Interleague games on American League soil:

Washington Nationals @ Baltimore Orioles
J. Patterson (1-0, 3.86) vs. R. López (4-8, 6.85)
- John Patterson last pitched on April 21st and has since been on the shelf due to a strained right forearm.  He comes back tonight against cross-district rival, the Baltimore Orioles.  Patterson will try to end the Nats three-game losing streak.  Rodrigo Lopez and the rest of the Orioles starting staff, for the most part have not fully seen the effects of pitching coach, Leo Mazzone, who succeeded so much for the Atlanta Braves.  Maybe the O’s rotation just doesn’t have the talent?

St. Louis Cardinals @ Detroit Tigers
C. Carpenter (6-3, 2.46) vs. J. Verlander (8-4, 3.21)
- Chris Carpenter is in his prime right now, while Justin Verlander is only a rookie.  Tonight’s matchup between the Central division’s best, both in the A.L. and N.L., should be a great pitching contest.  Enjoy the show.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Boston Red Sox
R. Madson (7-4, 5.79) vs. J. Beckett (8-3, 5.09)
- Josh Beckett hopes to build off of his last performance and extend the Red Sox winning ways to seven games in a row.  Beckett has pretty much been inconsistent his last four starts, but it talented and competitive enough to right his ship.  There won’t be a Matt Clement-type meltdown.  The Phillies just continue to eat the dust of the N.L. East leading New York Mets who are starting to put more and more distance between themselves and the rest of the division.

Cincinnati Reds @ Cleveland Indians
A. Harang (7-5, 3.92) vs. J. Westbrook (6-3, 4.35)
- The Battle of Ohio begins tonight as the new Big Red Machine travel to face the Tribe.  Aaron Harang has looked very good since May, suffering some tough losses despite pitching well.  Jake Westbrook has looked good his past two outings, but has been an extreme type pitcher in the past where he’ll either give up zero runs or eight.  Against a slugging team like the Reds, it could be the latter amount of runs scored tonight.

Florida Marlins @ New York Yankees
B. Moehler (5-5, 6.29) vs. C. Wang (7-3, 4.07)
- The Yankees are on a two-game winning streak (woo hoo!), but it could be a bit surprising that they’re still contending considering the losses they’ve suffered on offense - Hideki Matsui and Gary Sheffield.  Those two guys are MVP quality!  Well, part of it is guys like Chien-Ming Wang are stepping up.  But, if you want a real story, how about the Marlins winning nine of their last ten games.  Now, while their club is young, you have to remember, they at one point or another have been highly-regarded minors prospects.  If things just click, those youngsters will be dangerous.

New York Mets @ Toronto Blue Jays
T. Glavine (10-2, 3.48) vs. C. Janssen (5-5, 4.50)
- Tom Glavine tries to become the majors first 11-game winner tonight up in Toronto.  It will be a tough road to get there as the Blue Jays have won three in a row, are legit division contenders, and are a strong 23-14 at home.  Plus, prized free agent acquisition, A.J. Burnett returned to the mound for the Jays and pitched very well, which could be lifting the Jays’ spirits to another level.

Atlanta Braves @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays
J. Smoltz (4-5, 3.78) vs. C. Fossum (2-3, 5.45)
- The Braves have lost ten games in a row.  Despite pitching well this month, John Smoltz has not won one game.  In fact, there have been recent grumblings about Smoltz being traded if the Braves aren’t doing well by the trading deadline (July 31).  Meanwhile, the Devil Rays are coming off a sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks and are riding high.  However, don’t be surprised by a dismantling of the team by the deadline as Aubrey Huff, Julio Lugo, and even superstar in the making, Carl Crawford could all be gone by the end of July.

Milwaukee Brewers @ Kansas City Royals
D. Bush (4-6, 4.81) vs. B. Keppel (0-3, 3.64)
- Dave Bush is having a very good month of June, owning a 3.86 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and .175 BAA, but only a 1-1 record.  Regardless of how well he’s pitched, Bush will be facing a, I can’t believe I’m saying this about the Royals, hot team in the Royals who have won four straight, including a sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Let’s see if Bush is the one to cool them off because he certainly has the stuff.

Chicago Cubs @ Minnesota Twins
C. Marmol (1-1, 2.81) vs. J. Santana (7-4, 2.87)
- The Twinkies looked bad just as recently as two weeks ago, but are 11-2 in their last 13 games, propelling them to third in the A.L. Central.  A big reason for that is Johan Santana who has gone 3-0 in the month of June with a 1.29 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, and .172 BAA.  In case you all forgot, Santana is good.

Houston Astros @ Chicago White Sox
A. Pettitte (6-7, 5.44) vs. J. Contreras (7-0, 2.96)
- Speaking of the possibility of forgetting, please don’t do that with the White Sox.  Yes, the Detroit Tigers have the best record in baseball and are atop the A.L. Central mountain, but the Pale Hose are only half a game behind them and have won seven in a row.  And tonight, they have the undefeated Jose Contreras taking the hill for them.  Pray for Andy Pettitte.

Enjoy the games!