Thursday Matinees
The Thursday baseball card involves the top four pitchers in the American League Cy Young voting from last season taking the mound. Two of the pitchers are on below .500 teams and try to jump-start struggling seasons. The other two hurlers get together at Comerica Park as New York and Detroit wrap up a four-game set. We'll start in the Beltway with a pair of last-place teams sending out their aces.
Mariners at Orioles - 12:35 PM EST
This isn't exactly the matchup of the day, but it does showcase both Seattle and Baltimore's aces getting together at Camden Yards. Felix Hernandez tries to snap a personal three-game skid, while Kevin Millwood looks for his first victory this season.
King Felix (2-3, 4.30 ERA) pitched splendid in his first four starts, allowing nine earned runs as Seattle went 4-0. The last three outings have quickly fallen apart at the seams, as Hernandez has given up 14 earned runs, while not lasting past the fifth inning in either of the last two trips to the mound. Each of Hernandez's previous five starts against the Orioles has finished 'under' the total, including a complete-game victory at Safeco Field over Baltimore on April 21.
Millwood (0-4, 3.26 ERA) has been the victim of horrific run support with the Orioles averaging 2.1 runs/game in his seven starts. Coincidentally, the two wins Baltimore has during Millwood's starts have come at home against the Yankees and Red Sox, both one-run victories. Millwood hasn't pitched too badly in his first season with the Orioles, but the veteran has struggled against the Mariners in his career. Seattle has beaten Millwood's teams (Texas and Baltimore) in eight of the last nine meetings dating back to 2007, even though seven of those games were played at Safeco Field.
The Mariners have won nine of the last 12 against the Orioles, including three straight at Camden Yards. With Baltimore's problems at the plate recently, the 'under' has cashed in seven of the previous nine games, as the O's have scored two runs or less six times in this stretch.
Yankees at Tigers - 1:05 PM EST
Detroit looks to capture this series with a matinee victory over New York when each team trots out its best hurlers. CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander fell shy of the AL Cy Young award last season, but both teams are 5-2 in their respective ace's starts this season.
Sabathia (4-1, 3.04 ERA) failed to pick up the victory in his last start against the Red Sox, finishing one out shy of qualifying for the win by going 4.2 innings in a 14-3 pounding of Boston. The Bombers are 3-1 in Sabathia's four starts as a road favorite this season, while the southpaw has delivered quality starts in five of seven outings (both non-quality ones came against Boston). The Yankees split Sabathia's two outings against the Tigers last season, with a 4-2 loss coming at Comerica Park last April.
The winning pitcher in that contest was Verlander (3-2, 4.50 ERA), who pitched seven scoreless innings to out-duel Sabathia and the Yanks. The Tigers are 4-0 in Verlander's starts during the day, despite an ERA of 5.18. Verlander is coming off consecutive victories over the Angels and Indians in which the righty allowed two earned runs and struck out 16.
Detroit owns a stellar 11-5 mark during the day this season, including a 7-2 ledger in home matinees. The Yankees are a solid 9-4 under the sun, while going 9-4 to the 'over,' and hitting five straight 'overs' in the daytime.
Athletics at Rangers - 2:05 PM EST
Both these AL West rivals are surprisingly sitting above .500 as we hit the middle of May, with Oakland trying to capitalize off the momentum of Dallas Braden's perfect game on Sunday. The A's have suddenly won five of six, including three of those wins over the Rangers.
Ben Sheets (2-3, 6.38 ERA) has been downright awful on the road, going 0-2 in three away starts with an ERA of 13.50. The last two outings on the highway clearly point to Sheets' bloated ERA thanks to him giving up 19 hits and 17 earned runs in just ten innings of work. Oakland is 2-5 in Sheets' seven starts, while the ex-Brewer has lasted into the seventh inning only once, coming in a victory over the Rays in his last outing.
The Rangers send out former closer C.J. Wilson (3-1, 1.51 ERA), who is coming off a complete-game victory over the Royals in his last start. The southpaw leads the AL in ERA, while posting the fourth-most innings for starters that have made six starts (41.2 IP). The 'under' is a perfect 6-0 in Wilson's six starts, with the opposition scoring a total of four runs in his last four outings.
Oakland is a sterling 8-1 in Game 3's this season, while Texas is 14-9 against right-handed starting pitchers and 9-4 at home in this spot. The A's are on a 5-2 'under' run following Tuesday's high-scoring affair, as Oakland has scored more than five runs just twice in the last 12 games.
Indians at Royals - 2:10 PM EST
Zack Greinke is less than a year removed from winning the AL Cy Young Award, as the Royals' ace has failed to pick up a single victory through seven starts this season. Kansas City wraps up its series with Cleveland as the Royals go for only their third win in the month of May.
Greinke (0-4, 2.51 ERA) has pitched well lately, but just isn't receiving the right run support with the Royals tallying just three runs in his last three starts. The righty is listed as a favorite for just the third time in eight outings, with the Royals' bullpen blowing his other two starts as home 'chalk' against the Tigers and Mariners. Greinke struck out 15 the last time he saw the Tribe at home on August 25, 2009, with the Royals cruising to a 6-2 victory.
David Huff (1-4, 4.60 ERA) has failed to deliver a quality outing in each of his last three trips to the mound, all Cleveland losses. The southpaw has given up 25 hits and 13 earned runs in this stretch, including six homers. Huff beat the Royals twice last season, including a 4-2 victory at Kauffman Stadium last August as a short underdog.
The Royals are hitting .310 at home against lefties, but just .198 the last ten games versus southpaw pitching. Cleveland has dropped four consecutive road series since taking two of three at Chicago to start the season.
<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->