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Probable Pitchers

Saturday, July 4 Go to:  

  Tickets Nationals Park | 1:05 PM ET
ATL Tommy Hanson, RHP (4-0, 2.48)
Braves (39-40)
  @   WSH John Lannan, LHP (5-5, 3.45)
Nationals (22-55)

Scouting Report:
Braves: Hanson may have had the flu while pitching on Sunday against the Red Sox, but he made the Boston hitters feel just as sick. Hanson fought through his illness to throw six scoreless innings of two-hit ball. On a hot, muggy day at Turner Field, Hanson threw 97 pitches despite barely feeling well enough to start. For the second straight outing, Hanson silenced a potent AL East lineup. The Braves rookie shut out the Yankees on June 23 and has now thrown 20 consecutive scoreless innings.

Nationals: Lannan continues to show he is the leader of the Washington rotation. He picked up his fifth straight quality start and helped the Nationals defeat the Orioles, 5-3, at Camden Yards on Sunday afternoon. Lannan pitched 7 1/3 innings and gave up three runs on six hits. Early on, Lannan had problems with his two-seam fastball, and it showed in the second inning. After Nolan Reimold walked, Luke Scott doubled to put runners on second and third. Oscar Salazar then singled to left to send Reimold home and give Baltimore a 1-0 lead. But in typical Lannan fashion, he battled back and was able to get out of the inning. Matt Wieters then hit into a double play, and Robert Andino grounded out. Lannan cruised until the eighth inning, when he gave up a pair of hits.


  Tickets Wrigley Field | 1:05 PM ET
MIL Braden Looper, RHP (6-4, 4.90)
Brewers (42-38)
  @   CHC Rich Harden, RHP (5-4, 4.57)
Cubs (39-38)

Scouting Report:
Brewers: Looper pitched into the seventh inning on Monday to beat the Mets for his first win in exactly one month, since he worked seven innings to top the Reds on May 29. He showed no ill effects from the line drive off the back of his right upper arm in his previous outing, limiting the Mets to three runs -- two were unearned, and the other scored with reliever Todd Coffey on the mound -- and seven hits. Looper took a no-decision in his only start against the Cubs this season, a five-inning, one-run performance in the Brewers' April 10 home opener. It was Looper's Brewers debut.

Cubs: Harden's changeup helped him dominate in his last start. Despite giving up nine hits, Harden struck out nine and gave up just one run for his first win since May 12. The right-hander has struggled at Wrigley Field this season, going 2-3 with a 6.31 ERA in seven starts. Harden got a no-decision in his only start against the Brewers in 2009, giving up one earned run in six innings in his first start of the season while striking out a season-high 10 batters. Harden is 1-0 against Milwaukee in his career with a 1.50 ERA in three starts.


  Tickets Fenway Park | 1:05 PM ET
SEA Garrett Olson, LHP (3-2, 4.81)
Mariners (41-38)
  @   BOS Brad Penny, RHP (6-3, 4.79)
Red Sox (48-31)

Scouting Report:
Mariners: The first four innings of Olson's last start were about as good as it gets. Olson held the Dodgers to one hit and no runs, and only one runner reached second base. But the fifth inning was more difficult for the journeyman lefty, who surrendered three hits and two runs, the first via a home run that was the 11th circuit clout he has allowed this season. Even so, Olson did his job and handed a two-run lead over to the bullpen. Olson has an 0-3 career record and an 8.82 ERA in three appearances at Fenway Park. There is a chance, though, that lefty Erik Bedard, sidelined since June 7 with left shoulder inflammation, might get the start instead of Olson.

Red Sox: The big right-hander has been a rock for the Red Sox of late, giving up three earned runs or fewer in seven of his past eight starts. Penny gave up two runs over six innings in his last start, a 2-1 loss to the Braves. Despite his 1-2 record, June was Penny's best month of the season, as evidenced by his 3.18 ERA. In seven starts at Fenway Park, Penny is 4-1 with a 4.66 ERA. Penny lost his only career start to the Mariners, giving up 10 hits and five runs over six innings.


  Tickets Yankee Stadium | 1:05 PM ET
TOR Roy Halladay, RHP (10-2, 2.56)
Blue Jays (42-39)
  @   NYY Chien-Ming Wang, RHP (1-6, 10.06)
Yankees (46-33)

Scouting Report:
Blue Jays: In his first start off the disabled list on Monday, following a bout with a mild right groin strain, Halladay logged six innings in a hard-luck loss at home against Tampa Bay. Toronto's ace allowed two runs -- both on a homer to Rays left fielder Carl Crawford -- on five hits and finished with seven strikeouts and two walks in an 88-pitch effort. Doc has gone 4-0 with a 1.88 ERA in six road starts this season and has gone 16-5 with a 2.79 ERA in 33 career appearances against the Yankees.

Yankees: Wang got his first win of the season last time out, but it was a long time coming after losing six of his first seven starts. His 5 1/3-inning outing against the Mets was his longest of the season, and he held New York to two runs on four hits and three walks. Possibly due to the foot injury he sustained last season, Wang had continual problems getting his sinker to sink. He's continued to get the ball up in the zone too often, but it's been less frequent. The win should give Wang something to build on.


  Tickets Kauffman Stadium | 1:10 PM ET
CWS Gavin Floyd, RHP (6-5, 4.12)
White Sox (42-38)
  @   KC Luke Hochevar, RHP (3-3, 4.96)
Royals (33-46)

Scouting Report:
White Sox: Floyd dominated the Indians in the White Sox 6-3 victory over the Tribe Monday. It was his eighth straight quality start. The Indians didn't even threaten the right-hander until the seventh inning. He pitched 7 2/3 innings, giving up no runs and five hits, striking out five and walking two. Floyd is now 4-1 with a 1.39 ERA in his last eight starts. He is 1-4 with a 4.35 ERA in seven games -- six starts -- against the Royals.

Royals: Hochevar notched his first spotless start of the season in his last outing, holding the Twins scoreless over seven innings. He worked around four walks and won for the third time in his last five starts. It appears that after battling inconsistency during his first two years in the Majors, Hochevar is starting to mature into a solid right-handed option in the Royals' rotation. Using an array of offspeed pitches that seemed to dip and dive all over the strike zone, Hochevar kept the Twins off balance and tossed up another quality start. Here's one stat that shows how good Hochevar has been during the last six weeks: If you exclude Hochevar's disaster 2009 debut -- eight earned runs in two innings at Oakland on May 2 -- he is 3-2 with a 3.55 ERA.


  Tickets Great American Ball Park | 1:10 PM ET
STL Brad Thompson, RHP (2-4, 4.69)
Cardinals (44-38)
  @   CIN Micah Owings, RHP (5-8, 4.63)
Reds (39-39)

Scouting Report:
Cardinals: Thompson gave up four runs in six innings against the Giants on Monday. Three of the runs came on a home run by Travis Ishikawa. Thompson didn't pitch all that bad but was victimized by leaving a first-pitch fastball out over the plate that Ishikawa hammered. With Kyle Lohse nearing a return from the disabled list, Thompson is in need of a strong outing to stake his claim for the fifth starter's spot that he is battling for with Todd Wellemeyer. Thompson has gone at least five innings in five of his six starts and has finished six innings in three of his last four.

Reds: Owings pitched well in an 8-1 win over the Indians Sunday, just one start after giving up a career-high six runs against the Blue Jays. Owings pitched six innings, giving up five hits and one run while striking out four and walking four. It was the first quality start by a Reds pitcher since June 21. Owings will aim for another Saturday against the Cardinals. He is 0-0 with a 6.75 ERA in his only start against the Cardinals.


  Tickets AT&T Park | 4:05 PM ET
HOU Russ Ortiz, RHP (3-3, 3.36)
Astros (38-39)
  @   SF Tim Lincecum, RHP (8-2, 2.37)
Giants (42-36)

Scouting Report:
Astros: Ortiz solidified his spot in the starting rotation by holding Detroit to six hits and two runs while striking out five batters in 7 1/3 innings on Sunday. He would have won the game had closer Jose Valverde not blown the save in the ninth inning. Ortiz enjoyed some of his best years in San Francisco, going 69-47 in six seasons with the Giants, including an 18-9 record in 1999. Against the Giants, he's 0-3 with a 7.46 ERA in seven starts. Ortiz is 20-15 with a 3.64 ERA in 56 career games at AT&T Park, including 53 starts.

Giants: Lincecum outdid himself last Monday at St. Louis, firing a two-hit shutout. It was the third shutout of his career and second of the season. Lincecum remains overpowering -- he struck out 12 two starts ago at Oakland -- but he has relied more and more on "pitching to contact" and putting batters away earlier in the count, thus reducing wear and tear on his valuable arm. Nevertheless, Lincecum's 21-4 with a 2.06 ERA when he strikes out at least eight batters in a game. He's 1-0 with a 2.13 ERA in four career starts against Houston.


  Tickets Citizens Bank Park | 4:05 PM ET
NYM Fernando Nieve, RHP (3-1, 2.25)
Mets (39-40)
  @   PHI Jamie Moyer, LHP (6-6, 6.05)
Phillies (40-37)

Scouting Report:
Mets: Nieve failed to make it out of the fourth inning in his last start against Milwaukee, giving up three runs to lose for the first time this season. Nieve threw just 3 1/3 innings, leaving the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded and one out. He gave up three runs -- which were as many as had given up all year -- on 11 hits, throwing 68 pitches. Nieve has made five appearances against the Phillies, all in relief. He has given up five runs in 1 1/3 innings.

Phillies: Moyer struggled in his first two innings against the Blue Jays on Sunday, but settled in his next three to pick up the victory. In five innings, he allowed four runs on five hits. He walked two, struck out four and threw 82 pitches. "I made a number of bad pitches and the ones I made that were bad got hit hard," Moyer said. But with the 252nd victory of his career, Moyer passed Hall of Famer Bob Gibson for 43rd place on the all-time list.


  Tickets Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome | 4:10 PM ET
DET Edwin Jackson, RHP (6-4, 2.49)
Tigers (43-35)
  @   MIN Francisco Liriano, LHP (4-8, 5.62)
Twins (41-39)

Scouting Report:
Tigers: Jackson hasn't won in his last four starts, including a no-decision for his seven innings of three-run ball in the Tigers' comeback win Sunday at Houston, but his stinginess is all over the American League leaderboards. He's second in the AL to Zack Greinke in ERA, second in hits per nine innings, and third in WHIP ratio. Yet his 5.15 runs of support per nine innings as the pitcher of record ranks lowest on the Tigers staff and near the low among AL starters. His last outing with more than three earned runs allowed came against the Twins, who put up four seventh-inning runs on him in defeat May 4 at Comerica Park.

Twins: Liriano delivered his best start of the season in St. Louis when he held the Cardinals to two runs on four hits over seven innings. The left-hander was finally able to get ground balls in the contest, with 12 of his outs coming on groundouts. Liriano has been struggling to deliver longer outings and his rotation spot was in jeopardy before the start. But now he'll see if he can continue the success when he faces the Tigers in the holiday contest. Liriano is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) vs. Detroit.


  Tickets PETCO Park | 4:10 PM ET
LAD Randy Wolf, LHP (3-3, 3.61)
Dodgers (50-29)
  @   SD Josh Geer, RHP (1-3, 5.68)
Padres (34-44)

Scouting Report:
Dodgers: Wolf didn't have his best stuff on Monday against the Rockies but managed to battle through six innings. He got out of several jams and was really only hurt by a two-run home run by Ryan Spilborghs as Wolf allowed just two runs over those six innings on four hits along with four strikeouts. He was saddled with his 11th no-decision that was aided by his two-run RBI single in the fifth.

Padres: In his last outing, Geer tossed his third consecutive quality start in a 3-1 loss to the Astros at PETCO Park. He allowed three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work. Geer threw 98 pitches, 66 for strikes, and walked none. "In the last three starts, I'm feeling good about myself being here in the regular rotation," he said. "I'm trying to keep the home runs down, but as long as I give us a chance to win, I feel good."


  Tickets Land Shark Stadium | 6:10 PM ET
PIT Zach Duke, LHP (8-6, 3.13)
Pirates (37-43)
  @   FLA Andrew Miller, LHP (2-4, 4.45)
Marlins (41-40)

Scouting Report:
Pirates: Duke essentially made two mistakes in his last start, but it was enough to send him to a sixth loss. Two two-strike curveballs that Duke wanted to bounce in the dirt were left high enough for contact, and both ended up being driven for RBI hits. With only one run of support from his offense, that made the difference. In fact, in Duke's six losses this season, the Pirates have scored just five runs for him. They've averaged eight runs a game when he's won. Duke is winless in four career starts against the Marlins. In a combined 19 innings, the left-hander has allowed 12 earned runs.

Marlins: Coming off a start in which he yielded just one run on one hit in seven innings, Miller surrendered a season-high five runs in a loss to the Rays on Sunday. The 23-year-old needed only 12 pitches to get through the first inning but he struggled while giving up two runs in the second and then allowed a solo homer to B.J. Upton in the third. After settling down a bit, he left the game with two on and one out in the seventh, and the Rays tacked on two more with Tim Wood on the mound. Miller gave up eight hits while walking one, striking out four and throwing 101 pitches (59 for strikes). Since coming off the disabled list in mid-May, he's 2-3 with a 3.91 ERA. The only time Miller has ever faced the Pirates -- on April 20 -- he ended up being put on the shelf with a strained right oblique muscle.


  Tickets Progressive Field | 7:05 PM ET
OAK Vin Mazzaro, RHP (2-3, 2.95)
Athletics (33-45)
  @   CLE Carl Pavano, RHP (6-7, 5.56)
Indians (32-49)

Scouting Report:
Athletics: Mazzaro did a pretty solid job of slowing down one of baseball's hottest offenses last Sunday. It wasn't enough to get the win, though, as he surrendered two runs in a 37-pitch second before settling down to hold the Rockies to one run over his final three-plus innings in a 3-1 loss. Mazzaro allowed five hits, walked four and recorded a career-high eight strikeouts. "They were able to put some good at-bats together against him," manager Bob Geren said of the Rockies. "They fouled pitches off, got his pitch count up close to 110 pitches. ... He held a good offense down for the most part." This will be the seventh start of the 22-year-old rookie's young career.

Indians: After giving up 23 runs in 13 1/3 innings over his previous three starts, Pavano appeared to right his mechanics against the White Sox on Monday. In seven innings, he allowed just two runs on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts. He induced 11 groundball outs, which is a sure sign he was throwing downhill the way he wants to. But a lack of offensive support prevented him from getting the win. Pavano has only faced the A's one other time in his career.


  Tickets Rangers Ballpark in Arlington | 8:05 PM ET
TB David Price, LHP (2-2, 3.93)
Rays (44-37)
  @   TEX Derek Holland, LHP (1-5, 6.20)
Rangers (43-35)

Scouting Report:
Rays: Price rebounded from the worst start of his young career with a strong performance against the Marlins in his last start. The left-hander held Florida's offense to just two hits and one run over 6 1/3 innings. Though he walked five batters, Price threw 96 pitches and worked into the seventh inning for just the second time this season. It was certainly a positive step for the 23-year-old, who proved he can bounce back from a poor showing.

Rangers: Holland is 0-4 with a 6.27 ERA as a starter in his rookie season. The left-hander also held San Francisco to a run in seven innings in his previous start and he had eight strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in a 7-3 loss to San Diego on Saturday. Holland went almost exclusively with his fastball in the early innings and got two strikeouts in the first inning and allowed five straight hits in the second inning. Manager Ron Washington said after the game that Holland was having trouble throwing his changeup and slider for strikes in the early innings, so he was pounding the strike zone with his fastball. Holland allowed 13 hits to go with the eight Ks, making him the only pitcher in the past 56 years to do that in fewer than six innings.


  Tickets Coors Field | 8:10 PM ET
ARI Yusmeiro Petit, RHP (0-3, 8.03)
Diamondbacks (31-49)
  @   COL Aaron Cook, RHP (8-3, 3.77)
Rockies (42-37)

Scouting Report:
Diamondbacks: Petit, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since May 9 with a strained right shoulder, recently completed a rehab assignment with Triple-A Reno. In his last outing with the Aces, he pitched three innings and allowed three runs (two earned) and five hits. He was 0-1 with a 6.89 ERA in five starts for Reno. He takes the spot of Billy Buckner, who was sent down on Saturday.

Rockies: Cook is making a case for his second successive All-Star Game appearance. He is 5-0 with a 1.75 ERA in his past five starts, and his five wins in June led the National League. In going eight-plus innings and holding the Athletics to one run during a 3-1 victory on Sunday, Cook used his four-seam fastball against the left-handers in the lineup and had more fly-ball outs (10) than ground-ball outs (nine).This is the first time Cook will face the D-backs since Opening Day, when he gave up six runs and seven hits in a 2 1/3-inning pratfall at Chase Field.


  Tickets Angel Stadium of Anaheim | 9:05 PM ET
BAL Jason Berken, RHP (1-5, 6.44)
Orioles (35-44)
  @   LAA Sean O'Sullivan, RHP (2-0, 3.00)
Angels (43-34)

Scouting Report:
Orioles: Berken struggled again in his last outing against a powerful Red Sox lineup. The right-hander lasted five innings, giving up eight hits and four earned runs to drop his record to 1-5 this season. Berken did use an effective changeup which allowed him to limit what could have been a much wider margin in the loss, and picked up three strikeouts while walking two batters.

Angels: O'Sullivan, a 21-year-old right-hander with command and a heavy sinker, continues to pitch superbly filling a hole in the rotation. His third Major League start was in the opener of a big series in Texas, and he responded with six strong innings marred only by back-to-back homers. He yielded six hits and two walks (one intentional) in six innings, striking out five men. O'Sullivan twice worked out of jams, showing uncommon poise for such an inexperienced pitcher. Matt Palmer, initially ticketed for this start, was moved to the bullpen in Texas and worked two scoreless innings on Wednesday night. The Angels are keeping open their options for the No. 5 rotation spot.