– Boston’s Josh Beckett will make his second straight start against the
Braves after hurling his first shutout as a member of the Red Sox on
Sunday. He’s gone four of his last six starts without allowing an
earned run, lowering his ERA from 5.85 to 3.74 in the process. The
Braves will turn to Jair Jurrjens, who is 0-3 despite a solid 3.80 ERA
this month. Jurrjens ranks sixth in the NL in ERA, but he has just a
5-5 record to show for it.
– Matt Cain will attempt to become the NL’s first 10-game winner in
the lone intraleague contest of the night when he takes on the Brewers.
Starting for Milwaukee will be Yovani Gallardo, who has given up more
than three earned runs just twice this season. The Giants have won each
of Cain’s last nine starts, and if they prevail again tonight, they’ll
be just the third NL team to reach 40 wins. They’re 39-32, while the
Brewers are 38-34.
– Will a series against the Rockies pull Matt Holliday out of his
latest slump? Holliday, who has no homers and just one RBI in his last
17 games, will be facing his former team for the first time tonight.
Unfortunately, the series will take place in Oakland, rather than at
Coors Field. Holliday has hit .248/.355/.421 with four homers in 34
games at the Coliseum this year.
Game of the Night
N.Y. Yankees vs. N.Y. Mets – Sure, it’s Yankees-Mets, but the best
reason to watch tonight’s game is to see how CC Sabathia performs after
leaving his start Sunday in the second inning with biceps tightness.
Sabathia didn’t pitch during the first series between the two teams,
when the Yankees took two out of three. Neither did Mike Pelfrey, who
will start for the Mets tonight. Pelfrey has struggled some after a
strong May, though his 7.08 ERA during June is largely the result of
one awful outing against the Pirates. He’s 5-2 with a 4.74 ERA for the
season. Sabathia is 6-4 with a 3.71 ERA.
