Thursday, July 14
MLB
Texas Rangers at Seattle Mariners
Derek Holland (7-4, 4.68 ERA) - Rangers vs Jason Vargas (6-6, 3.49 ERA) - Mariners
Fresh from the All Star break, these two American League West division rivals begin the second half race with a four game series. The Mariners, and their lights out pitching, have an opportunity to close within three games or less of the AL West lead. This series is somewhat critical for the Mariners because it is the last four game series they will play against the Rangers this season, meaning it is the best chance that they have to pick up multiple games on the Rangers for the rest of this season.
Advantages - Game: Rangers, Series: Rangers
Friday, July 15
MLB
St. Louis Cardinals at Cincinnati Reds
Chris Carpenter (4-7, 3.85 ERA) - Cardinals vs Mike Leake (8-4, 4.28 ERA) - Reds
The race in the NL Central could not get much tighter, with four teams (the Cardinals, Reds, Milwaukee Brewers, and Pittsburgh Pirates) all in a dead heat for the division lead. Cincinnati will be in a perilous position if its pitching, which has ranged everywhere from "touch-and-go" to downright "awful", cannot contain the Cardinals' potentially explosive middle of the lineup bats. In a race this close with this many contenders, I think those four teams are very close to, if not already in, the "every game counts" part of the season, even though it is still July.
Advantages - Game: Cardinals, Series: Cardinals
Saturday, July 16
PGA Tour
The Open Championship (British Open) – Round 3
Rory McIlroy, after his absolute domination of the field at the U.S. Open, has been the talk of the golf media in the days leading up to this event. In the absence of Tiger Woods due to injury, I am sure that the PGA is secretly rooting for McIlroy to have a strong showing in the first two rounds so that casual fans will have a compelling reason to tune in over the weekend, when the big ratings can come.
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| Rory McIlroy seeks to serve an encore to his U.S. Open performance. 1 |
Sunday, July 17
MLB
Boston Red Sox at Tampa Bay Rays
Josh Beckett (8-3, 2.27 ERA) vs Jeremy Hellickson (8-7, 3.21 ERA)
The Red Sox were on fire heading into the All-Star break, having won 10 of their last 11 games. The Rays were softened up considerably in their series with the Yankees. Perhaps the rush of energy and euphoria surrounding Derek Jeter's 3,000th hit, over the previous weekend, was working against the Rays as much as the Yankee crowd and the Yankees themselves. In this very tight division race, however the Rays are beginning to lose some ground, six games back heading into the break. Taking this best-of-three series against Boston would be a big step in the right direction for the Tampa, but I simply think Boston is too hot and playing to well right now to not take at least two games in this series.
Advantages - Game: Red Sox, Series: Red Sox
2011 World Cup Soccer – Final
United States at Japan from Frankfurt, Germany
Just one more stop on the way for the Unites States women's soccer team. This team, after its dramatic win last Sunday, followed by the domination of France yesterday, is destined, in the opinion of some in the sports media, to wrap up its mission of winning a third World Cup. As I have said, even if you are not into soccer, the action in this tournament has been more than entertaining for the average sports enthusiast.
Let's hope that American goalkeeper Hope Solo has a few more Jedi mind tricks up her sleeve. Bring the Cup home! USA! USA!
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| Lauren Chaney (12) fires the opening salvo against France in the semi-final game on Wednesday. 2 |
PGA Tour
The Open Championship (British Open) – Final Round
Will there be high drama in The Open Championship? Or will it be another "Runaway Rory" story? Or will someone new rise to the top of the pack? It will all be decided on Sunday.
Monday, July 18
Cincinnati Reds at Pittsburgh Pirates
Dontrelle Willis (0-0, 3.00 ERA) - Reds vs Paul Maholm (6-9, 2.96 ERA) - Pirates
I believe this is the first time, ever, that the Pirates have made "Must See Sports". If they continue to play better as the season wears on, however, this will not be the last time. Just one game out of first place heading into the All-Star break, the Pirates have an excellent chance to gain some ground on the Cardinals and/or Milwaukee Brewers and, with a three game series sweep, possibly knock the Reds far behind the pack in the NL Central race.
If you have not heard of Andrew McCutchen (.291, 14 HR, 54 RBI), you'd better recognize! The Pirates have some excellent young talent and have pitched very well this season. I personally find it refreshing for this historic franchise to be making waves again.
It would also be refreshing to see Dontrelle Willis make some waves again. The D-Train has struggled during the past 5 years, never fully regaining the promising form he showed with the Florida Marlins. His only start this season, just before the break, was a quality start. The Reds are hoping that Willis can help fill a hole in their starting rotation. Willis, I am sure, is simply aspiring to be a regular starter in the major leagues again.
Advantages - Game: Pirates Series: Pirates
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| The D-Train is back! 3 |
Tuesday, July 19
Milwaukee Brewers at Arizona Diamondbacks
Yovani Gallardo (10-5, 3.76 ERA) - Brewers vs Zach Duke (2-4, 5.47 ERA)
The Brew Crew is playing as well as any National League team right now. Their pitching also appears to be coming together. The Snakes continue to keep pace with the Giants behind the bats of Justin Upton (.293, 15 HR, 46 RBI) and Chris Young (.262, 16 HR, 50 RBI). I think the Brewers have the pitching advantage in this matchup and that will tip the scales in this second game out of four in Phoenix.
Advantages - Game: Brewers, Series: Diamondbacks
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| 2011 All-Star Game MVP Prince Fielder 4 |
Wednesday, July 20
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Freddy Garcia (7-6, 3.13 ERA) - Yankees vs David Price (8-7, 3.70 ERA) - Rays
There is plenty at stake for both teams in this third game of a four game series. The Rays could potentially play themselves out of the inner circle AL East race by the end of this series. The bat of Evan Longoria (.239, 11 HR, 42 RBI) has to wake up and provide additional support to the batting order. David Price has not had a quality start against an American League opponent since June 6. The Rays must make second half adjustments of they could be the odd man out, in spite of having the 4th best record in the league as of this morning.
The Yankees are on a roll and with a hot and rested Derek Jeter, there is reason to this the momentum will continue. The Yankees will miss the bat of Alex Rodriguez (.295, 13 HR, 52 RBI), who is expected to miss at least a month following surgery to repair a torn meniscus. A-Rod will be replaced by the young and speedy Eduardo Nunez (.279, 3 HR, 13 RBI, 51 GP).
Price has yet to have an impressive outing against the Yankees this season and is in a bit of a funk, as are the Rays. I like the Yankees in this matchup.
Advantages - Game: Yankees, Series: Yankees
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1) Image from lifeatpga.com
2) Image from espn.com
3) Image from zimbio.com
4) Image from usatoday.com
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