Chris Bahr, Sporting News
What to expect in the major leagues today:
Not ready for prime time
For the second consecutive week, the Cubs will play in the Sunday night game. And for the second consecutive week, they could struggle to score. Last week, Vicente Padilla and Hong-Chih Kuo combined to blank Chicago in a 7-0 Dodgers win. Tonight at Wrigley Field, the Phillies’ Roy Halladay will aim for win No. 11.
Arizona turns to Edwin Jackson to salvage a game against the Padres.
As dominant as Halladay has been (perfect game, MLB-best seven complete games), the Cubs could expose a potential weakness. In his past two road starts, Halladay is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA. However, those losses came at the hands of the Yankees and Reds, both of whom have much more potent offenses than Chicago.
Suddenly hittable
Part of the reason the surprising Padres lead the NL West is the way they have feasted on the last-place Diamondbacks. However, much of the damage was done back in April. Prior to this weekend’s three-game series at Petco Park, the division rivals hadn’t met since the season’s first month.
Sponsored link: Padres tickets available
This afternoon, Arizona’s Edwin Jackson again will try to find his no-hitter form from late June. In two starts since that historic night, Jackson has allowed 13 hits (in 10 innings) and posted an 8.10 ERA.
Adrian Gonzalez is the only San Diego player to homer against Jackson in his career, though that homer is Gonzalez’s lone hit in six at-bats against him.
Ogling Oswalt
The finale of the Astros-Pirates series this afternoon isn’t exactly dripping with intrigue, given the fact that the two teams have long since faded from contention. And it is quite possible that there will be more scouts in the seats than fans. That is because Roy Oswalt will be on the mound for Houston. With Cliff Lee off the market, Oswalt is the best available arm as the nonwaiver trading deadline nears.
Chris Bahr is Sporting News’ baseball editor. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.
Chris Bahr, Sporting News
What to expect in the major leagues today:
Not ready for prime time
For the second consecutive week, the Cubs will play in the Sunday night game. And for the second consecutive week, they could struggle to score. Last week, Vicente Padilla and Hong-Chih Kuo combined to blank Chicago in a 7-0 Dodgers win. Tonight at Wrigley Field, the Phillies’ Roy Halladay will aim for win No. 11.
Arizona turns to Edwin Jackson to salvage a game against the Padres.
As dominant as Halladay has been (perfect game, MLB-best seven complete games), the Cubs could expose a potential weakness. In his past two road starts, Halladay is 0-2 with a 6.43 ERA. However, those losses came at the hands of the Yankees and Reds, both of whom have much more potent offenses than Chicago.
Suddenly hittable
Part of the reason the surprising Padres lead the NL West is the way they have feasted on the last-place Diamondbacks. However, much of the damage was done back in April. Prior to this weekend’s three-game series at Petco Park, the division rivals hadn’t met since the season’s first month.
Sponsored link: Padres tickets available
This afternoon, Arizona’s Edwin Jackson again will try to find his no-hitter form from late June. In two starts since that historic night, Jackson has allowed 13 hits (in 10 innings) and posted an 8.10 ERA.
Adrian Gonzalez is the only San Diego player to homer against Jackson in his career, though that homer is Gonzalez’s lone hit in six at-bats against him.
Ogling Oswalt
The finale of the Astros-Pirates series this afternoon isn’t exactly dripping with intrigue, given the fact that the two teams have long since faded from contention. And it is quite possible that there will be more scouts in the seats than fans. That is because Roy Oswalt will be on the mound for Houston. With Cliff Lee off the market, Oswalt is the best available arm as the nonwaiver trading deadline nears.
Chris Bahr is Sporting News’ baseball editor. E-mail him at cbahr@sportingnews.com.
