Preview Roundups
May 04, 2014
Chi. White Sox at Cleveland 1:05 PM ET
The Cleveland Indians try for their ninth straight victory at home over Chicago when they host the White Sox on Sunday in the finale of their three-game series. Cleveland won for the 20th time in the last 24 overall meetings with a 2-0 victory Saturday as Justin Masterson earned his first win since Aug. 21 after going 0-2 in his previous 11 appearances. The White Sox have lost four straight as Jose Abreu, who leads the majors with 11 home runs, is 3-for-17 with a homer during that span.
Tampa Bay at NY Yankees 1:05 PM ET
Mark Teixeira missed most of the 2013 season and more than two weeks last month due to injury, but the New York Yankees first baseman is reminding observers what he can do when healthy. Teixeira has homered in four of his last five games, including a two-run shot that ignited Saturday's comeback victory for the Yankees, who will host the Tampa Bay Rays in Sunday's finale of the three-game series. Teixeira has five homers on the season, all coming in the past eight games.
LA Dodgers at Miami 1:10 PM ET
Dee Gordon seized the job at second base for the Los Angeles Dodgers with a solid first month, leading the league with 19 stolen bases and boasting a .357 batting average. The speedy Gordon was at his best the last two nights, collecting eight hits, and looks to stay hot when the Dodgers visit the Miami Marlins on Sunday in the rubber match of their three-game set.
Oakland at Boston 1:35 PM ET
The Boston Red Sox are slamming their way past the Oakland Athletics. The Red Sox will attempt to record a grand slam for the third straight game and polish off a sweep when they host the Athletics again on Sunday. Dustin Pedroia got the home run parade started with a grand slam in Friday’s triumph and Jonny Gomes connected in the first inning to give Boston a quick four-run cushion in Saturday’s contest while Oakland struggled with the Red Sox’s starters.
San Francisco at Atlanta 1:35 PM ET
There are not many Atlanta Braves starters who have needed a bounce-back start, but Alex Wood finds himself in that position when the Braves host the San Francisco Giants in the finale of a three-game set Sunday. Wood endured a miserable outing in his last start Tuesday at Miami, giving up seven runs in five innings as his ERA nearly doubled from 1.54 to 2.93. The Giants have taken the first two games of the series despite scoring only five runs – all coming on solo homers.
Toronto at Pittsburgh 1:35 PM ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates look to post their first three-game winning streak of the season when they host the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday in the finale of their three-game series. Pittsburgh rallied to knock off the Blue Jays for the second straight night as Neil Walker hit a tiebreaking two-run double off the center-field fence in the eighth inning Saturday for an 8-6 victory.
Baltimore at Minnesota 2:10 PM ET
Joe Mauer is heating up as the Minnesota Twins try to get back to the .500 mark. The star first baseman will try to extend his hot streak and lead the Twins to a win in the rubber match of a three-game set over the visiting Baltimore Orioles on Sunday. Mauer’s 3-for-4 effort with a home run and four RBIs helped Minnesota snap a four-game slide and even the series on Saturday, pulling the Twins within two games of .500.
Detroit at Kansas City 2:10 PM ET
The Detroit Tigers look to keep alive a handful of streaks and finish off a three-game sweep at Kansas City on Sunday. With a 9-2 win over the Royals on Saturday, Detroit has won four straight for the first time since opening the season 4-0, and has recorded its fourth consecutive win against Kansas City. Meanwhile, the Royals have lost three in a row for the second time in 2014, getting outscored 24-7 in the process.
Seattle at Houston 2:10 PM ET
The Seattle Mariners attempt to even the season series with Houston when they conclude their three-game series against the host Astros on Sunday. Seattle posted a 9-8 victory on Saturday to improve to 2-3 versus Houston this season as Justin Smoak hit a two-run homer and Michael Saunders delivered a tiebreaking two-run double during an eight-run eighth inning. The Astros recorded a season high for runs scored on Saturday and have totaled 13 while splitting the first two games of the set.
Washington at Philadelphia 3:05 PM ET
The Philadelphia Phillies have jumped out to early three-run leads in each of their first two games in Washington, but probably shouldn’t expect similar success in the rubber match against the Nationals on Sunday. Washington fell behind early Friday on Marlon Byrd’s three-run homer in the first inning before rallying for its ninth come-from-behind victory. Ryan Howard recorded his own three-run blast Saturday, which proved to be enough offense to back the Phillies’ A.J. Burnett in a 7-2 victory.
Texas at LA Angels 3:35 PM ET
Yu Darvish looks to recover from a rare poor start when he leads the Texas Rangers into the rubber game of a three-game set at the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday. Darvish had allowed five runs in 28 innings through his first four starts before he was reached for four runs in 3 1/3 innings against Oakland on Monday. It was the shortest start of his career and snapped a club-record streak of 56 games with at least five innings.
Arizona at San Diego 4:10 PM ET
Even in the midst of their worst 33-game start since its expansion season in 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks have been able to find a bit of refuge lately on the road. The Diamondbacks look to extend their winning streak to a season-high four games Sunday when they attempt to complete a three-game sweep of the San Diego Padres. Arizona has posted a major league-worst 3-15 record at Chase Field thanks in large part to the highest home ERA in the National League (5.36).
Milwaukee at Cincinnati 4:10 PM ET
The Milwaukee Brewers try to salvage a split of their four-game series with the host Cincinnati Reds when the teams meet Sunday. The Brewers forge ahead a while longer without power-hitting outfielder Ryan Braun, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list Saturday with a strained oblique. Braun has missed the last seven games with the ailment and Milwaukee has gone 3-4 in that span.
NY Mets at Colorado 4:10 PM ET
Colorado's Jhoulys Chacin comes off the disabled list to make his first start of the season when the red-hot Rockies go for a four-game sweep of the New York Mets on Sunday. Colorado improved to 5-0 in home series this season with a wild 11-10 victory Saturday on pinch-hitter Charlie Culberson's two-run walk-off homer after the Rockies erased a 6-0 deficit with an eight-run fifth inning before blowing 8-6 and 9-8 leads, and trailing 10-9 entering the bottom of the ninth.
St. Louis at Chi. Cubs 8:05 PM ET
The Chicago Cubs are riding a season-high three-game winning streak and will go for their first home series sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in nearly eight years Sunday night when the teams conclude a three-game set at Wrigley Field. First baseman Anthony Rizzo has led the charge for the Cubs, homering in each game during the win streak. "We know we're a good team," said Rizzo, who has six RBIs, scored six runs and walked six times in the past three. "It's just about getting the wins."