Oakland Athletics @ Baltimore Orioles
J. Windsor (0-0, NA) vs. A. Loewen (0-2, 7.12)
Young prospect versus young prospect!  Those in fantasy leagues should keep an eye on this matchup, especially those in keeper leagues.  We’ve seen some of Adam Loewen who has shown he can K batters (25 in 30.1 innings), but also walk them (21).  Jason Windsor is 12-1 in the minors this season, including 8-0 in Triple A.  Will he be the next in line of great young pitchers to come out of the organization?

Seattle Mariners @ New York Yankees
J. Washburn (4-9, 4.58) vs. C. Wang (9-4, 4.00)
I cannot believe that the Yankees swept the defending world champion, Chicago White Sox over the weekend.  This bodes well for the injured Yankees… although, you have to admit that even with Gary Sheffield and Hideki Matsui out til possibly September, a team of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Jason Giambi, Johnny Damon, Mariano Rivera, Mike Mussina, and to every now and then Randy Johnson is pretty good.

Kansas City Royals @ Boston Red Sox
L. Hudson (2-3, 5.79) vs. T. Wakefield (7-8, 4.05)
The Red Sox’s lead in the A.L. East is starting to get smaller, but thank goodness for them and Red Sox Nation, the lackluster Kansas City Royals come into Beantown.  Nothing like a rag doll to beat around and add a few W’s on the board.  Of course, if the Royals sweep the Sox, it’ll be a sure sign that the unraveling is beginning.

Texas Rangers @ Toronto Blue Jays
J. Koronka (6-5, 4.63) vs. T. Lilly (8-8, 4.07)
If the Blue Jays are going to make history and actually knock off the Red Sox and Yankees from sitting atop the A.L. East standings come the end of the season, as much as anyone, Ted Lilly will be the key.  You know what you get with Roy Halladay and A.J. Burnett when he’s healthy.  However, Lilly can look untouchable and ridiculously good one moment and then get bombed the next.  Lilly was very good in June - 2.76 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 37 K in 32.2 innings versus 12 walks.  In July?  Lilly has fell off again - 5.73 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 11 K in 11.0 innings versus 5 walks.  So, the K/9 rate is still there, but that’s it.  He’ll get a chance to get back on the June track tonight against a very good Texas Rangers batting order.  This could be a key matchup for Lilly and his season.

Tampa Bay Devil Rays @ Minnesota Twins
T. Corcoran (4-0, 1.57) vs. S. Baker (2-5, 6.06)
At the beginning of the season, it was a game of Scott Baker or Francisco Liriano for the fifth spot in the rotation.  Well, we can see that it probably should have been Baker going to the bullpen instead of Liriano, who can be considered starter 1B after Johan Santana.  The Twinkies will be without Torii Hunter, who went on the DL with foot problems, joining Shannon Stewart. 

Cleveland Indians @ Los Angeles Angels
J. Westbrook (7-4, 4.19) vs. D. Moseley (0-0, NA)
This matchup could have been a preview of the A.L. Championship, which was possible before the season started, but both teams have underachieved.  Both have suffered injuries to their aces, C.C. Sabathia and Bartolo Colon, but the Angels still have a shot to make the playoffs in a weak A.L. West division, especially if the rumors of acquiring Alfonso Soriano are true.  Lord knows they have the farm system to absorb any deals of their young prospects.