Pitchers, weather & umpires: Tue., May 6

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 10:09 AM

Cubs at Reds 7:10 PM
Starting Pitchers: Carlos Zambrano (4-1, 2.11) vs Aaron Harang (1-4, 2.98)
Pretty stellar pitching matchup in the Queen City this evening, and the total set to 8 in this hitter’s park certainly attests to the arms on the hill. Crazy Charlie has pitched well enough to have a 6-1 record this year, but the Cubs are only 4-3 in his games. He was the pitcher of record in Wrigley on Apr 16 when Chicago bashed the Reds, 12-3, tossing seven innings and giving up just two runs. The Cubs were 2-4 in his starts against the Reds in 2007, with both of those wins coming at Cincinnati. In his three starts during 2007 at the Reds, Zambrano worked 19.1 innings and allowed five earned runs, with all five of those runs scored in the Opening Day ’07 loss opposing Harang.

The Reds’ righty has pitched far better than his record indicates, with Cincinnati 3-4 in Harang’s seven starts so far. His lone bad start came at Wrigley on Apr 15 in a 9-5 loss to the Cubs with Harang working six and giving up five runs and two home runs. The Reds went 4-2 in Harang’s six assignments vs. the Cubs last year, with both losses coming in Cincinnati. One of those starts in Cincy saw Harang only work an inning before leaving with a stiff back. In the three games at the Reds’ park, Harang tossed 16 innings and allowed six earned.

Plate Ump: Chuck Meriwether puts a 1-5 O/U on the line in tonight’s game, though he’s yet to work one with a total this low. He worked one of Zambrano’s starts earlier this year when the Cubs fell 5-3 at Philadelphia with the Under cashing.

Weather: Mostly cloudy with temps in upper-60s at game time and winds out of the South at 5-10 (in from right).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 10:10 AM

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Angels at Royals 8:10 PM
Starting Pitchers: Nick Adenhart (0-0, 22.50) vs Brian Bannister (3-3, 4.04)
Odds are very good that this will be a much better start for Adenhart than things went for him in his major league debut five days ago. He couldn’t find the plate and issued five walks that led to five runs in just two innings of work before getting the hook. The offense rallied to keep him from suffering the loss even though the Halos did eventually drop the game to the A’s, 15-8. He’s never faced the Royals, obviously.

Bannister is off a very bad start in an 11-9 loss at the Rangers on Apr 30. The Royals right-hander worked just three innings and gave up seven runs and three homers, including a slam by Josh Hamilton. After KC won Bannister’s first three starts of the season, they have since dropped his subsequent three outings. This will be his first start ever against the Angels, with Torii Hunter the only hitter in the lineup who has faced him going 2-for-9 with both hits doubles.

Plate Ump: Mike Everitt is south of the dish and the total is currently at 9. Everitt is 5-1 in favor of the home team this season and 3-1-2 O/U. He saw the Angels earlier this year in Anaheim (Apr 9) with that contest going over.

Weather: Looks like a wet day and evening in the heartland. Forecast calls for 60% chance of rain tonight and increasing as the evening wears on. First pitch should find a temperature around 68° with southerly winds at 15-20 (out to left-center).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 11:04 AM

Cardinals at Rockies 8:35 PM
Starting Pitchers: Braden Looper (4-1, 3.86) vs Mark Redman (2-2, 6.99)
The Cardinals are on a roll with eight wins in their last 11, and they’re 4-2 in Looper’s outings for 2008 with the right-hander only having one bad start to date. He has one career start at Coors, that coming last year of course, and he was shelled for six runs, all earned, in 5.2 innings. He really hasn’t seen these hitters too much, even dating to his relief days. Todd Helton has two homers – his only hits – in seven at bats while Yorvit Torrealba is also 2-for-7 lifetime against Looper, with one of those hits a grand slam in that 2007 start by the St. Louis pitcher at Coors.

This is Redman’s first start since an 11-3 loss at Los Angeles on Apr 26. He was skipped the past time through the Rockies’ rotation and tossed almost two innings of scoreless relief on May 2. Colorado is 2-3 in Redman’s five starts, and this will be his first start against the Cardinals since he was with the Royals in 2006. Troy Glaus has seen Redman the most, the two meeting often when both were in the AL. Glaus has six hits, half of them doubles, in 21 AB against the Colorado southpaw. Albert Pujols (5-11, HR) and Yadier Molina (5-9, 2 HR) have hit him well in the past.

Plate Ump: Alfonso Marquez has seen the Rockies once this year, catching them in San Diego when they faced Jake Peavy and the Padres. That game was an easy Under. He’s 3-3 O/U in 2008, with this 11-run total the highest set in any of his games up to now.

Weather: Scattered thunderstorms in the forecast with a 40% chance of rain tonight. Will be upper-50s, low-60s at game time with NW winds 5-10 (in from left).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 11:05 AM

Phillies at Diamondbacks 9:40 PM
Starting Pitchers: Adam Eaton (0-0, 4.72) vs Randy Johnson (1-1, 4.79)
Though Eaton has failed to pick up a decision this season, the Phils are 4-2 in his starts and have won his last four assignments. He’s pitched pretty consistently, allowing more than three runs just once. He made a start in Arizona last season and did well, tossing seven frames and giving up three runs in a 3-2 Philadelphia loss. Eric Byrnes and Chris Young have had success, albeit in limited opportunities, but overall Eaton has handled the D-Backs hitters fairly well.

The Snakes are 2-2 in Johnson’s four starts, but if not for Houston’s bullpen blowing up last Wednesday Arizona would be 1-3 as the Big Unit put his team in a 4-0 hole in the first inning of that game. Johnson made one start last season against the Phils before going on the DL, working six scoreless, one-hit innings against in Philly. He’s done very well against these hitters over their careers, with Pat Burrell and Chase Utley a combined 4-for-25 (.160) with just one long ball (by Burrell).

Plate Ump: Behind the plate for this one will be Bill Miller with the total currently sitting at 10. So far, Miller is 1-5 O/U. He called an earlier start by Eaton with that game played in Philadelphia (Apr 15) and finishing under the 10½ tally as the Phils dropped Shawn Chacon and the Astros, 4-3.

Weather: They’ve got the roof in case the 20% chance of thunderstorms comes true. Otherwise partly cloudy skies, game time temp in upper-70s with winds starting from SW (3B to RF) and shifting to SE at 10-15 (1B to LF).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 01:47 PM

Orioles at Athletics 10:05 PM
Starting Pitchers: Brian Burres (3-2, 2.87) vs Justin Duchscherer (2-1, 2.40)
Burres has been a reason why the O’s have been winning to start the year with Baltimore 3-2 in his five starts. The southpaw also has one relief outing on the season. He made one start against Oakland in Baltimore a year ago, working six innings and allowing just a run for the win. He also had a three inning scoreless stint against the A’s in 2007. His nemesis will be Frank Thomas who is a very healthy 6-for-9 against Burres with a homer.

Duchscherer is slowly making the transition to a starting pitcher and working his pitch count up. He’s only gone five in each of his three starts, the last two coming after he spent about three weeks with a bicep injury. Oakland was hoping to stretch him out to 90-95 throws in his last start, but he was lifted after 82. The A’s are 2-1 in his starts this season. This will be just his second career start versus Baltimore, the other coming in his MLB debut while with Texas in June 2001. He has seen some of these hitters as a reliever, however, with Melvin Mora 0-for-7 lifetime against Duchscherer and Brian Roberts 3-for-7. Kevin Millar has one hit in six at bats, and it went over the fence.

Plate Ump: C.B. Bucknor and his ever-changing strike zone will be behind the plate with the total set at 8. Bucknor is 1-4-1 O/U this season, and his zone appears to become larger as the game wears on.

Weather: Skies will be partly cloudy, first pitch temp in the upper-50s, winds out of the West at 10-20 (from 3B out to RF corner).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 02:13 PM

Rangers at Mariners 10:10 PM
Starting Pitchers: Sidney Ponson (1-0, 1.35) vs Miguel Batista (2-3, 4.41)
Off his first win in exactly a year, Ponson has been an amazing groundball pitcher in his two outings for the Rangers with a 23:5 GB/FB mark in 13.1 innings. He’s also proven to be a BP pitcher when facing Richie Sexson over their careers, with the Mariners first baseman 12-for-25 with four homers lifetime. Ichiro Suzuki (9-16) has also hit him well and Raul Ibañez has taken him deep twice in 28 at bats with a .250 average. The last time he faced the Mariners was in 2006 while with the Yankees, earning a no-decision in an 11-inning New York win. The last time he started a game at Safeco was with the Orioles in 2005 when he took the loss in an 8-2 Seattle victory.

This is Batista’s seventh start of the year to go with one relief outing. The M’s are 2-4 in his starts. His one relief outing was on Apr 2 and he earned the save against the Rangers with a perfect inning out of the pen. He’s handled this group of Texas hitters pretty well with Michael Young (8-for-20) the only bat in the present lineup hitting with more than 8 AB and hitting over .214 vs. Batista.

Plate Ump: This umpire crew normally consists of Rick Reed (crew chief), Jeff Kellogg, Mark Wegner and Tony Randazzo. But for some reason, Randazzo has not been with the group since they were in Atlanta last weekend for the Reds-Braves series. Chad Fairchild is in Randazzo’s place, and he was at 1B last night when this series started meaning under normal umpire rotations, he would work the plate tonight. But Fairchild called balls and strikes on Sunday in Atlanta, so the crew may be mixing up their rotation while Randazzo is away. If it is Fairchild, who is something of a rover among the crews, he’s 5-3 O/U so far this season.

Weather: Guessing the roof could be closed for this one with a slight chance of rain, temps in the mid-50s around game time and ESE winds at 5-10 (from 1B out to left).

Willie Bee · 05-06-08, 02:26 PM

Mets at Dodgers 10:10 PM
Starting Pitchers: Nelson Figueroa (2-1, 4.08) vs Hiroki Kuroda (1-2, 3.82)
The swingman on this staff, Figueroa has made four starts to go with three relief appearances this season. His biggest problem so far this year is the 15 walks in less than 29 innings, though he has given up just one long ball. He last pitched on Apr 30 in relief of Oliver Perez against Pittsburgh when the Pirates embarrassed the Mets 13-1. Out of the majors since 2004 until this season, the last time he faced the Dodgers was in May 2002 when he was with the Brewers, with Figueroa allowing three runs in five innings for a no-decision in an 8-6 Milwaukee win. Andruw Jones and Rafael Furcal have seen him the most, and done alright with a .333 combined average (7-for-21) and Jones taking him deep one time.

The Dodgers are 3-3 in Kuroda’s six starts this season, and they have won his last two outings at home against Colorado (Apr 25) and on the road in Florida (May 1). This is his first time to face the Mets.

Plate Ump: This will be Kuroda’s second start with Tim Tschida behind the dish, the other coming in his MLB debut on Apr 4 when Kuroda worked seven innings of one-run, three-hit ball against the impotent lineup in San Diego. Tschida has been a visitors’ friend to date with the away team winning five of his six previous plate assignments. The O/U is 3-3 in his games thus far.

Weather: Cloudy skies, though not much chance for rain, first pitch temp around 60°, southerly wind at 5-10 (out to center).

mofome · 05-06-08, 02:27 PM

ty willie!