On Deck: Anything Left in the Tank?

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing matchups

Texas Rangers (56-70) vs. Seattle Mariners (71-53)-8:35PM Est.

What an odd week it's been for the Rangers. They started it off on Sunday by getting struck out 17 times by Johan Santana, and then they go and score thirty runs in one game against the Orioles. Thirty. There are going to be a couple of teams who don't score 30 runs all week, let alone in the final six innings of a baseball game. The question that's on my mind, and probably Seattle starter Jeff Weaver's: Is there anything left in the tank today? I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, no, the Rangers will not score 30 runs again tonight. Call me a pessimist if you must, but I can only call them like I see them. Jeff Weaver has given up 30 runs in his last 12 starts, but is 2-5 with a 5.25 ERA in his career against the Rangers. Kameron Loe will make his second start since coming off of the disabled list for the Rangers. He shutout the Twins for five innings in his first start back, and is 2-1 with a 3.82 ERA in his career against Seattle.


Philadelphia Phillies (66-59) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (65-61)-1:05PM Est.

Much like the Rangers, the Dodgers had their biggest offensive outburst of the season on Wednesday. Though the 15 runs the Dodgers managed to put on the board is only half the total Texas finished with. (They scored 30 runs?!) Of course, I don't think the Dodgers or Phillies are as concerned with setting offensive records as they are catching the teams in front of them. The Dodgers still trail the Diamondbacks by six games in the West, while Philly sits five games behind the Mets in the East. Chad Billingsley starts for Los Angeles, and he's looking to get back on track. After joining the rotation in June, Billingsley started out 3-0, but is 0-4 with a 4.33 ERA in his last five starts. He's also only received three runs of support in those five starts, so he's probably hoping the Dodgers saved some runs for today. The Phillies meanwhile just had to place their best pitcher, Cole Hamels, on the disabled list. As a result Fabio Castro gets the call up from the minor leagues to start for Hamels today. It's Castro's first career start.

Detroit Tigers (68-58) vs. Cleveland Indians (69-56)-1:05PM Est.

The Indians are hoping they can leave Detroit tonight with a little more breathing room in the AL Central. A win today will give them a 2.5 game lead in the division, and though it's not much, in the Central 2.5 wins are a lot for a team to come by right now. Jake Westbrook gets the ball for the Tribe, and he's started to turn around his season lately. In his last five starts, Jake is 3-1 with a 2.06 ERA. Nate Robertson starts for the Tigers, and he hasn't performed quite as well as Westbrook as of late. In his last six starts Nate is 1-4 with a 6.57 ERA, and a healthy .342 batting average against in that span. Robertson is producing batting champions right now. What's even worse is in his last six starts against Cleveland, he's 1-4 with a 7.55 ERA. So the Tigers offense is going to have to score some runs this afternoon, but they'll have to do it without Gary Sheffield, who's out for the rest of Detroit's homestand with a bad shoulder.