Preview Roundups
April 18, 2014
Cincinnati at Chi. Cubs 2:20 PM ET
The Cincinnati Reds are coming off their first series win of the season, something that has become commonplace whenever they face the Chicago Cubs. The Reds, who begin a three-game road set in Chicago on Friday, generated a bit of momentum by taking two of three at home from the Pittsburgh Pirates after going 1-2 in each of their first four series. Cincinnati has encountered very little resistance from the Cubs recently, winning 23 of the last 29 meetings – including a 14-5 mark in 2013.
Toronto at Cleveland 7:05 PM ET
The Cleveland Indians look to recapture the form that carried them into the 2013 playoffs when they begin a seven-game homestand against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday. The Indians lost five of their last seven to drop into last place in the American League Central after a 7-5 defeat at Detroit on Thursday. Cleveland is scoring plenty of runs (4.6 per game), but has struggled on the mound with a 4.35 ERA (25th) and is tied for the third-most errors in the majors with 15.
Milwaukee at Pittsburgh 7:05 PM ET
The Milwaukee Brewers rode a nine-game winning streak to the top of the National League Central but are beginning to come back to the pack with losses in three of the last four games. The Pittsburgh Pirates are one of the teams chasing the Brewers down and will look to take two in a row from the division rivals when they host Milwaukee on Friday. The Pirates bashed their way to an 11-2 win in the series opener and are on a home run tear of late.
St. Louis at Washington 7:05 PM ET
The Washington Nationals had no answers for Adam Wainwright, but they hope they'll fare better against Michael Wacha. The Nationals continue their four-game home series with the St. Louis Cardinals on Friday, one day after managing just two singles against Wainwright. Wacha poses a major challenge as well, especially since the 22-year-old dominated Washington in his final start of the 2013 regular season.
LA Angels at Detroit 7:08 PM ET
The Detroit Tigers broke out of their offensive funk in their last time out and would like nothing more than to end their struggles in another area – beating the Los Angeles Angels. The Tigers, who host Los Angeles for the first of three games on Friday, halted a stretch in which they scored nine runs over the previous four games with Thursday’s 7-5 win over the Cleveland Indians. Ian Kinsler homered and drove in four as Detroit won for only the third time in eight tries.
Baltimore at Boston 7:10 PM ET
The Boston Red Sox salvaged their road trip by taking the final two games from the Chicago White Sox and now have to figure out how to carry that momentum back home. The Red Sox will kick off a seven-game homestand by hosting the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday. The Orioles swept a rain-shortened two-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays this week and have won six of their last nine games to pull back to .500 at 7-7.
Atlanta at NY Mets 7:10 PM ET
The New York Mets look to build upon a promising road trip when they open a nine-game homestand Friday with the first of three against the Atlanta Braves. One of the top road teams in the National League last year, the Mets went 6-3 on their first 2014 excursion, capped by a three-game sweep in Arizona. Dillon Gee tossed seven scoreless innings and Anthony Recker homered in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over the Diamondbacks as New York moved over .500 for the first time since a 10-9 start in 2013.
Seattle at Miami 7:10 PM ET
Major-league RBI leader Giancarlo Stanton looks to continue a strong start when the Miami Marlins open a three-game series against the visiting Seattle Mariners on Friday. Stanton has driven in 21 runs in 16 games and is already nearly one-fourth of the way to his best season total while batting .299 with five homers. Seattle enters on a three-game losing streak as the teams play for the first time since the 2011 campaign.
NY Yankees at Tampa Bay 7:10 PM ET
Erik Bedard makes his debut in the Tampa Bay rotation as the Rays look to end a pair of streaks when they host the New York Yankees on Friday. The Yankees rolled to a 10-2 win in the opener of the four-game series Thursday, securing their fifth straight victory while sending Tampa Bay to its fourth consecutive defeat. New York pounded out 16 hits - nine for extra bases - in its best offensive effort of the season.
Chi. White Sox at Texas 8:05 PM ET
The hottest hitter on the Texas Rangers didn’t even begin the season in the majors. Kevin Kouzmanoff is the everyday third baseman only because Adrian Beltre is on the disabled list and he attempts to keep his solid hitting going when Texas opens a three-game series against the visiting Chicago White Sox on Friday. Kouzmanoff has hit in all eight games since being rescued from Triple-A Round Rock and is batting .414 with a homer and six RBIs.
Minnesota at Kansas City 8:10 PM ET
The Kansas City Royals have revenge on their minds when they host the Minnesota Twins for a three-game series beginning Friday. Kansas City was outscored 21-5 in a three-game sweep in Minnesota last weekend, but rebounded by winning three straight against Houston for its first road victories of the season. The Twins swept Toronto in a split doubleheader Thursday, scoring six runs in the eighth inning of the nightcap on one hit, eight walks and three wild pitches en route to a 9-5 victory.
Philadelphia at Colorado 8:40 PM ET
The Philadelphia Phillies have played back-to-back 1-0 games, but the chances are slim they will play a third as they begin a 10-game road trip Friday with the first of three contests against the Colorado Rockies. Philadelphia completed a 4-5 homestand with a 1-0 victory over Atlanta on Thursday after splitting six games on the road to start the season. Colorado returns home after finishing a 3-4 trip through San Francisco and San Diego with a 3-1 victory over the Padres on Thursday.
Houston at Oakland 10:05 PM ET
The Oakland Athletics are an American League-best 10-5 and lead the AL by a wide margin with a 2.57 ERA, and Sonny Gray is a big reason. Gray, the 18th overall pick in the 2011 draft, tries for his fourth straight quality start to open 2014 when Oakland begins a three-game series against the visiting Houston Astros on Friday. “I still don’t think we’ve seen his best game yet,” Athletics manager Bob Melvin told reporters after Gray defeated 3-1 at Seattle on Saturday as his ERA rose to 0.95.
Arizona at LA Dodgers 10:10 PM ET
Adrian Gonzalez and the Los Angeles Dodgers look to further their early-season torment of Arizona when the Diamondbacks visit Southern California for Friday’s opener of a three-game series. Gonzalez is 8-for-18 with three homers, two doubles and 11 RBIs against Arizona this season as Los Angeles has won all five meetings. The Dodgers begin their dominance with two victories in the season-opening series in Australia and continued it with three victories in Phoenix last weekend.
San Francisco at San Diego 10:10 PM ET
The San Diego Padres need to figure out ways to touch home plate more often as they open a three-game series against the San Francisco Giants on Friday. San Diego is tied with the Houston Astros for least runs (45) in the majors and sports a 7-9 record only because the pitching has been solid. San Francisco is tied for first place in the National League West with Los Angeles despite falling to the Dodgers on Thursday.