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Another two weeks has passed – time for Dave B’s bi-weekly MLB Power Rankings! This week sees some familiar teams at the top with a traditional powerhouse almost reaching the pinnacle.
Every time I write about the Detroit Tigers it is the same story – when are these guys finally start playing to their potential and take control in the AL Central?
There isn’t a more heated rivalry in baseball than the Dodgers vs. the Giants. The bad blood between these two runs extremely deep.
The MLB regular season Interleague schedule wrapped things up this past Sunday. Turning to this week’s games, there are a number of key matchups on the schedule as the divisional races continue to heat up with the summer temperatures.
The New York Mets take to the road on Monday night at Wrigley Field, looking to get back in the win column when they face a Chicago Cubs team that owns the worst record in major league baseball.
The New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians begin their three-game season series after the Yankees took four of seven 2011 meetings when the two meet up in the Bronx on Monday.
The Toronto Blue Jays will fly south of the border this weekend to take on the Miami Marlins in a three-game set.
Both teams are teetering on the .500 mark, and they have both been wildly inconsistent. So this one is up for grabs.
TOR: Brett Cecil (1-0, 3.60 ERA) v MIA: Josh Johnson (4-5, 4.18 ERA)
Date/Time: Saturday, June 23, 2012, 1:10 PM ET
Venue: Marlins Park in Miami Florida
Broadcast: RSN (Toronto), FOX Sports (Florida)
Line: OFF
Over/Under: OFF
The Jays continue their current nine-game road trip with this set against Miami. They are coming off a series loss to the Brewers. They have actually won four of their last six, but when you look at it in a broader manner you see a team that is has actually lost 8-of-13.
The Jays will hope that they can turn things around before the All-Star break, and a good showing in the sunshine state could set the team in the right direction.
Meanwhile, the Fish have just been flat out awful as of late. After claiming first place in the division back in late May they have since fallen apart. The club has dropped 12 of their last 14, and shows no signs of reversing that trend anytime soon.
The pitching match-up:
Jays – Brett Cecil 1-0 3.60 ERA – 5 K’s – 1.20 WHIP
Cecil is no stranger to the big leagues, but he is coming off his first start of the 2012 season. The hard-slinging southpaw pitched as well as he needed to in his outing against the Phillies. Going five innings while walking just one batter. He gave up five hits and two runs in that start, picking up the win in the process. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Marlins – Josh Johnson 4-5 4.18 ERA – 70 K’s – 1.46 WHIP
Johnson has just has not been able to find his past form during the 2012 campaign. He has started to come around as of late though. The 28-year old has not given up more than three runs in his last eight starts. The Marlins have won six times during that span. In the two losses, he has been given just one run total of support. Maybe things are looking up for the young right-hander.
Players to watch for:
Jays – Jose Bautista .232/22/52/.353
Bautista doesn’t have much of a track record against Johnson, but he has started to find his stroke as of late. He has piled up 22 long balls this season, and looks poised to build on his back- to-back campaigns of 43-plus home runs.
Marlins – Giancarlo Stanton .269/14/42/.344
Stanton has just two hits in his last seven games, but he is just too talented to be kept down for too long. He has 14 homers on the season, but just one has come in the current month. This was back on the June 6. He has yet to face Cecil this season, but hits lefties at a .328 clip. Including a homer every 13 at-bats.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Toronto
Two streaky teams square off in this Interleague series finale Thursday night in Boston. Both Miami and Boston have looked great at times this year and looked terrible at times this year.
Atlanta has been struggling lately but they won the last two games of their series against the Yankees and are in the thick of it in the NL East race.
While the Dodgers came on strong since opening day, the Angles lagged way behind in the AL West, but have recently shifted things into high gear and now challenge a slumping Texas Rangers for top spot in the division.
LAD: Chad Billingsly (4-5, 3.75 ERA) v LAA: Dan Haren (4-7, 3.97 ERA)
Date/Time: Friday, June 22, 2012, 7:15 PM ET
Venue: Angel Stadium of Anaheim, Anaheim, California
Broadcast: Fox Sports West / Prime Ticket
Line: Angels -165
Over/Under: 7
The Dodgers meanwhile, were a bit of a surprise team this season, and have found a way to keep things rolling even without triple crown candidate Matt Kemp, who went down with an injury a few weeks back.
Nothing has been able to slow this team down as of yet, except for a precious outing against Anaheim.
The Halos took 2-of-3 at Dodgers Stadium, and since then have won 4-of-6.
An uptick to an otherwise disappointing season, in which people pointed fingers all over the place, but most in the direction of Albert Pujols when the team sat under .500 49 games into the 2012 season.
However, Prince Albert has reclaimed his royalty, and the Angels have been soaring ever since.
Ad into the mix that Mike Trout has been sensational since being recalled, and it’s possible the Angels could be on the verge of a miracle season.
The pitching match-up:
Dodgers – Chad Billingsley 4-5 3.75 ERA – 75 K’s – 1.35 WHIP
Billingsley got off to a good start in April, but since then he has been pretty inconsistent with more than a couple of clunkers thrown. In fact, in his last 10 starts, the veteran righty has allowed at least four runs in five of them. Including his last outing against the White Sox. If the Dodgers expect to be contenders into October, Billingsley has to get his stuff back. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]
Angels – Dan Haren 4-7 3.97 ERA -77 K’s – 1.34 WHIP
It’s been pretty surprising to watch Haren this season-or frustrating if you’re an Angels fan. The experienced right-hander has shown flashes of brilliance, bit has also tanked, like losing he last three straight. A few of his starts have gone the other way though has he’s tallied four wins. While Haren has gotten off to a rocky start in June, he should still approach 200 strikeouts again this season, and certainly has the talent to get things back on track this weekend.
Players to watch for:
Dodgers – Bobby Abreu .285/1/15/.390
After being cast from Anaheim Stadium, Abreu found a home with the other team from LA, and has actually been quite productive. He may be shy of .300 with his average, but his OBP more than makes up for that as it sits at .390. It will be interesting to see how he performs at the place that he spent 4+ seasons.
Angels – Mike Trout .338/6/28/.397
The 20-year old Trout he has been nothing short of phenomenal since being reinstated in the bigs. Besides his offensive numbers, the defense, attitude and hustle are all right there with them.
Matt’s Free Prediction: Angels
Two streaky teams square off in this Interleague series finale Thursday night in Boston. Both Miami and Boston have looked great at times this year and looked terrible at times this year.
The Dodgers have cooled down just a bit, but they still enter this game with the best record in baseball.
The second-round of MLB Interleague Play heads into its final weekend of action this Friday, but there are several series that still have some unfinished business on Thursday’s slate.
St. Louis started the season red hot, but they have fallen back to the .500 mark with a poor last month of play. Detroit dug a pretty deep hole in the AL Central, but they are slowly trying to fight their way back toward the top of the division.
After falling short of making the postseason two consecutive seasons, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim went on a giant free-agent spending spree. So far, it hasn’t paid huge dividends.
The final week of the 2012 MLB regular season Interleague schedule gets underway this Monday and Tuesday with a fresh set of three-game series between the American and National Leagues.
