Royals/Cards Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals will start a 3 game series against the Kansas City Royals tonight at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals just finished sweeping the Chicago Cubs in a 3 game series, winning the last game of the series last night 3-1. The Cardinals pitching staff only allowed 2 runs in the series and better yet, the Birds got a boost from getting ace Cris Carpenter back, as he pitched 5 shutout innings on Wednesday night. Before the Cubs series, the Cardinals were 3-7 in their last 10 games...so yes, Albert Pujols is the MVP of the team, if not the league, but Carpenter is just as important to this organization. The Cardinals are lucky enough to miss Zack Greinke during this 3 game series, although Greinke has started to look human the last outing or two. If the Cards can win the 1st game of the series - I think they will sweep the weekend I-70 series. The probable pitching mathcups for the series are:

Fri, May 22 KC Davies (2-2, 5.01) vs. STL Wellemeyer (3-4, 5.87)

Sat, May 23 KC Hochevar (0-1, 16.88) vs. STL Lohse (3-3, 4.66)

Sun, May 24 KC Bannister (3-1, 2.75) vs. STL Pineiro (5-3, 3.48)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 21

SCOREBOARD
Phillies (22-17) 12 at Reds (21-19) 5
W: Blanton (2-3) L: Owings (3-5)

Rangers (23-17) 3 at Tigers (23-16) 4
W: Jackson (4-2) L: Millwood (4-4) S: Rodney (8)

Twins (19-23) 20 at White Sox (17-23) 1
W: Blackburn (3-2) L: Colon (2-4)

Indians (16-26) 8 at Royals (21-20) 3
W: Pavano (4-4) L: Ramirez (0-2) S: Betancourt (1)

Athletics (15-23) 5 at Rays (21-22) 6
W: Nelson (1-0) L: Ziegler (0-1)

Rockies (16-24) 9 at Braves (20-20) 0
W: Cook (3-1) L: Medlen (0-1)

Pirates (19-22) 4 at Nationals (12-28) 5
W: Tavarez (1-3) L: Gorzelanny (1-1) S: Hanrahan (4)

Orioles (16-25) 4 at Yankees (24-17) 7
W: Aceves (3-0) L: Eaton (2-5) S: Rivera (9)

Diamondbacks (17-24) 4 at Marlins (19-23) 3
W: Zavada (1-0) L: Martinez (0-1) S: Qualls (10)

Blue Jays (27-17) 1 at Red Sox (25-16) 5
W: Lester (3-4) L: Ray (1-2)

Brewers (26-15) 4 at Astros (18-21) 3
W: McClung (1-1) L: Fulchino (0-1) S: Hoffman (11)

Cubs (21-18) 1 at Cardinals (24-17) 3
W: Wainwright (4-2) L: Marshall (2-3) S: Franklin (11)

Giants (19-21) 2 at Padres (19-22) 3
W: Bell (2-0) L: Wilson (2-3)

Angels (21-19) 3 at Mariners (19-23) 0
W: Saunders (6-2) L: Bedard (2-2) S: Fuentes (11)

HR LIST
Raul Ibanez (15)
Albert Pujols (14)
Jason Bay (13)
Mark Reynolds (12)
Curtis Granderson (11)
Chase Utley (11)
Ryan Howard (10)
Joe Mauer (8)
Ben Zobrist (8)
Robinson Cano (8)
Brandon Phillips (7)
Adam LaRoche (7)
Nick Markakis (7)
Dan Uggla (7)
Joe Crede (6)
Michael Cuddyer (6)
Jason Bartlett (6)
Brian Roberts (6)
Todd Helton (5)
Hideki Matsui (5)
Hunter Pence (5)
Brian Barden (4)
Chris Snyder (4)
Miguel Tejada (4)
Howie Kendrick (4)
Aaron Rowand (4)
Juan Rivera (3)
David Murphy (2)
Clete Thomas (1)
Matt Tolbert (1)
Greg Dobbs (1)
Gary Matthews Jr. (1)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 20

SCOREBOARD
Rockies (15-24) 4 at Braves (20-19) 12
W: Vazquez (4-3) L: De La Rosa (0-4)

Rangers (23-16) 3 at Tigers (22-16) 5
W: Verlander (4-2) L: Harrison (4-3) S: Rodney (7)

Diamondbacks (15-24) 6 at Marlins (19-21) 8
W: Volstad (3-3) L: Davis (2-6) S: Lindstrom (8)

Orioles (16-24) 4 at Yankees (23-17) 11
W: Hughes (2-2) L: Guthrie (3-4) S: Rivera (8)

Pirates (19-21) 2 at Nationals (11-28) 1
W: Grabow (2-0) L: Hanrahan (0-2) S: Capps (8)

Athletics (15-22) 7 at Rays (20-22) 6
W: Anderson (1-4) L: Kazmir (4-4) S: Ziegler (5)

Phillies (21-17) 1 at Reds (21-18) 5
W: Harang (4-4) L: Moyer (3-4)

Blue Jays (27-16) 3 at Red Sox (24-16) 8
W: Penny (4-1) L: Cecil (2-1)

Diamondbacks (16-24) 11 at Marlins (19-22) 9 - F/13
W: Qualls L: Nunez S: Rauch

Cubs (21-17) 1 at Cardinals (23-17) 2
W: Carpenter (2-0) L: Dempster (3-3) S: Franklin (10)

Brewers (25-15) 4 at Astros (18-20) 6
W: Rodriguez (5-2) L: Gallardo (4-2) S: Sampson (2)

Indians (15-26) 6 at Royals (21-19) 5
W: Laffey (3-0) L: Ponson (1-5) S: Wood (6)

Twins (18-23) 4 at White Sox (17-22) 7
W: Danks (3-3) L: Liriano (2-5) S: Jenks (9)

Giants (19-20) 1 at Padres (18-22) 2
W: Gaudin (1-3) L: Sanchez (1-4) S: Bell (11)

Angels (20-19) 0 at Mariners (19-22) 1
W: Jakubauskas (3-4) L: Santana (0-1) S: Aardsma (5)

Mets (21-19) 1 at Dodgers (29-13) 2
W: Leach (1-0) L: Putz (1-3) S: Broxton (11)

HR LIST
Jason Varitek 2 (7)
Carlos Pena (14)
Raul Ibanez (14)
Jason Bay (12)
Brandon Inge (11)
Jermaine Dye (10)
Adam Jones (9)
Nick Swisher (9)
Nelson Cruz (8)
Mike Cameron (8)
Robinson Cano (7)
Mike Lowell (7)
Paul Konerko (6)
Dan Uggla (5)
Melky Cabrera (5)
Michael Cuddyer (5)
Yunel Escobar (4)
Ryan Raburn (3)
Chad Tracy (3)
Chris Snyder (3)
Ty Wigginton (3)
Miguel Tejada (3)
Kevin Kouzmanoff (3)
Willy Aybar (2)
Wilkin Ramirez (1)
Nolan Reimold (1)
David Ortiz (1)
Ryan Hanigan (1)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 19

SCOREBOARD
Rockies (15-23) 1 at Braves (19-19) 8
W: Jurrjens (4-2) L: Hammel (0-3)

Rangers (23-15) 0 at Tigers (21-16) 4
W: Willis (1-0) L: McCarthy (3-2)

Orioles (16-23) 1 at Yankees (22-17) 9
W: Sabathia (4-3) L: Bergesen (1-2)

Pirates (18-21) 8 at Nationals (11-27) 5 - F/10
W: Gorzelanny (1-0) L: Beimel (0-3)

Athletics (14-22) 4 at Rays (20-21) 1 - F/11
W: Casilla (1-1) L: Wheeler (1-1)

Phillies (21-16) 4 at Reds (20-18) 3
W: Hamels (2-2) L: Cueto (4-2) S: Lidge (8)

Blue Jays (27-15) 1 at Red Sox (23-16) 2
W: Wakefield (5-2) L: Tallet (2-2) S: Papelbon (11)

Diamondbacks (15-23) 5 at Marlins (18-21) 3
W: Garland (4-2) L: Johnson (3-1) S: Qualls (9)

Brewers (25-14) 4 at Astros (17-20) 2
W: Bush (3-0) L: Ortiz (2-2) S: Hoffman (10)

Indians (14-26) 5 at Royals (21-18) 6
W: Farnsworth (1-3) L: Wood (1-2)

Twins (18-22) 2 at White Sox (16-22) 6
W: Buehrle (6-1) L: Baker (1-5)

Cubs (21-16) 0 at Cardinals (22-17) 3
W: Pineiro (5-3) L: Lilly (5-3)

Giants (19-19) 1 at Padres (17-22) 2
W: Young (3-2) L: Zito (1-4) S: Bell (10)

Angels (20-18) 6 at Mariners (18-22) 5
W: Palmer (5-0) L: Hernandez (4-3) S: Fuentes (10)

Mets (21-18) 3 at Dodgers (28-13) 5
W: Billingsley (6-1) L: Maine (3-3) S: Broxton (10)

HR LIST
Adam Dunn (12)
Jay Bruce (12)
Mark Teixeira (11)
Ryan Howard (9)
Mike Jacobs (9)
Mark Reynolds (9)
Jermaine Dye (9)
James Blake (9)
Hanley Ramirez (7)
Joe Mauer (7)
Alex Rodriguez (5)
Matt Holliday (5)
Mark Teahan (5)
Paul Konerko (5)
Scott Hairston (5)
Colby Rasmus (4)
Jerry Hairston Jr. (4)
Ken Griffey Jr. (4)
Kevin Millar (3)
Kelly Shoppach (3)
Chase Hundley (3)
Andy LaRoche (2)
Ronny Cedeno (2)
Willy Aybar (1)
Russ Ortiz (1)

Cards/Cubs Preview

The St. Louis Cardinals welcome the Chicago Cubs to St. Louis with a 3 game series starting tonight at Busch Stadium. The last time these two teams met was a series near the end of April - the Cardinals were sitting in 1st place and getting great pitching and some timely hitting and took 2 out of 3 from the Cubs that weekend. Now - the Cardinals are 4-10 in their last 14, have dropped to 3rd in the NL Central and were swept at home by the Milwaukee Brewers this past weekend and their manager, Tony LaRussa admitted after the game Sunday that his team is struggling.

The Cubs come in winning 5 out of their last 6 games and are starting to look like the team everyone thought they would be at the beginning of the season. And they have been doing this without All Star 3rd Baseman Aramis Ramirez who is out at least 4 more weeks with a dislocated shoulder. When healthy, the Cubs are the class of the NL Central - and should runaway with the division in the 2nd half.

Pitching Probables for the Series

Tues May 19, 2009 CHC (Lilly) @ STL (Pineiro)
Wed May 20, 2009 CHC (Dempster) @ STL (Carpenter)
Thurs May 21, 2009 CHC (Marshall) @ STL (Wainwright)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 18

SCOREBOARD
White Sox (15-22) 2 at Blue Jays (27-14) 3
W: Carlson (2-1) L: Dotel (1-1) S: Downs (5)

Rockies (15-22) 5 at Braves (18-19) 1
W: Marquis (5-3) L: Lowe (5-3)

Twins (18-21) 6 at Yankees (21-17) 7
W: Pettitte (4-1) L: Perkins (1-3) S: Coke (1)

Pirates (17-21) 12 at Nationals (11-26) 7
W: Ohlendorf (5-3) L: Mock (0-2)

Athletics (13-22) 4 at Rays (20-20) 13
W: Niemann (5-3) L: Gallager (1-2)

Diamondbacks (14-23) at Marlins (18-20) - POSTPONED

Brewers (24-14) 8 at Cardinals (21-17) 4
W: Looper (4-2) L: Lohse (3-3)

Angels (19-18) 10 at Mariners (18-21) 6
W: Lackey (1-0) L: Washburn (3-3)

Mets (21-17) 2 at Dodgers (27-13) 3 - F/11
W: Troncoso (1-0) L: Stokes (1-2)

HR LIST
Mark Teixeira 2 (10)
Kendry Morales 2 (8)
Ryan Zimmerman (10)
Russell Branyan (10)
Jim Thome (7)
Jack Cust (6)
Michael Cuddyer (4)
Alex Rodriguez (4)
Nick Johnson (4)
Colby Rasmus (3)
Craig Monroe (3)
Kevin Millar (2)
Skip Schumaker (2)
Denard Span (2)
Orlando Cabrera (2)
Juan Rivera (2)
Mat Gamel (1)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 17

SCOREBOARD
Athletics (13-21) 7 at Tigers (20-16) 11
W: Miner (3-1) L: Cahill (2-3)

Brewers (23-14) 8 at Cardinals (21-16) 2
W: Parra (3-4) L: Wellemeyer (3-4)

Twins (18-20) 2 at Yankees (20-17) 3 - F/10
W: Aceves (2-0) L: Crain (2-2)

Dodgers (26-13) 12 at Marlins (18-20) 5
W: Kershaw (2-3) L: Koronka (0-2)

White Sox (15-21) 2 at Blue Jays (26-14) 8
W: Halladay (8-1) L: Floyd (2-4)

Indians (14-25) 5 at Rays (19-20) 7
W: Sonnanstine (2-4) L: Huff (0-1) S: Percival (6)

Phillies (20-16) 8 at Nationals (11-25) 6
W: Escalona (1-0) L: Tavarez (0-3) S: Lidge (7)

Angels (18-18) 0 at Rangers (23-14) 3
W: Jennings (1-1) L: Weaver (3-2) S: O'Day (1)

Rockies (14-22) 4 at Pirates (16-21) 11
W: Duke (5-3) L: Embree (1-2)

Astros (17-19) 6 at Cubs (21-15) 5
W: Moehler (1-2) L: Harden (4-2) S: Sampson (1)

Orioles (16-22) 4 at Royals (20-18) 7
W: Cruz (3-0) L: Johnson (2-2)

Reds (20-17) 1 at Padres (16-22) 3
W: Peavy (3-5) L: Arroyo (5-3)

Red Soc (22-16) 2 at Mariners (18-20) 3
W: Aardsma (1-1) L: Ramirez (4-1)

Mets (21-16) 0 at Giants (19-18) 2
W: Cain (4-1) L: Pelfrey (4-1) S: Wilson (9)

Diamondbacks (14-23) at Braves (18-18) - POSTPONED

HR LIST
Ben Francisco 2 (4)
Alfonso Soriano (12)
Aaron Hill (11)
Curtis Granderson (10)
Johnny Damon (10)
Prince Fielder (9)
Russell Branyan (9)
Adam Lind (7)
Nate McLouth (7)
Cody Ross (6)
JD Drew (6)
Alex Rios (5)
Ivan Rodriguez (5) - 300th career HR
Derrek Lee (4)
Ramon Santiago (3)
Alex Rodriguez (3)
Chris Dickerson (2)
Kevin Kouzmanofff (2)
Orlando Cabrera (1)
Adam Kennedy (1)
Juan Castro (1)

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 16

Interesting stat of the day, yesterday was the first day of the season that at least one player did not hit their first home run of the season.

SCOREBOARD
Brewers (22-14) 1 at Cardinals (21-15) 0
W: Suppan (3-3) L: Wainwright (3-2) S: Hoffman (9)

Twins (18-19) 4 at Yankees (19-17) 6 - F/11
W: Aceves (1-0) L: Breslow (1-2)

White Sox (15-20) 1 at Blue Jays (25-14) 2
W: Ray (1-1) L: Linebrink (1-2) S: Downs (4)

Indians (14-24) 2 at Rays (18-20) 4
W: Garza (4-2) L: Pavano (3-4) S: Nelson (2)

Astros (16-19) 4 at Cubs (21-14) 5
W: Marshall (2-2) L: Hawkins (1-1)

Angels (18-17) 3 at Rangers (22-14) 5
W: Padilla (3-2) L: Loux (2-3) S: Wilson (2)

Phillies (18-16) 8 at Nationals (11-23) 5
W: Myers (3-2) L: Olsen (1-4) S: Lidge (6)

Athletics (13-20) 1 at Tigers (19-16) 9
W: Porcello (4-3) L: Braden (3-5)

Mets (21-15) 9 at Giants (18-18) 6
W: Santana (5-2) L: Johnson (3-4) S: Putz (1)

Orioles (16-21) 3 at Royals (19-18) 2
W: Hill (1-0) L: Davies (2-2) S: Sherrill (7)

Dodgers (25-13) 3 at Marlins (18-19) 6
W: Miller (1-1) L: Weaver (2-1) S: Lindstrom (7)

Red Sox (22-15) 5 at Mariners (17-20) 3
W: Beckett (4-2) L: Olson (0-1) S: Papelbon (10)

Diamondbacks (14-23) 12 at Braves (18-18) 0
W: Scherzer (1-3) L: Kawakami (2-5)

Rockies (14-21) 4 at Pirates (15-21) 7
W: Burnett (1-1) L: Belisle (1-1) S: Capps (7)

Phillies (19-16) 7 at Nationals (11-24) 5
W: Carpenter (1-0) L: Cabrera (0-5) S: Condrey (1)

Reds (20-16) 5 at Padres (15-22) 6 - F/16
W: Perdomo (1-0) L: Owings (3-4)

HR LIST
Raul Ibanez 3 (13) - 2 HR in Game 1, 1 HR in Game 2
Justin Morneau (12)
Jay Bruce (11)
Jason Bay (11)
Ryan Zimmerman (9)
Mark Teixeira (8)
Carlos Lee (8)
Lance Berkman (8)
Ryan Howard (8)
Jayson Werth (7)
Joe Mauer (6)
Josh Willingham (6)
Nate McLouth (6)
Jason Varitek (5)
John Baker (5)
Corey Hart (4)
Micah Hoffpauir (4)
Clint Barmes (4)
Laynce Nix (3)
Edgar Gonzalez (3)
Aaron Rowand (3)
Alex Rodriguez (2)
Brian Giles (2)
BJ Upton (2)
Ryan Raburn (2)
Jeff Bailey (2)
Yuniesky Betancourt (2)
Chris Snyder (2)
Nick Hundley (2)

Kansas City Royals Preview

Well I'm back after studying for finals. There has not been much to be happy about for the Royals as of late. I'm writing this in the middle of a four game series against the Orioles where KC took lost the first one Thursday, and then won the game last night. Before that win the KC was 6-6 out the last 12, with a 6 game win streak to begin and a 6 game losing streak to end. Pitching was the main problem in the losses, minus Zack Greinke only giving up one where the offense decided to sit the game out. Speaking of Zack, he is up to 7-1 and his ERA has only jumped to a whopping .60. Mike Jacobs just keeps launching the ball over the fence, and last night saw the Royals finally pick up the offensive pace. While Detroit is technically tied with us now in the Central division, Kansas City looks to win more in these next few games. On a Bullpen update, because Joakim Soria was put on the DL, Luke Hochevar has come back from Triple-A Omaha and his first start was, well, horrendous. He was only in 2 innings and gave up 8 earned runs. The Royals lost 3-12 after keeping the previous 3 losses very close (including Greinke's 0-1 game). Now on to the rest of the series at Kauffman Stadium.

Game 3
Saturday May 16, 2009 at 6:10pm CT vs. Baltimore Orioles
KAN Kyle Davies (2-1), vs. BAL Rich Hill (1-0)

Game 4
Sunday May 17, 2009 at 1:10pm CT vs. Baltimore Orioles
KAN Luke Hochevar (0-1), vs. BAL Koji Uehara (2-3)


Hopefully Hochevar can regain his confidence after his last start, and the Royals can again start a multiple game win streak. After this series Kansas City will be up against the Indians who are last in the division but always seem to be a tough team to play. Then on to our National League rivals the St. Louis Cardinals on the 22nd to start some inter-league play.

Major League Baseball Scoreboard May 15

SCOREBOARD
Athletics (13-19) 1 at Tigers (18-16) 14
W: Jackson (3-2) L: Anderson (0-4)

Twins (18-18) 4 at Yankees (18-17) 5
W: Veras (2-1) L: Nathan (1-1)

Phillies (17-16) 10 at Nationals (11-22) 6 - F/12
W: Happ (2-0) L: Wells (0-1)

White Sox (15-19) 3 at Blue Jays (24-14) 8
W: Cecil (2-0) L: Danks (2-3)

Rockies (14-20) 3 at Pirates (14-21) 1
W: Embree (1-1) L: Capps (0-3) S: Street (5)

Indians (14-23) 7 at Rays (17-20) 8
W: Wheeler (1-0) L: Vizcaino (0-1)

Dodgers (25-12) 6 at Marlins (17-19) 4
W: Weaver (2-0) L: Volstad (2-3) S: Broxton (9)

Angels (18-16) 8 at Rangers (21-14) 10
W: Millwood (4-3) L: Saunders (5-2)

Diamondbacks (13-23) 3 at Braves (18-17) 4
W: Gonzalez (2-0) L :Pena (3-1)

Mets (20-15) 8 at Giants (18-17) 6
W: Stokes (1-1) L: Wilson (2-2) S: Rodriguez (11)

Reds (20-15) 3 at Padres (14-22) 5
W: Correia (1-2) L: Harang (3-4) S: Bell (9)

Red Sox (21-15) 4 at Mariners (17-19) 5
W: Jakubauskas (2-4) L: Lester (2-4) S: Aardsma (4)

Orioles (15-21) 1 at Royals (19-17) 8
W: Greinke (7-1) L: Eaton (2-4)

Brewers (21-14) at Cardinals (21-14) - POSTPONED (Rescheduled for Monday)

Astros (16-18) at Cubs (20-14) - POSTPONED (Rescheduled for July 30)

HR LIST
Justin Morneau 2 (11)
Ian Kinsler 2 (11)
Ichiro Suzuki 2 (4)
Adrian Gonzalez (15)
Brandon Inge (10)
Aaron Hill (10)
Jermaine Dye (8)
James Blake (8)
Mike Jacobs (8)
Ryan Howard (7)
Grady Sizemore (7)
Ben Zobrist (7)
Brad Hawpe (6)
Kendry Morales (6)
Joe Mauer (5)
Derek Jeter (5)
Shin-Soo Choo (5)
Cody Ross (5)
Josh Hamilton (5)
Joey Votto (5)
Paul Konerko (4)
Andruw Jones (4)
Chipper Jones (4)
Miguel Olivo (3)
Brett Gardner (2)
Stephen Drew (2)
Ryan Raburn (1)
BJ Upton (1)
Xavier Paul (1)
Erick Aybar (1)
Fred Lewis (1)