Tuesday MLB viewing guide: Madison Bumgarner, Zack Greinke face off out west
The Dodgers have widened the gap in the NL West, but that won’t make Tuesday night’s matchup against the Giants any less intriguing.
Giants ace Madison Bumgarner (2.91 ERA, 119 ERA+) will get the start after holding the Dodgers scoreless in their last meeting on Sept. 12. In four outings against the Dodgers this season, Bumgarner has allowed only five earned runs in 25⅔ innings, while striking out 33 and walking seven.
Dodgers starter Zack Greinke (2.76 ERA, 127 ERA+) has been just as good against the Giants. The right-hander has faced San Francisco four times in 2014, surrendering just four runs in 26 innings to go along with 31 strikeouts and four walks. A matchup between both teams — and pitchers — in the playoffs is well within the realm of possibility.
Tuesday’s MLB schedule
| Time (ET) | Game | TV | Reason to watch |
7:00 p.m. | Orioles at Yankees | ESPN, YES Network, MASN | Brandon McCarthy has been dominant since arriving in the Bronx, and the Yankees need him to shine again Tuesday. |
| 7:05 p.m. | Royals at Indians | SportsTime Ohio, FS Kansas City | Both teams still have postseason aspirations, and both starters, Yordano Ventura and Danny Salazar, can light up the radar gun. |
| 7:05 p.m. | Mets at Nationals | MASN 2, SNY | Bartolo Colon will be on the mound and, more importantly, in the batter's box for the Mets. |
| 7:07 p.m. | Mariners at Blue Jays | Rogers SportsNet, Root NW | Felix Hernandez will look to wrap up his second AL Cy Young award. |
| 7:08 p.m. | White Sox at Tigers | FS Detroit, CSN Chicago | David Price seeks to further cement Detroit's place atop the AL Central. |
| 7:10 p.m. | Phillies at Marlins | FS Florida, CSN Philly | Outside of Bumgarner-Greinke, Cole Hamels and Henderson Alvarez provide the night's best pitching matchup. |
| 7:10 p.m. | Pirates at Braves | FS South, Root Pittsburgh | Gerrit Cole is one of baseball's best young hurlers. |
| 7:10 p.m. | Rays at Red Sox | Sun Sports, NESN | These two teams sat atop the AL East just 12 months ago. |
| 7:10 p.m. | Brewers at Reds | FS Ohio, FS Wisconsin | You likely know Jonny Cueto is good, but Brewers pitcher Mike Fiers has a 1.68 ERA as a starter this season. |
| 8:05 p.m. | Cardinals at Cubs | WCIU, FS Midwest | Shelby Miller tries to earn a spot in the Cardinals' postseason rotation. |
| 8:05 p.m. | Astros at Rangers | FS Southwest, CSN Houston | They might be in the AL West basement, but the Astros and Rangers are still rivals in the state of Texas. |
| 8:10 p.m. | Diamondbacks at Twins | FS North, FS Arizona | How often do the Diamondbacks make a late September trip to Minneapolis? |
| 10:00 p.m. | Giants at Dodgers | ESPN, SportsNet LA, CSN Bay Area | Bumgarner vs. Greinke |
| 10:05 p.m. | Angels at Athletics | CSN California, FS West | Sonny Gray looks to put his recent struggles behind him with the A's battling for a postseason spot. |
| 10:10 p.m. | Rockies at Padres | FS San Diego, Root RM | The Rockies just gave starter Jorge De La Rosa a two-year contract extension. |
- The Dodgers and Giants have quite the pennant race history, and Eric Stephen of True Blue LA surveys the best moments between the two clubs over the past six decades.
- The Royals are battling for a long-awaited postseason berth, but might GM Dayton Moore, a former Braves executive, be a candidate for Atlanta's vacant GM position? Max Rieper of Royals Review asks if Royals fans should be concerned about Moore's potential departure.
- C.J. Wilson didn't exactly have his best start against the A's on Monday.
More importantly, the Angels' bullpen is being overworked heading into the playoffs:CJ Wilson's start: Two outs.
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) September 23, 2014By the end of tonight, #Angels' bullpen will have accumulated at least 65 percent of the team's innings the last four nights (23 1/3 of 36).
— Alden Gonzalez (@Alden_Gonzalez) September 23, 2014
