On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
New York Mets (30-31) at San Diego Padres (27-37) - 4:05 PM ET
The Padres did something over the last four games that nobody in the majors had ever done before. They won four straight games by the score of 2-1. Even for a team that can't score, that's an amazing stat considering the Padres have lost more of these games than they've won, and more amazing that not one of those games went 25 innings. Scott Hairston has been a big help over the last couple ... making a huge diving catch with the bases loaded on Friday, and hitting the walk-off home run on Saturday.
The Mets meanwhile have to live with the sting of losing three straight to a team that was 13 games under .500 coming into this series. How long before the turk starts knocking on Willie Randolph's door again?
Kansas City Royals (24-38) at New York Yankees (31-31) - 1:05 PM ET
Speaking of things you don't often see, Saturday's Royals/Yankees game featured some oddities ... like Mariano Rivera giving up a bomb on his first pitch ... or Johnny Damon going 6-for-6 including the walk off hit in the Yankees' 12-11 victory. Today, it's Joba Chamberlain's second start as a Yankee. It'll be interesting ... and not in the "this is the most significant event in the history of baseball" kinda way, but in the "if he gets pulled in the third inning how long will it be before he goes back to the bullpen" kinda way.
Cincinnati Reds (30-33) at Florida Marlins (33-28) - 1:10 PM ET
You mean Ken Griffey Jr. still hasn't hit HR number 600? You know, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, and I know that Griff, albeit sparingly, has played since hitting HR number 599. But after all of the hubbub about Barry Bonds and his wanting to hit milestone HR's at home to the point where there were whispers of him taking "time off" to make sure he got some rest before a homestand, I'm wondering that Junior, now that he's close, is even going to play today or tomorrow before they go back to Cincinnati to play the Cardinals.
Everyone else:
- Indians at Tigers 1:05 ET
- Orioles at Blue Jays 1:07 ET
- Phillies at Braves 1:35 ET
- Mariners at Red Sox 1:35 ET
- Diamondbacks at Pirates 1:35 ET
- Giants at Nationals 1:35 ET
- Cardinals at Astros 2:05 ET
- Twins at White Sox 2:05 ET
- Brewers at Rockies 3:05 ET
- Angels at Athletics 4:05 ET
- Rays at Rangers 5:10 ET
- Cubs at Dodgers 8:05 ET
