MLB viewing guide: Monday schedule spotlight

Seattle Mariners at Cleveland Indians

The last time the Indians swept the Mariners in a four-game series, Mike Stanton was still playing. No, not Giancarlo. No, not even the reliever for the Yankees and Braves. This Mike Stanton. Matching that sweep will be a tall order for Cleveland though, as another Seattle ace stands in the Indians' way. The Tribe was able to deploy their own ace, Justin Masterson, to dispatch King Felix on Sunday afternoon, but at this point in his career, Kazmir is not even half as good as Iwakuma. That fact is somewhat depressingly ironic since Iwakuma is three years older than the not-yet-30 Kazmir.

Tampa Bay Rays at Toronto Blue Jays

The rookie Odorizzi has done a surprising share of time in different organizations for a frequent Baseball America Top 100 Prospect drafted in the first round. After his involvement last winter in the second "prospects-for-ace" deal of his career, though, Odorizzi will make his Rays debut and third career start, in place of injured Rays ace David Price. He pitched to a 3.83 ERA and 4.21 FIP in eight starts with Triple-A Durham and struck out 9.5 per nine innings while allowing opponents a mere .210 batting average (albeit in a small sample). D Rays Bay reported some promising anecdotes on Odorizzi from both teammate Alex Cobb and The Process Report's Tommy Rancel, but the Rays ran into some tough luck resulting from Toronto's Sunday rainout in New York. Instead of facing fellow rookie Chad Jenkins, Odorizzi must battle R.A. Dickey, who might be starting to find his Cy-winning knuckleball form from last year, if his recent 10-strikeout start is any indication.

New York Yankees at Baltimore Orioles

Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports

The aforementioned rainout in New York had some damaging effects on another AL East opponent as well. Instead of getting to face rookie Vidal Nuno and the slumping Phil Hughes in two of the three games at home against the Yankees, the Orioles will now face only one such unintimidating opponent. The Yanks will skip Nuno and start the big man against the O's tonight while Hiroki Kuroda and his 1.99 ERA wait in the wings for Wednesday.

Philadelphia Phillies at Miami Marlins

The Phillies have yet to find a hot streak, but their stunning victory on back-to-back homers by Erik Kratz and Freddy Galvis against normally dominant Reds closer Aroldis Chapman gave them their fifth win in the past seven games. With a trip to Florida against the hapless Marlins in store, this three-game series could help them finally reach .500 for the first time this year. This season has not been especially kind to Hamels, but if he pitches against the Marlins like he did on May 4^th, Philly should capture the opener with relative ease.

Los Angeles Dodgers at Milwaukee Brewers

If on Opening Day I told you that a pair of 17-25 teams would be playing against each other on May 20^th, the Brewers would not likely have been among the first ten teams guessed and the Dodgers would have been one of the last. Their aces will once again try to change the course of the season, though Kershaw now has a little more support in the rotation again with Zack Greinke back in action. Jean Segura and Norichika Aoki have posted an OPS over 950 in the past week, but can that continue against Kershaw?

Arizona Diamondbacks at Colorado Rockies