Yesterday: MLB: 7.3 - 3.6

MLB (54.4 - 36.8)

Royals (Meche) at Tigers (Bonderman) -1.5 runs (Even): In what could be considered a colossal mismatch, the Kansas City Royals (3-11) will play the Detroit Tigers (9-5) in the final of a three-game series. The Royals, losers of six straight games, will send $55 million pitcher Gil Meche (1-1, 3.10) to the mound. Detroit will counter with opening-day starter Jeremy Bonderman (0-0, 2.57), who is aiming for his first win of the season. In his prior starts, Meche has been tattooed by Tigers' outfielder Gary Sheffield, who is 5-for-14 lifetime and 2-for-2 with one homer this season against the Royals' number-one starter. Meche was lit up during his last start against Detroit on April 7th, giving up 6 ER in seven innings. Bonderman has made three quality starts for the Tigers this year, but has been the victim of a lack of run support. That should change today, as the Tigers will look to provide Bonderman with an early cushion, allowing him to attack the Kansas City hitters with his fastball while inducing them to make weak contact.

Angels (Lackey) Even at Athletics (Haren): There's no doubt that the Angels' five-game losing streak, coupled with their temporary loss of Vladimir Guerrero, has lowered their value as far as the public is concerned. Today, the Halos will try to right the ship as they aim to split a two-game set with the Oakland Athletics. The Angels will send their ace, John Lackey (2-1, 2.04 ERA) to the mound against the A's Dan Haren (0-2, 2.00 ERA). Lackey has been an imposing force on the A's during the last few seasons, logging an impressive 10-2 record against them while striking out 95 in 119 innings. Lackey seems to love pitching in Oakland, as he's 4-0 there since the end of 2005. The Angels, on the other hand, seem to tee-off on Haren every time they meet. Garrett Anderson will look to break out of his recent 3-for-24 funk against Haren, who he's crushed to the tune of nine hits (two homers) in 24 at-bats.

Mets (Maine) at Marlins (Willis) -120:  The New York Mets (8-4) will open a short two-game series against the Marlins (6-7) tonight at Dolphin Stadium.  While Florida has dropped their last three games, they still lead the NL in team batting average  (.288), RBI (61), hits (130) and runs (68).  The Marlins will look to improve to .500 on the season tonight behind their ace, Dontrelle Willis (3-0, 3.32 ERA), who owns an incredible 11-2 record against New York.  The Mets have been playing above-average baseball through their first 12 games, but could falter tonight behind the inexperienced arm of John Maine (1-0, 1.54 ERA).   Hanley Ramirez, Miguel Cabrera, and Josh Willingham of the Marlins all connected for homers off Maine in their one outing against him last season.

Indians (Sowers) +130 at Yankees (Igawa): Jeremy Sowers has gotten off to a good start in 2007: 13 IP, 7 H, 3 ER. He's continuing the success of last year, when he accumulated the following stats in a short stint in the majors: 88.1 IP, 3.58 ERA, 1.19 WHIP. Even though opposing starter Kei Igawa rebounded in his second start at Oakland, he was awful in his only game at Yankee Stadium. Also, Igawa's a lefty, and the Indians have three batters who crushed southpaws in 2006: Travis Hafner (16 HR in 184 at-bats), Grady Sizemore (10 HR in 103 at-bats), and Casey Blake (10 HR in 114 at-bats).

Red Sox (Wakefield) -130 at Blue Jays (Ohka): The only hitter in the Blue Jays' lineup who's had consistent success against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield is Alex Rios: 6-for-16 with a double, triple, and a homer. Although Frank Thomas has blasted three homers against Wakefield in his career, Thomas is only 7-for-36 overall (.194 BA). And Vernon Wells is just 8-for-34 (.235 BA) with one extra-base hit (double). So far this year, Wakefield has been terrific: 13 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. On the other hand, Blue Jays' starter Tomo Ohka has not been good: 10.1 IP, 14 H, 9 ER, 4 BB.

Astros (Sampson) at Reds (Harang) -130: Astros' rookie Chris Sampson pitched well in his only start of the year at the Cubs: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K. Sampson's not a strikeout pitcher, as he tries to induce weak contact, which is only a concern because he's recovering from tightness in his calf muscle, and control pitchers have a slim margin of error. If Sampson's not 100%, he could get hammered at Cincinnati's notorious "Great American Hitters' Park". Meanwhile, Aaron Harang has had two bad outings since opening day, and Astros' slugger Lance Berkman has hit six homers in 35 at-bats against him. But Harang's a veteran power pitcher, and his ability to get strikeouts is an advantage at a hitters' park.

Dodgers (Lowe) -110 at Rockies (Lopez): Following a poor beginning to the season, Derek Lowe has been good in his last two outings: 15 IP, 11 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 7 K. Lowe's a sinkerball pitcher, and that's a good thing at Coors Field. Meanwhile, even though Rockies' starter Rodrigo Lopez has begun the year well, he's suffering from a sore elbow, and the Dodgers' hitters have pounded him in his career. Lopez's numbers from last year don't inspire confidence that he can keep up his current pace: 189 IP, 5.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP.

Rangers (Millwood) +110 at White Sox (Buehrle): Millwood has begun the year with a 2-1 record and 3.71 ERA. He's had successs against Joe Crede (6-for-28 with no extra-base hits) and Jermaine Dye (2-for-22). Scott Podsednik has hit Millwood better than any other White Sox batters (14-for-39), but Podsednik's not going to beat many teams with his bat. Meanwhile, Mark Buehrle has only pitched 8.1 IP this year as a result of being hit by a line drive in his first start. He pitched well against Oakland last week after giving up three runs in the first inning, but there's still a big question whether Buehrle's suffering from a tired arm. He pitched 200+ innings for six straight seasons, and he had subpar numbers last year: 204 IP, 4.99 ERA, 1.45 WHIP. Although he's dominated Michael Young (.191 BA) and Hank Blalock (.125 BA), Mark Teixeira (.412 BA) and Sammy Sosa (.368 BA) have hit him well. Moreover, the Rangers bats are heating up, while the White Sox continue to struggle at the plate.

Diamondbacks (Webb) -120 at Padres (Wells): 2006 Cy Young Award winner Brandon Webb has not begun the year well: 19 IP, 23 H, 11 ER, 10 BB. However, he's not injured, and with better pitch selection, he should be able to get back to his normal self. On the other hand, David Wells is on the downside of his career, as he's given up 14 hits and seven runs in nine innings this season. In 2006, Wells' numbers weren't much better: 75 IP, 4.43 ERA, 1.45 WHIP.

Twins (Silva) at Mariners (Hernandez) -1.5 runs (Even): Twins' starter Carlos Silva has only given up one run in 11.2 IP this year, but he's allowed 12 hits and three walks, which shows that batters are able to reach base against him. There's some talk that Silva may be returning to his 2005 form, when he posted a 3.45 ERA and 1.175 WHIP. However, the key to that season was the fact that Silva only walked nine batters in 188.1 IP. This year, he's already walked one-third of that number. Moreover, Silva was a bad pitcher last year: 180.1 IP, 5.95 ERA, 1.54 WHIP. On the other hand, Felix Hernandez appears poised to become a dominant ace, as his numbers this season have been outstanding: 17 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 18 K. It's almost amazing that Hernandez has allowed only eight batters to reach base in his two starts, and he should continue that success against the Twins tonight. Only Joe Mauer has performed well against him (8-for-17 with a homer and two doubles). Reigning MVP Justin Morneau is 3-for-17 with no extra-base hits. Lew Ford, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Bartlett, Nick Punto, and Luis Castillo have gone hitless in their at-bats against "King Felix."