The Big Six for this Weekend's Series’

I'll examine six of the weekend sets in a quick rundown and point out the particular value as to why I consider these to be The Big Six to keep an eye on this weekend.

New York Mets at Philadelphia Phillies
This is the only four game set among the six series that I am taking a look at and this one where, once the Phillies get past the unknown of starting J.A. Happ on Friday, they really could dominate in this series. For one thing, the Phillies are rolling again now that inter-league action is behind them. The Phils just got finished sweeping the Braves and they’re now facing a Mets team that was just 19-25 on the road before their surprising win over the Cardinals Thursday. Moyer is a wily veteran who has pitched surprisingly well at home in the past. Kendrick just continues to win for the Phillies and seems to be really putting it all together now and Eaton has been a Mets killer often in recent seasons. Keep an eye on the Phils although the unknown of J.A. Happ keeps us away on Friday night.

Houston Astros at Atlanta Braves
Look for some value with the overs in this series. Yes, Tim Hudson is pitching on Friday but he’s not unhittable by any means and the Astros middle of the order is so dangerous. Also, other than Hudson, all the other starters slated for this series (Moehler, Sampson, Reyes, Rodriguez, and Morton) are all far from being proven entities!

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Chicago Cubs at St Louis Cardinals
These teams are known for their fierce rivalry but ye the upper hand in this series could simply come down to home turf! While the Cardinals home record is roughly identical to the Cubs it makes a big difference for the Cubs. While Chicago is a stellar 33-10 at home they are also a poor 18-25 on the road! Also, Zambrano is making his first start in over two weeks on Friday and Marshall is making just his third start of the season on Sunday. Lilly gets the ball on Saturday for the Cubs but the Cards will have Kyle Lohse going and he is 5-1 at home this season! Cardinals should take at least two of three here.

San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks
The pitchers going in this series are all capable of giving strong performances. Yes this includes Cha Seung Baek who is still "new" to the Padres and it also includes Dbacks veteran Randy Johnson who is a veteran hurler who certainly has experience at bouncing out of a slump. With Peavy, Banks, Haren, and Davis rounding out the other starting spots this weekend the under is likely the way to look. The Padres just can’t score runs more often than not while the Diamondbacks have been on a downhill slide themselves every since April!

Cleveland Indians at Minnesota Twins
Should be an opportunity for "over players" in this series as the match-up is truly conducive to that. The Twins have been one of the hottest teams in the league and we don’t foresee them struggling with any of the pitchers they will see in that series and yes that includes Cliff Lee. He was fading before recently making a resurgence but the Twins are too hot for him to shut down again at the Metrodome n in what will essentially be a "rematch" setting. As for Aaron Laffey and Paul Byrd they have little chance at success against these Twins and the Indians bullpen is one of the worst in baseball. The Indians lineup has been producing even though they’ve been losing and their sticks should stay hot against the mediocre group of pitchers they will face in Minnesota.

Toronto Blue Jays at Los Angeles Angels
This series is shaping up to be an "under players" delight as the Angels and Blue Jays square off in Anaheim. The Blue Jays are known for their offensive futility and the Angels play a lot of low scoring ball games and their home ball park certainly helps in that regard. The real key here is the pitching match-ups as Burnett versus Weaver, Halladay versus Lackey, and even Litsch vs Garland all feature starting pitchers who have come up with a lot of strong pitching performances this season. These guys give their club a lot of quality starts and we look for more of the same from them this weekend. Best of luck always