Weekly Diamond Preview
By Matt Fargo
Monday, May 12th
Houston Astros at San Francisco Giants 10:15 PM ET
Barry Zito makes his second start since returning to the rotation and he is still looking for his first win of the year. He is 0-7 but he is coming off a very solid performance last time out. The problem is not only him but the offense behind him as the Giants are averaging only one rpg while he is in the game. They now go against Roy Oswalt who has tossed five straight quality outings after starting the season with three miserable performances. However, the Astros have lost six of his last seven starts against the Giants.
Tuesday, May 13th
Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals 8:10 PM ET
With the rainout on Sunday, the Tigers will have had two days off prior to this series and the time off might be good. Detroit has lost seven of its last nine games including four of six at home during its recent homestand. Facing Kansas City might seem like a remedy to get out of the slump but it was the Royals who started the season with a sweep in Detroit . The Tigers now face one of this season’s best success stories as Zack Greinke takes the hill. He is 6-7 in quality starts and has allowed three runs or fewer each time out.
Wednesday, May 14th
Colorado Rockies at Arizona Diamondbacks 9:40 PM ET
Arizona had the best record in baseball entering May but it has not started the month very well. The Diamondbacks dropped seven of the first 10 games in May following a sweep at the hands of the Cubs in Chicago . The good news is that Arizona won five of the first six meetings against the Rockies already this season and it sends ace Brandon Webb to the hill in this second game of the three-game set. Webb is 8-0 in his eight starts with seven of those being quality outings.
Thursday, May 15th
Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies 7:05 PM ET
The Braves and Phillies conclude their first series of the season on Thursday. The Braves have had a rough time of it on the road this season, going 4-13 away from home including losses in six straight heading into Monday’s doubleheader in Pittsburgh . Facing Cole Hamels does not sound like a fun way to end this set but he has had his share of struggles as he has allowed four runs or more in four of his last five starts and has a career ERA of 4.42 in six starts against Atlanta .
Friday, May 16th
Los Angeles dodgers at Los Angeles Angels 10:05 PM ET
Interleague play begins on Friday with 14 games including some of the better rivalries taking place right out of the gate. One of those takes shape out west as the Dodgers take the short trip to face the Angels. The Dodgers were one of the hotter teams in baseball with wins in 10 of 11 games before four straight losses prior to this current road trip. The Angels did not enter the week on a high note either as they dropped four straight on the road including a sweep in Tampa Bay before heading back home.
Saturday, May 17th
New York Mets at New York Yankees 1:05 PM ET
The subway series continues on Saturday. The Mets and Yankees each took three of the six meetings last season, the third year in a row they have split the season series. Neither team has lived up to their early expectations as both have been inconsistent through the first quarter of the season. The Yankees will have the edge here with Chien-Ming Wang facing Nelson Figueroa. Wang dominated the Mets in his lone career start last year as he went 8.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out 10.
VegasInsider.com