Preview Roundups
April 11, 2014
Toronto at Baltimore 7:05 PM ET
J.J. Hardy has performed well the few times he has made it on the field this season and his Baltimore Orioles hope a day off will be enough to get him back when they open a three-game home set against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. The two-time All-Star is 5-for-15 in the four games in which he has played, but has missed five of the last six due to back spasms. Hardy went 2-for-3 against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday only to have his back lock up during pregame fielding drills on Sunday.
Boston at NY Yankees 7:05 PM ET
Jacoby Ellsbury got the better of his former team the first time around and continues to settle in nicely as the New York Yankees’ No. 3 hitter. Ellsbury and company will try to take a 2-0 lead in the four-game set when they host the Boston Red Sox again Friday. The star center fielder drove in a run and scored in the series opener and is batting .351 in the early going after being recast as a middle-of-the-order threat recently by the Yankees.
Miami at Philadelphia 7:05 PM ET
After winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2013, Jose Fernandez may be looking to bump his award aspirations up a notch. With Cy Young expectations on his shoulders, the Miami Marlins' ace takes the hill Friday against the host Philadelphia Phillies in the opener of a three-game set. Fernandez, who will be pitching with an extra day of rest, has allowed one total run over his first two starts and sports a nifty 17-to-2 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Tampa Bay at Cincinnati 7:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays haven't generated much offense lately, but they didn't need much in the opener of a three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds. The Rays hope to get the bats going and look for another strong performance on the mound when they continue their road trip Saturday against the Reds, who have lost seven of their first 10 games. The Rays snapped a five-game interleague losing streak with Friday's 2-1 win in the series opener.
Tampa Bay at Cincinnati 7:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays look to get their offense going as they begin interleague play by visiting the Cincinnati Reds on Friday to start a three-game set. The Rays posted only six runs while losing three of their last four games and are batting .211 with runners in scoring position overall despite a strong start from All Star Evan Longoria. The Reds need to jump-start their season after going 1-2 in each of their first three series while averaging three runs and losing a trio of one-run games.
Washington at Atlanta 7:35 PM ET
The Washington Nationals are 1-2 against the Atlanta Braves this season and 6-0 against everybody else. Washington heads south for a second consecutive weekend series against its chief National League East rival, having lost two of three to the defending division champion Braves last weekend at home but holding a two-game advantage over Atlanta in the East. Starting pitching has carried the Braves through the first two weeks but David Hale struggled in Thursday’s loss to the New York Mets.
Houston at Texas 8:05 PM ET
Former MLB commissioner Bud Selig placed the Houston Astros in the American League West before last season in part to help balance out the Texas Rangers’ travel schedule. The Rangers, who open a three-game home set with the Astros on Friday, showed their appreciation by going 17-2 against the Astros to tie the major-league record for the most wins against an opponent since the divisional era began in 1969. Texas won the final 11 meetings to improve to 36-7 against Houston since 2009.
Cleveland at Chi. White Sox 8:10 PM ET
Just 10 games into his major league career, Jose Abreu is quickly making a name for himself. The 27-year-old Cuban aims to lead the Chicago White Sox to their third win in four games when the Cleveland Indians visit Friday. Chicago took Thursday's series opener 7-3, snapping a 14-game losing streak to Cleveland thanks to Abreu's two-homer performance.
Kansas City at Minnesota 8:10 PM ET
The Kansas City Royals look to extend their dominance over Minnesota when they open a three-game road series against the Twins on Friday. Kansas City won 15 of 19 meetings last season and limited Minnesota to two or fewer runs in 10 of the matchups. The Royals went 4-2 on a just-completed six-game homestand against the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay Rays, while the Twins suffered a three-game home sweep to the Oakland Athletics.
Pittsburgh at Milwaukee 8:10 PM ET
Coming off a perfect road trip, the Milwaukee Brewers are feeling confident heading into their three-game home series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Milwaukee won three straight at Boston before taking three in a row in Philadelphia heading into Friday's series opener with Pittsburgh. "It sure was (impressive)," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke told reporters of the road trip. "Great pitching, some big hits, bullpen's doing a great job. Everything's working. Guys are getting some big hits right now."
Chi. Cubs at St. Louis 8:15 PM ET
The St. Louis Cardinals on Friday continue a stretch of 15 contests against Central Division foes to start the season when they begin a three-game series with the visiting Chicago Cubs. St. Louis (5-4), which won 12 of the 19 meetings with Chicago in 2013, had Thursday off after completing its second three-game series victory over Cincinnati this season. The Cardinals kick off a run of 20 games in 20 days by sending Joe Kelly - a workmanlike winner in his first start of 2014 - to the mound.
LA Dodgers at Arizona 9:40 PM ET
The Arizona Diamondbacks haven’t hosted the Los Angeles Dodgers since the latter’s infamous postgame party in the stadium pool after clinching the National League West title last September. Arizona and the Dodgers have already met this season, however, with L.A. sweeping a doubleheader in Major League Baseball’s debut in Australia last month. The Dodgers are coming off back-to-back extra-inning games in a two-game split with the visiting Detroit Tigers, but enjoyed another off day Thursday.
NY Mets at LA Angels 10:05 PM ET
Runs have been hard to come by for the New York Mets through the first nine games of the season, but they hope the offensive formula that produced six runs in Thursday’s victory in Atlanta makes the cross-country trip to California. New York plays at the Los Angeles Angels on Friday, one night after Eric Young and Daniel Murphy combined to go 6-for-9 at the top of the lineup with four runs scored, three RBIs, a walk and four stolen bases.
Detroit at San Diego 10:10 PM ET
The San Diego Padres look to jump-start their struggling offense Friday when they begin a 10-game homestand against the Detroit Tigers, whose bullpen has become a major source of concern. Tigers closer Joe Nathan suffered his second blown save in three chances on Wednesday against the Los Angeles Dodgers just hours after mentioning during a Sirius XM radio interview that he was experiencing a “dead arm” stage. San Diego ranks near the bottom in the majors in several offensive categories.
Oakland at Seattle 10:10 PM ET
Felix Hernandez goes after his third consecutive strong performance when the Seattle Mariners host the Oakland Athletics in Friday’s opener of a three-game series. Hernandez defeated Oakland last Saturday when he took a shutout into the ninth inning before being removed with two outs to go in a 3-1 victory. The solid effort continued his career-long success rate against Oakland as Hernandez is 16-7 with a 2.60 ERA in 30 career outings against the Athletics.
Colorado at San Francisco 10:15 PM ET
The Colorado Rockies have been all over the map to start the season and they'll try to find some consistency when they open a three-game series Friday against the host San Francisco Giants. The Rockies have scored eight or more runs in four of the last six games, but also have given up eight or more three times, including 15 in a loss to the White Sox on Tuesday. Winning on the road has been a challenge for Colorado, which finished 29-52 away from Coors Field in each of the past two seasons.