At 8:05pm our selection is on the Minnesota Twins over the Texas Rangers. It's nearing June and the Texas Rangers are exactly where you'd expect with regard to team pitching. That is near the bottom of the league. Through almost two months of play, the Rangers have a putrid team ERA of 5.25 and the only thing keeping them out of the cellar of the American League in that department is the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. Most of the damage has come from the starters, as the relief ERA is a respectable 3.48 on the season. Righthander Vicente Padilla has been one of the biggest offenders, going 1-6 with a 5.77 ERA in 9 starts. Even worse, the Rangers are 1-8 in those outings. Righthander Carlos Silva has been a bit of a bad luck starter for the Twins, winning only two games despite a very good ERA of 3.56 and WHIP of 1.12. The good news for Silva tonight is that both of his wins have come on the road, wher his team actually has a better record this season than at home. Silva hasn't been getting much run support in his starts, but that could change as the Twins have recently started putting a plethora of hitters across the plate, scoring 18 runs in the three game series in Milwaukee before heading to Arlington for this one. Take Minnesota.
At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks with Brandon Webb over Colorado. The Diamondbacks are 19-7 as a favorite this season and 5-14 as an underdog, so we'll look for Arizona to continue this trend tonight behind Cy Young Winner Brandon Webb, who seeks his first win of the season at home. Webb's mound opponent tonight is Aaron Cook, and the Rockies are a poor 4-18 vs division foes with Cook on the mound. Take the Diamondbacks.
At 10:10pm our NL Game of the Week is on the Milwaukee Brewers over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could this matchup be a preview of the National League Championship? Most people are expecting the Dodgers to win their division but the Brewers have been the surprise team so far, although it is early and they seem to be coming back down to earth in the last couple of weeks. Milwaukee righthanded starter Jeff Suppan has been a very nice surprise for his team, going 5-4 with an excellent ERA of 3.25. And Suppan must love facing the Dodgers as his team has won five of his last six starts against them. Dodger righty Brett Tomko has been very inconsistent this year, but what must be most troubling to his team is the fact that he has an ERA of 7.80 at home pitching in one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league and that home ERA is much worse than his overall ERA, which is not good at 5.97. WIth those types of numbers and at 34 years old, Tomko may be nearing the end of the line as a starter in the Major Leagues, as his numbers have gotten progressively worse in each of his last four seasons. Tomko only started fifteen of the forty-four games he appeared in last season and looks destined for a similar fate this year. Take Milwaukee. :toast:
At 9:40 pm, our selection is on the Arizona Diamondbacks with Brandon Webb over Colorado. The Diamondbacks are 19-7 as a favorite this season and 5-14 as an underdog, so we'll look for Arizona to continue this trend tonight behind Cy Young Winner Brandon Webb, who seeks his first win of the season at home. Webb's mound opponent tonight is Aaron Cook, and the Rockies are a poor 4-18 vs division foes with Cook on the mound. Take the Diamondbacks.
At 10:10pm our NL Game of the Week is on the Milwaukee Brewers over the Los Angeles Dodgers. Could this matchup be a preview of the National League Championship? Most people are expecting the Dodgers to win their division but the Brewers have been the surprise team so far, although it is early and they seem to be coming back down to earth in the last couple of weeks. Milwaukee righthanded starter Jeff Suppan has been a very nice surprise for his team, going 5-4 with an excellent ERA of 3.25. And Suppan must love facing the Dodgers as his team has won five of his last six starts against them. Dodger righty Brett Tomko has been very inconsistent this year, but what must be most troubling to his team is the fact that he has an ERA of 7.80 at home pitching in one of the most pitcher-friendly parks in the league and that home ERA is much worse than his overall ERA, which is not good at 5.97. WIth those types of numbers and at 34 years old, Tomko may be nearing the end of the line as a starter in the Major Leagues, as his numbers have gotten progressively worse in each of his last four seasons. Tomko only started fifteen of the forty-four games he appeared in last season and looks destined for a similar fate this year. Take Milwaukee. :toast:
