MLB viewing guide: Weekend schedule spotlight
Battles for first, comeback attempts, and those wacky Astros.
Day | Home SP | Visit. SP | Time | Where |
April 26 | Anibal Sanchez (2-1), 1.75 ERA, 2.07 FIP | Paul Maholm (3-1), 1.03 ERA, 2.86 FIP | MLB Network, FOX Sports-South, FOX Sports-Detroit | |
|
April 27 | Rick Porcello (0-2), 11.08 ERA, 6.24 FIP | Kris Medlen (1-2), 2.16 ERA, 3.29 FIP | 1:05 pm ET | FOX |
April 28 | Doug Fister (3-0), 2.00 ERA, 3.56 FIP | Mike Minor (3-1), 1.80 ERA, 2.21 FIP | 8:05 pm ET | ESPN |
The best team in baseball meets the defending AL champions in Detroit for just its second series ever in the Motor City. All but one of the five previous interleague series between the two teams occurred at Turner Field, and that one was nine years ago. The winning pitchers in that '04 series were Chris Reitsma, Craig Dingman, and Mike Maroth --it's been awhile. The Tigers are looking for some wins after dropping five of their previous six games, but none of those Atlanta pitchers are likely to make it easy, especially for spark plug Austin Jackson. The leadoff hitter is mired in a dreadful 2-for-33 slump.
Day | Home SP | Visit. SP | Time | Where |
April 26 | Lance Lynn (3-0), 3.68 ERA, 3.27 FIP | Jonathan Sanchez (0-2), 11.12 ERA, 6.88 FIP | 8:15 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Midwest |
|
April 27 | Jake Westbrook (1-1), 1.25 ERA, 4.34 FIP | A.J. Burnett (1-2), 2.79 ERA, 2.45 FIP | 4:15 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Midwest |
April 28 | Shelby Miller (3-1), 2.16 ERA, 2.40 FIP | Jeff Locke (2-1), 3.74 ERA, 6.09 FIP | 2:15 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Midwest |
The Bucs are on a roll after stumbling out of the gate with an anemic offense.Their fortunes have changed since April 8th, and they've gone 12-4 against some hefty competition in the Diamondbacks, Reds, Braves, Phillies, and Cardinals. One of those wins was a dominant one-hit start by Burnett against the Cards, who will hope to scratch out enough runs so that their pitching staff can lead the way. Miller has transitioned seamlessly into the big-league rotation, but how long will his success last?
Photo credit: Doug Pensinger
Day | Home SP | Visit. SP | Time | Where |
April 26 | Ivan Nova (1-1), 6.14 ERA, 2.86 FIP | Aaron Laffey (0-0), 7.20 ERA, 4.60 FIP | 7:05 pm ET | RSN, YES Network, MLB Network |
|
April 27 | CC Sabathia (3-2), 3.34 ERA, 3.60 FIP | J.A. Happ (2-1), 3.68 ERA, 3.82 FIP | 4:05 pm ET | RSN, YES Network |
April 28 | Phil Hughes (0-2), 5.14 ERA, 5.14 FIP | R.A. Dickey (2-3), 4.66 ERA, 4.24 FIP | 1:05 pm ET | TBS, RSN, YES Network |
Toronto has had about as disappointing an opening month as possible. Their newly-acquired star shortstop (Jose Reyes) is gone for three months, their big off-season pitching acquisitions have all struggled early on (Dickey, Johnson, and Mark Buehrle, who lost to the Yankees Thursday night), and only J.P. Arencibia has an OPS over 760. Johnson has a bad back, and was scratched from Friday's start with triceps tightness, opening the way for new waiver claim Aaron Laffey. With the Yankees pitching their two least effective starters this weekend, the Blue Jays can't miss the opportunity to attack the weak underbelly of the Yanks' rotation, especially with their supposed ace pitching against Hughes on Sunday.
Day | Home SP | Visit. SP | Time | Where |
April 26 | Brandon McCarthy (0-2), 7.06 ERA, 3.87 FIP | Juan Nicasio (2-0), 5.31 ERA, 6.14 FIP | 9:40 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Arizona |
|
April 27 | Wade Miley (2-0), 2.77 ERA, 2.65 FIP | Jeff Francis (1-2), 8.44 ERA, 5.12 FIP | 8:10 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Arizona |
April 28 | Patrick Corbin (2-0) 1.71 ERA, 2.88 FIP | Jon Garland (2-1), 4.68 ERA, 5.04 FIP | 4:10 pm ET | ROOT Sports, FOX Sports-Arizona |
Two surprises early this year have been the Diamondbacks and Rockies, who combined for a 27-17 record entering today. The recently-extended Paul Goldschmidt leads the D'backs in most major offensive categories, and young shortstop Didi Gregorious has started his Arizona career with four doubles and two homers in just six games. Corbin appears to be the Miley of 2013, while Miley seems to be cementing himself as Arizona's ace. The D'backs appear more likely to sustain their success according to pre-season projections. The loss of Jhoulys Chacin, Colorado's best starter, hurt their rotation, so the Rockies will rely on Carlos Gonzalez, Troy Tulowitzki, Michael Cuddyer, Wilin Rosario, and Dexter Fowler to continue their scalding-hot starts to the season. Even if their struggling players rebounded while these five slumped, their offensive prowess will drop.
Day | Home SP | Visit. SP | Time | Where |
April 26 | Ryan Dempster (0-2), 3.38 ERA, 3.79 FIP | Erik Bedard (0-1), 6.17 ERA, 4.88 FIP | 7:10 pm ET | CSN, NESN |
|
April 27 | Felix Doubront (2-0), 4.32 ERA, 2.88 FIP | Brad Peacock (1-2), 7.50 ERA, 7.05 FIP | 7:10 pm ET | CSN, NESN |
April 28 | John Lackey (0-1), 4.15 ERA, 3.00 FIP | Bud Norris (3-2), 4.13 ERA, 4.25 FIP | 1:35 pm ET | CSN, NESN |
Four of the Astros' seven victories thus far were against the struggling Seattle Mariners, who cannot seem to beat Houston. Outside of Mariner games, the Astros are 3-13, a record that stands to only get worse during this four-game series at Fenway. They've struck out 9.9 times per game so far; the all-time strikeout leader, the 2001 Milwaukee Brewers, struck out 8.6 times per game. Clay Buchholz shut them down Thursday night, and the edge again goes to the Red Sox over the next couple games with Dempster and Doubront, though, neither is overpowering. It's difficult to know what to expect from Lackey's return on Sunday after what looked like a gruesome injury in his first start that would keep him out much longer than it did. Will he be the same pitcher who struck out eight Blue Jays in 4-1/3 innings?
