With the closing of the NBA and NHL seasons, Major League Baseball is the sole American major sport on the cards at the moment. With an 8 game slate scheduled this Tuesday, the 27th of June, there's still plenty of action to enjoy throughout the day. We preview some of the key games including the ESPN televised Rockies at Giants blow.
Colorado Rockies at San Francisco Giants (12.10pm AEST ESPNHD)
The Rockies continue their road trip out West with a matchup against the Giants. One of the reasons behind the Rockies success this season, has been their ability to win games on the road. After being swept by the in form Dodgers the Rockies will be hoping to start the Giants series with a win. The Rockies have now lost the last five straight after losing the series against Arizona and the Dodgers. They now sit third in the NL West after leading the division for the first few months and need to regain that consistency that is now starting to ware off. These two teams met just over a week ago with the Rockies sweeping the series on home turf. German Marquez will pitch in this game, he is 5-3 for the season and last game pitched six innings against the Diamondbacks allowing one run on four hits.
The Giants are also in a slump as they have also lost the previous five and are a dismal 1-9 the their last ten matches. Home games hasn't been their strong point this season with an 14-21 record and haven't won a home game since the second week of June. Jeff Sarmardzija will start in this game, he has struggled this year and is 2-9 for the year. Despite this record he still is one of the top pitches for the Giants so expect a tight battle in this televised game with two decent pitchers stepping to the mound.
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Chicago Cubs at Washington Nationals (9.05am AEST)
The Cubs visit the Nation's Capital in the first of three games. The Cubs just split the series with Miami and will head into Tuesday's game second in their division behind Milwaukee. Right hand pitcher Eddie Butler gets the nod for this one, he is 3-2 for the year and was pulled after four innings last game when he threw a total of 92 pitches but did only have one run of five hits. Anthony Rizzo has been hot with the bat lately and will look to cause the most grief for the Nats.
Washington are still on top of their division and are coming off a series victory over the Reds over the weekend. Gio Gonzalez is having a season to remember as he tries to get his eighth win of the year. Gio had eight strikeouts and pitched seven innings in the win over the Marlins. The Nats have a great batting lineup with Ryan Zimmerman and Daniel Murphy leading the league in the batting average stat.
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Texas Rangers at Cleveland Indians (9.10am AEST)
The Rangers will be happy to see the return of Cole Hamels in this matchup. He is coming off the injury list and hasn't pitched since April 26th. The Rangers are coming off an impressive series win over the Yankees and are still second behind crosstown rivals Houston in the AL West. The Rangers have been hot with the bat and with Hamels back in the lineup we could see some fireworks in this one.
The Indians are 6-4 in the past ten games despite losing the last three games against division rivals the Minnesota Twins. Fans have to be excited when Carlos Carrasco comes to the mound. Carrasco had ten strikeouts last game and has allowed three runs in the past 17 innings. Should see a tight battle in the first game of this series with both teams having strong pitching.
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