings in just two of his 13 starts this year. His name was popular in trade rumors earlier, but his value has plummeted and if he lands on a new team it’s likely to be in the Pacific Coast League.
The Giants offense is one of the least potent in the majors, with just 281 runs scored. Second-year man Pablo Sandoval has been hot lately, batting .395 with five homers and 15 RBIs in June. Center fielder Aaron Rowand (.333-3-11 in June) has contributed as well, but they need some help to take the pressure off the pitching staff.
Pitching matchups – Friday: Matt Cain, RHP (9-1, 2.28) vs. Yovani Gallardo, RHP (7-4, 3.00); Saturday: Barry Zito, LHP (4-7, 4.54) vs. Seth McClung, RHP (3-1, 3.24); Sunday: Jonathan Sanchez, LHP (2-8, 5.54) vs. Jeff Suppan, RHP (5-5, 4.65).
