JULY 2 Baseball preview

[Jeff]

Sunday July 2 MLB Gameday Courtesy of leading offshore sportsbook Bet Jamaica! Interleague play comes to an end Sunday with the NL teams looking to salvage a few wins versus AL opponents. Here's a look at four of the day's best pitching matchups: Boston Red Sox at Florida Marlins Jon Lester (3-0) vs. Josh Johnson (7-4) Lester has yet to pick up a loss for the Red Sox this season, going 3-0 with a no-decision in four trips to the mound. Since getting knocked around for three runs in 4 1-3 innings versus the Rangers in his first start of the season, the lefthander has given up only four runs on 12 hits in 17 innings, striking out 20 batters in that span. Overall, Lester has a low 2.95 ERA and has struck out 24 hitters (and walked 14) in 21 innings. Johnson has pitched like an ace so far this season for the Marlins, going 7-4 with an impressive 2.20 ERA in 73.2 innings of work. The righthander has picked up a win in each of his last three starts, beating each of the Devil Rays, Blue Jays, and Braves and giving up only five runs over 18.1 innings. In fact, during his two-game skid in late May, Johnson allowed only three runs over 14 innings, but still got tagged with both losses. Cleveland Indians at Cincinnati Reds C.C. Sabathia (6-4) vs. Eric Milton (4-4) The Indians' ace is coming off a strong outing against the Cardinals, where he allowed only one run on five hits over eight innings. That result boosted Sabathia's record to 6-4 on the season, and lowered his ERA to 3.86. However, three of the lefthander's last five trips to the mound have been shaky, with the worst coming on June 21 versus the Cubs; Sabathia gave up nine runs on eight hits in just 2.1 innings of work in that loss. Milton hasn't won since June 6, when be blanked the Cardinals on five hits over seven innings. In four outings since that game the lefthander has allowed 18 runs on 29 hits in 22.2 innings pitched, going 0-2 with two no-decisions. On the season Milton is 4-4 with a 5.14 ERA in 68.1 innings, striking out 41 batters and walking 15 others in 11 outings. Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs Mark Buehrle (9-4) vs. Carlos Zambrano (6-3) Buehrle's ERA has been creeping up over the course of the season, but the wins keep coming for the righthander. Chicago's ace picked up a win in each of his last three outings to improve his season record to 9-4. Buehrle's last loss came on June 4, when he was knocked around for six runs on nine hits over seven innings versus the Rangers. Since that game the lefthander has allowed only 10 runs in 30 innings pitched. You can't blame the Cubs' poor record on Zambrano this season. The righthander has a 6-3 mark with a good 2.95 ERA in 2006, and has struck out 112 batters in 113 innings to boot. In his last five trips to the mound Zambrano is 3-0 with two no-decisions, and he's allowed just eight runs in his last 36.2 innings. Four of those runs were given up to the Brewers in his last outing, when he still managed to go eight innings and fan eight. Arizona Diamondbacks at Oakland Athletics Brandon Webb (8-3) vs. Barry Zito (8-4) The Diamondbacks have begun to fade in the National League West, and Webb's recent performance hasn't helped their cause. The righthander picked up his eighth win of the season on May 26 versus the Reds, but has gone 0-3 with three no-decisions since then. Even worse, the D-Backs went 0-6 in those contests. Webb's ERA has gone up from 2.18 to 2.85 since May 26, and he gave up seven earned runs in his last outing. Oakland's ace is 0-1 with a no-decision in his last two starts, giving up one run over seven innings versus Colorado on June 21, and three runs over five innings versus the Padres on June 27. Prior to that mini-skid the lefthander had won five games in a row. On the season Zito is 8-4 with a 3.46 ERA, and has fanned 85 in 109.1 innings worked. VISIT BET JAMAICA!