Preview Roundups
August 01, 2014
Seattle at Baltimore 7:05 PM ET
Wei-Yin Chen dazzled against Seattle in his last outing and looks for another strong performance when the Baltimore Orioles begin a three-game series against the visiting Mariners on Friday. Chen scattered five hits and one walk in eight dominating innings against Seattle on July 24 to stretch his personal winning streak to four games. Baltimore won three of the four contests in that series while holding the offensively challenged Mariners to seven runs.
Texas at Cleveland 7:05 PM ET
The Cleveland Indians keep hanging around the .500 mark and aim to move closer to the break-even point when they host the Texas Rangers on Friday. A sweep of the three-game set against the struggling Rangers would push Cleveland back above .500 as the Indians continue to stay on the fringe of the wild-card race. Injury ravaged Texas is playing out the string as it possesses the worst record in the majors.
Philadelphia at Washington 7:05 PM ET
The Washington Nationals are scuffling, and their offense is the primary culprit. With no home runs in their last eight games, the Nationals will turn to the red-hot Doug Fister on Friday in the second contest of their four-game home series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Washington has scored more than four runs just once in its last eight games, including a lopsided 10-4 defeat in Thursday's series opener.
Colorado at Detroit 7:08 PM ET
The Detroit Tigers are engaged in an arms race with the Oakland Athletics and are clearly focused on their path to the World Series. The Tigers will introduce newest piece David Price before opening a three-game interleague series with the visiting Colorado Rockies on Friday. Detroit shocked baseball with a three-team trade just before the deadline on Thursday that brought in Price and sent away center fielder Austin Jackson and left-hander Drew Smyly.
NY Yankees at Boston 7:10 PM ET
The Boston Red Sox team that hosts the New York Yankees in the opener of a three-game series on Friday will look like a very different club than the one that ended the day on Wednesday. The Red Sox went to full-on sale mode at Thursday’s trade deadline, sending away top two starters Jon Lester and John Lackey while setting themselves up for 2015. The Yankees are still going for it in 2014 and even completed a rare trade with rival Boston.
Cincinnati at Miami 7:10 PM ET
The slumping Cincinnati Reds look to build off a comeback win when they visit the Miami Marlins for the second of a four-game series Friday night. The Reds rallied for three runs in the eighth inning, helped by a controversial overturned call when Miami catcher Jeff Mathis was ruled to block the plate illegally after an umpire review. The Reds have only scored 27 runs while going 3-10 since the All-Star break with their top two hitters, Brandon Phillips and Joey Votto, on the disabled list.
LA Angels at Tampa Bay 7:10 PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays encounter the daunting reality of life without David Price on Friday as they start a three-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels. The Rays raised eyebrows by trading the 2012 American League Cy Young Award winner for Detroit left-hander Drew Smyly, Seattle infielder Nick Franklin and 18-year-old prospect Willy Adames in a blockbuster three-team deal on Thursday.
San Francisco at NY Mets 7:10 PM ET
The San Francisco Giants look to build off the momentum of a skid-breaking victory over Pittsburgh as they begin a 10-game road trip with the opener of a four-game series against the New York Mets on Friday. San Francisco posted a 7-5 triumph over the Pirates on Wednesday, salvaging the finale of its six-game homestand by halting a six-game losing streak.
Minnesota at Chi. White Sox 8:10 PM ET
Chicago ace Chris Sale looks to dominate Minnesota for the second consecutive start when the White Sox host the Twins on Friday in the opener of a three-game series. Sale matched a season high with 12 strikeouts and scattered five hits while tossing eight scoreless innings on Saturday as he continued his sensational season. The White Sox took three of four from the Twins last week as shortstop Alexei Ramirez went 6-for-18 with two homers and five RBIs.
Toronto at Houston 8:10 PM ET
The Toronto Blue Jays failed to get anything big done at the trade deadline but might not need any outside pieces if Nolan Reimold can become a fixture in the lineup. Reimold and the Blue Jays will look for their seventh straight win when they visit the Houston Astros on Friday. Reimold hit his first two home runs of the season in Thursday’s opener, including a go-ahead blast in the ninth inning that helped Toronto to its 11th win in 13 games.
Milwaukee at St. Louis 8:15 PM ET
After significantly bolstering their pitching at the trade deadline, the St. Louis Cardinals send ace Adam Wainwright to the mound Friday in the opener of a pivotal three-game series against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. The Cardinals followed their acquisition of Justin Masterson by trading for John Lackey from Boston and cash considerations for fellow right-hander Joe Kelly and outfielder/first baseman Allen Craig on Thursday.
Kansas City at Oakland 9:35 PM ET
The Oakland Athletics sent another signal that they are aiming to make a deep postseason run by acquiring left-hander Jon Lester from the Boston Red Sox prior to Thursday’s trading deadline. Oakland, which opens a three-game set against Kansas City on Friday, sent left fielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox in the deal for Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes. The Athletics traded for right-hander Jeff Samardzija of the Chicago Cubs earlier in July.
Pittsburgh at Arizona 9:40 PM ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates were left out of the big-name fun at Thursday’s trade deadline while their main competitors in the National League Central both made upgrades. The Pirates will try to prove they still have enough and attempt to even the four-game series when they visit the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday. The Diamondbacks made one of those moves to help out NL Central-leading Milwaukee and got some help from new faces in Thursday’s 7-4 triumph.
Atlanta at San Diego 10:10 PM ET
New arrivals James Russell and Emilio Bonifacio will be in uniform Friday when the Atlanta Braves begin a three-game series against the host San Diego Padres, who were also active at Thursday’s trade deadline. The Braves bolstered their bullpen by acquiring the left-handed Russell from the Chicago Cubs and added some much-needed speed with the addition of utilityman Emilio Bonifacio in the same trade. Atlanta sits 1 1/2 games behind first-place Washington in the National League East.
Chi. Cubs at LA Dodgers 10:10 PM ET
The Los Angeles Dodgers carry a season-best six-game winning streak into Friday’s series opener against the visiting Chicago Cubs, who have won three of four. Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti, whose team stands 3 1/2 games ahead of San Francisco in the National League West, said he has no regrets after letting Thursday’s trade deadline pass without a major deal. “You can go out and get the biggest name on the block and it may make you better, but it doesn’t guarantee anything,” he said.