Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Man, these AL Central and NL Wild Card races are the best. The Twins took Game 1 of a doubleheader with the Tigers to pull to within one game of a division lead, and if they can come through again tonight, the AL Central will be locked up. In the National League, the Braves have forgotten how to lose, winning 15 of their last 17 games to tighten the NL Wild Card race to two games. Considering the Rockies must face the NL West-leading Dodgers on the final weekend, both these races are far from over.
Maybe there won't be a classic Brad Penny emotional display when the Giants' right-hander faces the Dodgers, his former team, on Sunday afternoon at AT&T Park.
Apparently Penny and Dodgers' third base coach Larry Bowa, who had engaged in a long distance war of words since spring training, have kissed and made up. Well, minus the kissing part.
Penny and Bowa reiterated their hard feelings toward each other on Friday, before the opener of the Dodgers' series in San Francisco, in separate interviews with John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle. Bowa also asked Shea to pass Penny his hotel room number, so they could talk. Penny, who joined the Giants a couple weeks ago, is staying at the same hotel.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Yesterday we gave you Hiroki Kuroda, and he was amazing, giving up three hits and no walks in eight innings, striking out five. He gave up two runs on sacrifice flies, but we'll take a 2.25 ERA, 0.38 WHIP any day, especially when it comes with a win attached. That gives us six straight quality starts, and anyone shadowing the Stream Team this week has a great shot of winning ERA and WHIP in their playoff H2H matchup.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That it took a lot of work for the Rangers to climb within two games of the Red Sox in the American League wild-card race.
Texas swept a doubleheader at Cleveland, 11-9 and 10-5, and the games took a combined five hours, 59 minutes.
"It's pretty good to get back on track and win some ballgames," manager Ron Washington said. "We'll come back tomorrow, get greedy and see if we can get a [series] sweep."
Texas has played three regular (i.e., not day-night) doubleheaders this year, most in the majors, and has swept all three.
Carpenter, who won the award in 2005, was ruthlessly efficient in a 99-pitch, one-hit shutout of the Brewers on Monday, running his record to 16-3 and dropping his ERA to a stingy 2.16.
"That was Nintendo baseball. That's as good a stuff as I've seen this year. He throws strikes with electric stuff," Brewers right fielder Jody Gerut said.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Three wins in a row, and the Team is on a roll. Today it was Brad Penny on the mound, and he came up big, allowing just three hits and a walk through seven innings while striking out six. Two runs came around to score against Penny, making yesterday's prediction (7 IP, 2 ER, 3 K, 1 W) look eerily prescient. Mixed-leaguers shouldn't hesitate to pick Penny up for the stretch run, as he's looking like a brand new pitcher back in the NL.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
On Saturday, Brett Anderson struck out six batters while allowing three runs in five innings, nabbing us a win. Today, Mike Pelfrey pitched eight innings of one-run ball, securing us another win. Even with a 5.51 ERA through the first six games of September, the Team has an excellent 25/9 K/BB ratio and 4 wins in 6 starts. The main culprit has been our spot starters' tendency to give up home runs, as they've combined for 8 HRs allowed in this first week of September.
Ahhh, the National League -- where pitchers can play out their golden years without a care in the world.
Think of the NL as baseball's rest home.
Just in the past few weeks, Brad Penny and John Smoltz have reached the legendary fountain of youth that Ponce de Sabathia discovered last year in the wilds of Wisconsin.
"In reality, it's a little tougher to pitch in the American League than it is the National League," said Cubs manager Lou Piniella, who formerly managed in Seattle and Tampa Bay.
Poppin' out of the box scores and right into your cubicle, the Roto Rush is your double espresso shot of fantasy baseball advice every weekday.
It wasn't a good day to be a top-ten closer on Wednesday. Both Mariano Rivera and Huston Street are on the shelf for a few days.
After the game Wednesday night, the Yankees told the media that Rivera was unavailable due to tightness in his groin. The 39-year-old Rivera, who has battled this injury for a while, sat out the final game of the Baltimore series but feels that he'll be back to full duty after a few days of rest.
Street seems just as optimistic after being shut down indefinitely due to biceps tendinitis in his right arm. He hopes to test the arm this weekend. If all goes well he'll be back to action in short time.
Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action with a quick nod to what is ahead.
You Oughta Know ... That Tuesday marked the day for roster expansion, which usually means opportunities for young players, but two veterans made emotional returns to the big leagues: Atlanta's Tim Hudson and Houston's Aaron Boone.
Hudson, who had been out for 13 months after undergoing Tommy John surgery, picked up a victory over the Marlins in his return. Pitching on the same mound where Hudson was hurt last year, he gave up two runs in the first but then nothing else through 5 1/3 innings.
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the Stream Team, where we tab pitchers that are likely to help you in your quest for fantasy gold.
Maybe there won't be a classic 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Starting Five
Starting Five
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Looking to cycle spot-starters each day? Check out the 
Starting Five
