On Deck: Somebody Has To Win

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

Cleveland Indians (65-53) vs. Detroit Tigers (65-53)-7:05PM Est.

The AL Central was supposed to be the toughest division in baseball, but lately it's looking a lot more like it's National League counterpart than anything else. Who knows? Maybe it still is the toughest division in baseball, and everybody's just worn out after playing each other the last few seasons. Or maybe, just maybe, these teams aren't as good as we all thought. The Tigers and Indians have taken turns giving up the division lead to each other the last few weeks, and tonight they start a two game series to see which team wants it the least. Normally a pitching matchup between C.C. Sabathia and Jeremy Bonderman would be a must watch, but Bondo hasn't been holding up his end of the bargain lately. After starting the season 10-1, Bonderman is 0-4 with an 11.28 ERA over his last four starts. Sabathia meanwhile has continued to pitch well for the Indians, but he hasn't been getting any support. It's his fourth start of the season against the Tigers, and he's 2-1 despite having an ERA of 7.36. I get the feeling this game is going to go at least 18 innings as each team does it's best to not win.


San Diego Padres (63-54) vs. Colorado Rockies (61-56)-10:05PM Est.

Thanks to a recent explosion by their offense, the Rockies find themselves back in the thick of things in the NL West. Since June 14th nobody in the National League has scored more than the 320 runs that the Rockies have put on the board. They've even managed to reach double figures three times in their last six games. Joe Francis has been a huge benefactor of the offense, going 8-0 with a 4.39 ERA in his last 11 starts. The Rockies are scoring 9.18 runs during that span, which can't make Greg Maddux very comfortable. Much like Maddux probably isn't terribly excited about facing Garret Atkins or Matt Holliday. In their careers, Atkins is hitting .471 while Holliday is hitting .429 against Maddux. Then there's the fact that Greg hasn't won any of his last eight starts. Will the Rockies continue their climb up the NL West standings?

Milwaukee Brewers (62-56) vs. St. Louis Cardinals (55-60)-8:05PM Est.

Oh the glorious NL Central. Sure, the Cardinals are five games under .500, but right now I'd have them as the favorite to win the NL Central. Things are just that messed up right now. The Cards trail Milwaukee by 5.5 games, and the Cubs by only four. St. Louis just took three of four from the Brewers at the end of July, and if they can have the same kind of success in this series, the division may be theirs. The good news for the Brewers is they're at home. Nobody in the National League has a better home record than the Brewers 39-20 mark. Chris Capuano will start for the Brewers, and that puddle on the floor is from all the saliva dripping out of Albert Pujols' mouth. Pujols is hitting .560 with three homers and ten RBI against Capuano in his career. I don't care what Robin Yount says, that's not a good omen for Milwaukee.