Preview Roundups
July 26, 2014
Toronto at NY Yankees 1:05 PM ET
The New York Yankees have been red-hot since the All-Star break, although the Toronto Blue Jays could be forgiven if they can’t tell a difference when they visit their division rival. The Yankees, who continue their three-game set against the Blue Jays on Saturday, defeated Toronto for the 17th straight time at home in Friday’s 6-4 win. The streak is fourth-longest since divisional play began in 1969 and longest slide in Blue Jays’ history since losing 19 straight in Baltimore from 1978-81.
St. Louis at Chi. Cubs 4:05 PM ET
The St. Louis Cardinals finished last weekend in a first-place tie atop the National League Central, but their longest losing streak in nearly a year has quickly left them in a bit of a hole. The Cardinals, who continue their three-game set in Chicago on Saturday against the Cubs, overcame their season-high 6 ½-game deficit by going 10-5 in their first 15 games in July. St. Louis has dropped four straight since, allowing the division-leading Milwaukee Brewers to rebuild a three-game margin.
Washington at Cincinnati 4:05 PM ET
The Washington Nationals, led by the red-hot Denard Span, look to gain more separation in the National League East when they visit the reeling Cincinnati Reds on Saturday. "He's been great," manager Matt Williams told reporters of his lead-off hitting center fielder, who is 18-for-39 with nine runs scored in his last nine games - including 4-for-5 in each of his last two contests - as first-place Washington has gone 7-2 during that span to increase its lead to 2 1/2 games over Atlanta.
Baltimore at Seattle 4:10 PM ET
The Seattle Mariners are struggling offensively and look to get the bats moving when they host the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday in the third contest of the four-game set. Seattle has scored one run while losing the first two games of the series and has tallied just four runs during a four-game losing streak. Baltimore first baseman Chris Davis smacked the game-winning homer in Friday’s 2-1 victory as the Orioles remained three games ahead of the New York Yankees in the American League East.
Arizona at Philadelphia 7:05 PM ET
The Philadelphia Phillies seem ready to part with their aging stars, but moving Cliff Lee might require an impressive effort from the veteran Saturday against the visiting Arizona Diamondbacks. The Phillies claimed the opener of the three-game series with a 9-5 win as Domonic Brown and Grady Sizemore ignited the offense. Arizona's Josh Collmenter will try to duplicate his performance from the last time he faced the Phillies - he shut them out for six innings on April 25.
Boston at Tampa Bay 7:10 PM ET
A pair of rivals heading in opposite directions square off Saturday night when the Tampa Bay Rays put an eight-game winning streak on the line against the visiting Boston Red Sox. The Rays' run, which has allowed them to leapfrog the Red Sox in the American League East standings, is tied for the second-longest in franchise history behind a 12-gamer in 2004. Tampa Bay is 4-0 this year at home against Boston, which has dropped four in a row since a 14-1 win at Toronto on Monday.
San Diego at Atlanta 7:10 PM ET
The Atlanta Braves are focused on catching division-leading Washington, but their immediate concern is figuring out how to beat the lowly San Diego Padres. The Braves have lost eight of their last 10 meetings against San Diego, and they managed just four hits in Friday’s 5-2 loss. Atlanta trails Washington by 2 1/2 games in the National League East heading into Saturday’s contest against San Diego, which has won three straight and five of their past six contests.
Chi. White Sox at Minnesota 7:10 PM ET
Chris Sale looks to keep alive a phenomenal run on Saturday when he leads the Chicago White Sox into the third of four straight matchups at Minnesota. The lanky left-hander has allowed three runs or less in seven straight starts and exactly one run in each of his last three outings, including seven dominant frames against Kansas City on Monday. Sale is 3-0 with a 1.47 ERA over a four-start span and is part of a White Sox trio of southpaws who have combined to go 23-14 this year.
Cleveland at Kansas City 7:10 PM ET
The Kansas City Royals attempt to extend their winning streak to five games when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Cleveland Indians on Saturday. Kansas City outlasted Cleveland in 14 innings in the opener before posting a 6-4 triumph Friday, when pinch-hitter Billy Butler snapped a tie with a two-run homer in the eighth inning.
Miami at Houston 7:10 PM ET
The Miami Marlins looked as though they were fading away after dropping the first two games after the All-Star break to extend their losing streak to six. The young Marlins have picked themselves off the mat and will go for their sixth victory in seven contests when they visit the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Miami has gotten contributions from several different players on offense during the turnaround and its pitching staff has yielded two or fewer runs in four of the five victories.
NY Mets at Milwaukee 7:10 PM ET
The New York Mets look to ride the momentum of an improbable victory when they visit the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in the third contest of a four-game set. New York struck for three ninth-inning runs – the final two on Lucas Duda’s 17th homer of the season – to record a 3-2 victory Friday to halt Milwaukee’s four-game winning streak. The Mets are 4-4 on a 10-game road trip that began with stops in San Diego and Seattle.
Oakland at Texas 8:05 PM ET
The head-to-head matchup belies the big picture when the Oakland Athletics and Texas Rangers get together. The teams with the majors' best and worst records, respectively, have split 10 meetings in 2014 after host Texas won the opener of the three-game series on Friday. With a second straight win over the MLB-best Athletics, the Rangers would clinch their first series win since taking two of three against Minnesota from June 27-29.
Pittsburgh at Colorado 8:10 PM ET
Colorado is out of playoff contention after losing 25 of its last 33 games, but manager Walt Weiss will accept nothing less than a full effort as the Rockies continue their three-game series with the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Third baseman Nolan Arenado, one of the Rockies' rising stars, was removed by Weiss after the fourth inning of Friday's 8-1 victory for not hustling as it appeared he could have beat out a grounder back to the box after pitcher Charlie Morton bobbled it.
Detroit at LA Angels 9:05 PM ET
The Los Angeles Angels look to continue their pursuit of first place in the American League West when they host the Detroit Tigers in the third contest of their four-game set Saturday. Los Angeles fell three games behind division-leading Oakland by dropping the series opener but got back within two of the Athletics by posting a 2-1 victory Friday.
LA Dodgers at San Francisco 9:05 PM ET
After sending a strong message to the San Francisco Giants in the series opener, the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers look for a repeat performance Saturday behind ace Clayton Kershaw. Los Angeles tied a franchise record with five triples in Friday’s 8-1 win and pulled within a half-game of the first-place Giants in the National League West. Yasiel Puig and Hanley Ramirez both returned to action after missing several games due to injury, and Puig made an immediate impact by going 4-for-5.