Preview Roundups
April 27, 2014
Boston at Toronto 1:07 PM ET
The Boston Red Sox suddenly found their offense and will try to keep swinging hot bats as they go for a three-game sweep at the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. The Red Sox had scored as many as seven runs only once in the first 23 games but set a season high with an 8-1 win in Friday’s series opener and squeezed out a 7-6 triumph Saturday. The Blue Jays have dropped four in a row thanks to a pitching staff that allowed 36 runs in that span.
Miami at NY Mets 1:10 PM ET
The New York Mets and the Miami Marlins are waiting until the final moments to decide which team walks out with a win. One team will try to put things away before its final at-bat when the Mets host the Marlins in the rubber match of a three-game set on Sunday. New York claimed a 4-3 victory on Curtis Granderson’s RBI single in the ninth inning on Friday and Jarrod Saltalamacchia’s 10th-inning blast gave Miami a win on Saturday.
Kansas City at Baltimore 1:35 PM ET
Baltimore's Nick Markakis didn't let a rare start at first base affect his game and he'll feel a little more comfortable if he plays there Sunday when the Orioles host the Kansas City Royals in their three-game series finale. Markakis, who was moved from right field to first in place of the injured Chris Davis, was flawless in the field and had two hits, including a walk-off single in 10th inning Saturday as Baltimore snapped a four-game losing streak to Kansas City with a 3-2 victory.
Cincinnati at Atlanta 1:35 PM ET
Johnny Cueto and Julio Teheran are two big reasons why the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves boast two of the top pitching staffs through the season’s first four weeks. The right-handers meet Sunday as the Reds wrap up a three-game series at Atlanta, and both hurlers look to conclude the season’s first month with another stellar performance. The Reds have been cooled off in the first two games of the series as Atlanta clinched its seventh series victory in eight tries with Saturday’s 4-1 win.
San Diego at Washington 1:35 PM ET
The Washington Nationals attempt to defeat San Diego for the third consecutive day when they wrap up a four-game set with the visiting Padres on Sunday. After losing the series opener in 12 innings, Washington outscored San Diego 15-1 while winning the past two games with Tanner Roark throwing a three-hit shutout against the punchless Padres on Saturday. The Nationals have outhit the Padres 43-21 in the series.
Tampa Bay at Chi. White Sox 2:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays received a much-needed pitching effort Saturday from unlikely sources and will hand the ball to their ace David Price to build off it. Price, the 2012 American League Cy Young award winner, tries for his fourth victory when the Rays visit the Chicago White Sox on Sunday for the third of a four-game series. Tampa Bay was 3-10 when Price or Chris Archer did not start before Saturday, but the trio of Cesar Ramos, Brandon Gomes and Juan Carlos Oviedo blanked Chicago 4-0.
Chi. Cubs at Milwaukee 2:10 PM ET
The Milwaukee Brewers can wrap up their fourth series sweep Sunday, something they didn't do until late-July last season. The Brewers try to finish a three-game sweep of the visiting Chicago Cubs, who have dropped four straight following their only back-to-back wins of the season. Milwaukee has won seven of eight and owns the best record in baseball at 18-6.
Detroit at Minnesota 2:10 PM ET
Justin Verlander goes after his fourth consecutive victory when the Detroit Tigers close a three-game series against the host Minnesota Twins on Sunday. Verlander has allowed two or fewer earned runs in each of his five starts this season while displaying he’s fully recovered from offseason core muscle surgery. The teams split the first two games with Detroit prevailing 10-6 on Friday and Twins producing a 5-3 victory on Saturday.
Oakland at Houston 2:10 PM ET
Houston Astros designated hitter Chris Carter will get another chance to inflict more damage on a team that gave up on him following the 2012 season when the Astros host the Oakland Athletics in the finale of their four-game series Sunday. Carter, the minor-league player of the year for the Athletics in 2009 who got off to an 0-for-33 start with the big club, was traded from the A’s to the Astros in a deal that brought shortstop Jed Lowrie to Oakland.
Pittsburgh at St. Louis 2:15 PM ET
After finishing second in the National League Cy Young Award voting in 2010 and 2013, Adam Wainwright appears intent on winning it this year. Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals take on the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday afternoon in the finale of their three-game series. The Pirates handed Wainwright his only loss of 2014, but the St. Louis ace enters this matchup having not allowed a run in 17 straight innings across his last three starts.
Cleveland at San Francisco 4:05 PM ET
After enduring a miserable season in interleague play, the San Francisco Giants are finding the American League more to their liking in 2014. The Giants eye their first series sweep of the season and fourth straight victory overall on Sunday when they complete a three-game home set against the Cleveland Indians. Buster Posey homered in Saturday’s 5-3 victory to halt a 3-for-40 skid and give San Francisco a 2-0 mark against AL opponents after going 6-14 a year ago.
Philadelphia at Arizona 4:10 PM ET
The Philadelphia Phillies conclude their 10-game road trip on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the rubber match of their three-game series, but Carlos Ruiz won’t be in any hurry to return home. Ruiz is 11-for-28 (.393) with a home run and seven RBIs during the trek, including a three-hit performance Saturday that helped the Phillies rally from a five-run deficit for a 6-5 win. Philadelphia has won five of its last seven, while Arizona owns the majors’ worst record at 8-19.
Colorado at LA Dodgers 4:10 PM ET
Adrian Gonzalez tries to homer for the fourth straight contest and the Los Angeles Dodgers attempt to salvage a 5-5 homestand with a victory over the Colorado Rockies on Sunday in the finale of their three-game series. Los Angeles, though, may be without Hanley Ramirez, who left Saturday's 6-3 victory after bruising his right thumb during an at-bat. The Dodgers' Yasiel Puig has recorded two hits in four of his last five games and driven in two runs in each of the last two contests.
Texas at Seattle 4:10 PM ET
Matt Harrison makes his first start in over a year on Sunday, when the visiting Texas Rangers take on the Seattle Mariners in the rubber match of their three-game series. The 28-year-old battled a herniated disk in his lower back for most of last season and had right shoulder surgery late in the year but appears fully healthy after posting a 1.69 ERA in three starts for Double-A Frisco. “I’m excited to finally get back here,” Harrison told reporters.
LA Angels at NY Yankees 8:05 PM ET
Few pitchers in baseball, if any, have been better than the New York Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka to begin the 2014 season. Tanaka's fifth career start comes Sunday night, when the Japanese right-hander will try to impress a national television audience in the finale of the Yankees' home series with the Los Angeles Angels. All eyes will be on Tanaka, who has struck out 35 batters - a franchise record through four starts - and has walked only two in his young major league career.