Post by Deleted on Apr 3, 2011 11:32:06 GMT -5
07/1/13
Philadelphia Phillies (41-35, Road: 20-20) at Miami Marlins (39-37, Home: 19-15)
Projected Pitchers:
PHI: RHP R. Halladay (8-5, 3.83 ERA)
MIA: RHP R. Tucker (0-9, 7.34 ERA)
All of the signs were there in the off-season to point both Philadelphia and Miami to the cellar of the NL East. Now in July, the division ranks upside-down from what most might have thought at the beginning of the season.
The aging Phils send out elite pitching sensation Doc Halladay, who has quietly amassed a respectable 8-5 record and 3.83 ERA. He's been backed all year by a resurgent Chase Utley (.275/.408/.466) and a slugging Dominic Brown (.266/.356/.556). Ryan Howard's power outage hasn't seemed to slow down this team too much, and, as long as the rest of the supporting cast continues to hit, the Phillies have a real chance at hanging on to their slim NL East lead.
The Marlins have quietly been very good in their own right. Logan Morrison leads the NL in batting average, and has been sensational for the fish. Mike Stanton has begun to heat it up the past few weeks, and the rest of the lineup, players like Dustin Dickerson and Chris Young, have been mashing all season. While the offense has been good, the pitching is nothing to write home about, and may be the only thing keeping the Marlins from a division title.
Kansas City Royals (35-40, Road: 13-23) at Chicago White Sox (44-32, Home: 22-14)
Projected Pitchers:
KCA: LHP R. Rowland-Smith (9-5, 4.50 ERA)
CWS: RHP P. Hernandez (6-4, 3.59 ERA)
In this game, the closest thing that the American League had to offer that resembled anything remotely interesting, the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox host the 4th place Kansas City Royals.
The Royals' Rowland-Smith is enjoying his run support, sitting at a 9-5 record despite an unimpressive 4.50 ERA. Both of his starts against the White Sox have resulted in Royals' wins, so that's worth noting. First-basemen Kila Ka'aihue saw his power dip in 2012, but looks like he's rediscovered his sweet swing. Kila is on pace for 37 jacks, and is one of the few power sources in an otherwise punchless lineup.
The Chicago lineup likes to hit. Specifically, Gian Guzman likes to hit. And hit he does. Through half a season, Guzman has accumulated what would seem to be a full season of stats for much of the rest of the league. 28 homers, 81 RBI and a .361/.438/.721 triple slash. Not bad for a guy selected in the second round of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft.
Arizona Diamondbacks (42-34, Road: 20-18) at Los Angeles Dodgers (41-34, Home: 21-18)
Projected Pitchers:
ARI: LHP J. Sanchez (3-3, 3.95 ERA)
LAD: RHP N. Eovaldi (2-1, 5.40 ERA)
As Colorado begins to pad its NL West lead, the rest of the divisions focus turns to the NL Wildcard. The D'backs and Dodgers lay .5 and 1 game back of the Wildcard leading Reds, and will look to do some damage to each other to catch up.
Jonathan Sanchez gets the start for Arizona, and while his starts have always been good-not-great for the D'backs his lack of run support has been criminal. Offensively, the Diamondbacks rely on Korean sensation Jae Yun Kim, whose sophomore campaign is resulting in a pace for close to 40 HRs. The Upton brothers continue to be an integral part of the Arizona offense, but Brother Justin hasn't been carrying his share of the load. The young slugger has only 6 homeruns on the year, and his struggles have been a source constant worry for fans.
The Dodgers have been busy making trades to improve their pitching, and as a result Eovaldi may not be the starting pitcher come Monday evening. Struggling former-Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw may get the start in his stead. With Ryan Braun having just departed on the last flight to Arlington, it will be interesting to see how this Dodgers lineup will do without him. Loney/Ramirez/McCann still remains a formidable heart of the lineup, but the pitching is still a big question mark.
Philadelphia Phillies (41-35, Road: 20-20) at Miami Marlins (39-37, Home: 19-15)
Projected Pitchers:
PHI: RHP R. Halladay (8-5, 3.83 ERA)
MIA: RHP R. Tucker (0-9, 7.34 ERA)
All of the signs were there in the off-season to point both Philadelphia and Miami to the cellar of the NL East. Now in July, the division ranks upside-down from what most might have thought at the beginning of the season.
The aging Phils send out elite pitching sensation Doc Halladay, who has quietly amassed a respectable 8-5 record and 3.83 ERA. He's been backed all year by a resurgent Chase Utley (.275/.408/.466) and a slugging Dominic Brown (.266/.356/.556). Ryan Howard's power outage hasn't seemed to slow down this team too much, and, as long as the rest of the supporting cast continues to hit, the Phillies have a real chance at hanging on to their slim NL East lead.
The Marlins have quietly been very good in their own right. Logan Morrison leads the NL in batting average, and has been sensational for the fish. Mike Stanton has begun to heat it up the past few weeks, and the rest of the lineup, players like Dustin Dickerson and Chris Young, have been mashing all season. While the offense has been good, the pitching is nothing to write home about, and may be the only thing keeping the Marlins from a division title.
Kansas City Royals (35-40, Road: 13-23) at Chicago White Sox (44-32, Home: 22-14)
Projected Pitchers:
KCA: LHP R. Rowland-Smith (9-5, 4.50 ERA)
CWS: RHP P. Hernandez (6-4, 3.59 ERA)
In this game, the closest thing that the American League had to offer that resembled anything remotely interesting, the AL Central leading Chicago White Sox host the 4th place Kansas City Royals.
The Royals' Rowland-Smith is enjoying his run support, sitting at a 9-5 record despite an unimpressive 4.50 ERA. Both of his starts against the White Sox have resulted in Royals' wins, so that's worth noting. First-basemen Kila Ka'aihue saw his power dip in 2012, but looks like he's rediscovered his sweet swing. Kila is on pace for 37 jacks, and is one of the few power sources in an otherwise punchless lineup.
The Chicago lineup likes to hit. Specifically, Gian Guzman likes to hit. And hit he does. Through half a season, Guzman has accumulated what would seem to be a full season of stats for much of the rest of the league. 28 homers, 81 RBI and a .361/.438/.721 triple slash. Not bad for a guy selected in the second round of the 2011 Rule 5 Draft.
Arizona Diamondbacks (42-34, Road: 20-18) at Los Angeles Dodgers (41-34, Home: 21-18)
Projected Pitchers:
ARI: LHP J. Sanchez (3-3, 3.95 ERA)
LAD: RHP N. Eovaldi (2-1, 5.40 ERA)
As Colorado begins to pad its NL West lead, the rest of the divisions focus turns to the NL Wildcard. The D'backs and Dodgers lay .5 and 1 game back of the Wildcard leading Reds, and will look to do some damage to each other to catch up.
Jonathan Sanchez gets the start for Arizona, and while his starts have always been good-not-great for the D'backs his lack of run support has been criminal. Offensively, the Diamondbacks rely on Korean sensation Jae Yun Kim, whose sophomore campaign is resulting in a pace for close to 40 HRs. The Upton brothers continue to be an integral part of the Arizona offense, but Brother Justin hasn't been carrying his share of the load. The young slugger has only 6 homeruns on the year, and his struggles have been a source constant worry for fans.
The Dodgers have been busy making trades to improve their pitching, and as a result Eovaldi may not be the starting pitcher come Monday evening. Struggling former-Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw may get the start in his stead. With Ryan Braun having just departed on the last flight to Arlington, it will be interesting to see how this Dodgers lineup will do without him. Loney/Ramirez/McCann still remains a formidable heart of the lineup, but the pitching is still a big question mark.