Preview Roundups
April 25, 2014
Kansas City at Baltimore 7:05 PM ET
The Kansas City Royals' scouting report for their weekend series in Baltimore probably boils down to one main objective: Beware Nelson Cruz. The hot-hitting outfielder leads the Orioles into Friday's series opener against the Royals having enjoyed one of the best three-game stretches of his career. Cruz victimized the Toronto Blue Jays for three home runs and 10 RBIs in the set, helping Baltimore take two of three thanks to an 11-4 drubbing Thursday night.
LA Angels at NY Yankees 7:05 PM ET
New York Yankees captain Derek Jeter is enjoying a fine farewell tour and Jacoby Ellsbury is proving to be a perfect fit with his new team. Those two and the rest of the first-place Yankees will try to keep up with Mike Trout and Albert Pujols when the Los Angeles Angels visit New York on Friday. Trout is on the short list to take over Jeter’s position as the face of baseball next season, while Pujols is busy proving that last year was a fluke.
San Diego at Washington 7:05 PM ET
With only one win through five starts and an uncharacteristic 5.33 ERA, Stephen Strasburg will look to continue his mini-resurgence when the Washington Nationals host the San Diego Padres on Friday. The Washington ace has been strong in two of his last three starts, including Sunday's effort against St. Louis in which he yielded two runs in six innings. Strasburg, a native of San Diego, is 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA in three career starts against his hometown team.
Boston at Toronto 7:07 PM ET
The Boston Red Sox are in the unfamiliar situation of looking up at the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East standings. The Red Sox will try to gain some ground on their division rivals when they open up a three-game set at Toronto on Friday. Boston dropped two of three to the New York Yankees during the week and was pounded 14-5 in Thursday’s series finale while committing five errors.
Miami at NY Mets 7:10 PM ET
The New York Mets continue a promising homestand Friday night when they welcome the Miami Marlins for the first of three games. The Mets, who went 33-48 at home in 2013 and opened 2-6 at Citi Field this year, have won four of their last five on the homestand, taking three of four from St. Louis to begin the week. New York's staff has a 1.62 ERA over the last five games, with Bartolo Colon allowing one run in seven innings of a 4-1 win over the Cardinals on Thursday.
Cincinnati at Atlanta 7:35 PM ET
Coming off a day of rest to enjoy his second game-winning hit in three games, Evan Gattis and the Atlanta Braves eye their 10th victory in 13 tries on Friday when they begin a three-game home set against the Cincinnati Reds. Gattis hit a walk-off, two-run homer in Monday’s win over the Miami Marlins and closed the series with a go-ahead, pinch-hit two-run double in Wednesday’s triumph. During the Braves’ torrid stretch, their power-hitting catcher is batting .351 with five homers and 10 RBIs.
Tampa Bay at Chi. White Sox 8:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays have yet to build much momentum this season at 10-12, with injuries depleting the starting rotation and an inconsistent offense. It won’t get any easier for the Rays as they start a 10-game road trip against the Chicago White Sox on Friday with only three wins in their last 10 contests. Tampa Bay also plays Boston and the New York Yankees on the trek after facing a White Sox team that is off to a 6-4 start at home and averaging 5.4 runs overall.
Chi. Cubs at Milwaukee 8:10 PM ET
Matt Garza doesn’t figure to lack for motivation when he starts for the Milwaukee Brewers against the visiting Chicago Cubs on Friday. Garza went 21-18 in 2 1/2 seasons with the Cubs before being traded to Texas last season and signing with the Brewers as a free agent in the offseason. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the Cubs in spring training and told the Chicago Sun-Times: “I’m going to try to kick their teeth in every time I get a chance.”
Detroit at Minnesota 8:10 PM ET
Miguel Cabrera’s bat is showing signs of life with two three-RBI outings in a three-day span as the Detroit Tigers open a three-game series against the host Minnesota Twins on Friday. Cabrera, the American League MVP in each of the past two seasons, recorded only seven RBIs before having a hot series against the Chicago White Sox and Thursday’s three-RBI day helped Detroit record a 7-4 victory. He enters the Minnesota series with two homers and a .250 average.
Oakland at Houston 8:10 PM ET
The Houston Astros try to avoid their fifth losing streak of at least three games this month when they host the Oakland Athletics on Friday in the second contest of their four-game series. The Astros have lost two in a row following their 10-1 defeat in Thursday's opener. Oakland's Jed Lowrie is 5-for-13 over his last three games, a good sign for the club moving forward.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis 8:15 PM ET
The St. Louis Cardinals return home looking to get the bats going when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates in the opener of a three-game set Friday night. The Cardinals, who entered Thursday ranked 14th in the National League in runs per game at 3.6, produced only 13 in the final seven games of a 5-6 road trip. The finale was a 4-1 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday, when St. Louis recorded just three singles and a double to fall for the fifth time in seven games overall.
Philadelphia at Arizona 9:40 PM ET
The news keeps getting worse for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who begin a three-game series against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. The Diamondbacks, off to a 7-18 start, will be without power-hitting Mark Trumbo for an extended period after the first baseman landed on the disabled list Thursday with a stress fracture in his right foot. Trumbo was hitting .210 with seven home runs and 19 RBIs.
Colorado at LA Dodgers 10:10 PM ET
The Los Angeles Dodgers look to slow down Troy Tulowitzki when they begin a three-game series against the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday. Tulowitzki is 11-for-20 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over his last six games, and Colorado is one game back of first-place Los Angeles in the National League West after taking two of three against San Francisco. The Rockies are 8-4 at home but 4-7 on the road heading into the six-game road trip against the Dodgers and Diamondbacks.
Texas at Seattle 10:10 PM ET
The Texas Rangers are on a roll heading into Friday’s opener of a three-game series against the host Seattle Mariners and they’re expected to have third baseman Adrian Beltre back in the lineup after he missed most of this month with a strained quad. The Rangers have won eight of their last nine games following their three-game sweep at the Oakland Athletics, in which they totaled only 12 runs.
Cleveland at San Francisco 10:15 PM ET
Thanks to a surprising contribution from backup catcher Hector Sanchez, the San Francisco Giants halted their offensive struggles in a big way in their last time out. The Giants, who return home Friday to begin a three-game interleague series against the Cleveland Indians, batted .166 and averaged 1.8 runs over the first five games of their most recent road trip. Those woes stopped when Sanchez and Michael Morse each belted two homers during Wednesday’s 12-10 win against the Colorado Rockies.