MLB Notes: What To Watch Tonight

The marquee match-up tonight is between the Yankees and the Rays in New York. The Yankees are three games back of the Rays in the AL East. The starting pitchers tonight will be A.J. Burnett and Wade Davis. The game will be televised on ESPN. The Yankees lead the majors in RBIS with 214.

The Toronto Blue Jays travel to Seattle to take on the Mariners. The Blue Jays lead the majors in home runs with 65 but Seattle's starting pitcher Doug Fister has only allowed one homer this season. The Blue Jays will be playing in a pitcher's park so it will be more difficult for them to power one out of the ballpark this evening.

The best pitching match-up tonight is in Oakland where Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Dallas Braden of the A's will be facing off. The A's are not a great offensive team but they did have 16 hits last night against the Mariners. Verlander is coming off a big win against the Yankees last week. Verlander has thrown a lot of pitches in his starts. In his last five starts, he has thrown 119, 118, 120,121, and 125 pitches. Braden was sent home last night due to an illness but he will be ready to pitch tonight.

The first-place Reds head to Atlanta to take on the Braves. Aaron Harang gets the start against Kenshin Kawakami. Kawakami is 0-6 with a 5.79 ERA. Harang lost his last start against the Cardinals. He gave up four runs on two-run homers by Albert Pujols and Ryan Ludwick.

The Milwaukee Brewers have lost eight games in a row. They have a good chance of winning tonight against the Pirates. The Brew Crew will start lefty Randy Wolf and he is 8-1 in his career against the Pirates. Brian Burres starts for the Pirates. Manager Ken Macha might be fired soon if the Brewers continue to lose. They are only 4-14 at home.

The Giants got their biggest win of the season last night by beating the Padres 7-6 in extra innings in Petco Park. They were down 4-2 in the eighth inning when Andres Torres hit a two-run homer off reliever Mike Adams to tie the game. This was the Giants' first win against the Padres this year. They were previously 0-7 against San Diego. The Giants face the Diamondbacks tonight in hitter-friendly Chase Field.

The Dodgers have won nine games in a row and are only one game back of the Padres. The Padres and Dodgers face each other tonight in Los Angeles.