Weekend Watch

Saturday, June 8
The Yankees and Indians continue their series at Progressive Field, and the Indians are trying to keep their heads above water due to a bevy of injuries. Of course, New York isn't a team the Tribe should cry to about injuries, as the Yankees have had way more than their fair share of guys heading to the 10-day injured list this season.

LHP CC Sabathia faces his former organization, and he is 0-1 with a 4.70 ERA across the past four starts against the Indians despite a .238 opponent batting average in 23 innings. He is actually winless in six straight outings against the Tribe dating back to June 5, 2013. He hasn't won a game in Cleveland Aug. 24, 2012. The Indians counter with RHP Adam Plutko, and the Yankees are 25-7 in the past 32 games against right-handed starting pitchers while going 7-2 over his past nine road outings vs. RHP. They're 46-20 across the past 66 starts by Sabathia against AL Central foes, but just 1-5 in the past six road outings against a team with a winning record.

The Indians are 4-1 in their past five vs. LHP, while going 6-2 in the past the past eight at Progressive Field against a lefty. They're also a surprising 13-5 in the previous 18 against the AL West, and 9-4 in the past 13 against teams with a winning percentage over .600, including three of the past four this week.

 The Nationals continue their four-game series against the Padres, and they're hoping that the third time is a charm. The first two games have resulted in a 5-4 loss, including blowing a 4-0 lead in the series opener on Thursday to spoil a strong effort from LHP Patrick Corbin. They will roll out RHP Max Scherzer (3-5, 3.06 ERA) to face LHP Eric Lauer (5-4, 4.18 ERA) in another decent pitching matchup.

Washington heads into the game 9-4 over the past 13 games, even after losing the first two in this series. However, they're just 6-13 in the past 19 games away from home, while going 1-4 in the past five against National League West opponents and 2-9 in the past 11 against left-handed starters. In addition, while they're 15-6 in Scherzer's past 21 tries against NL West foes, and 40-19 in his past 59 starts on the road, they're just 2-8 in his past 10 starts overall and 1-5 in his past six against teams with a winning overall record. Washington is also just 1-6 in his past seven while working on five days of rest. It isn't so much that he has struggled, but the offensive support for Scherzer has certainly been lacking.

The Padres counter with Lauer, and they're 4-0 over his past four starts. However, they're 0-5 in his past five home outings against teams with a losing record, and 3-9 in his past 12 starts overall against teams with a sub-.500 record. The Padres are also just 0-4 in their past four during Game 3 of a series, while going 2-7 in the past nine at home aginst teams with a road winning percentage of .400 or under. San Diego is also 1-4 in the past five games following a victory, and 6-16 in the past 22 games played on a Saturday.

The over is 6-2-2 in Washington's past 10 games on the road, and 6-1-1 in the past eight starts on the road by Scherzer. The over is also 6-2-2 in the past 10 starts against a team with a winning overall record, and 5-2-3 in his past 10 against teams with a winning overall mark. The over is 6-0-2 in the past eight for the Padres, while going 5-0-1 in the past six at home vs. RHP. The over is 8-1-2 in the past in the past 11 overal against righties, too. The under is 4-1 in Lauer's past five starts at home, but 6-1 in his past seven against losing teams and 5-1-1 in their past seven following a victory.

Weather Report

The early-afternoon slate of games do not have any trouble sports, but the mid-afternoon games will be a bit windy. The Reds and Phillies will contend with an 11-14 mph wind blowing in from right field to home plate. There will be a stiff 13-16 mph wind blowing from third base to first base at Comerica Park in Detroit, affecting the Twins and Tigers, particularly right-handed hitters trying to get the ball up in the air.

In the evening slate, the Yankees and Indians will see an 11-14 mph wind blowing straight across from first base to third base, while in Wrigley the Cards and Cubs will see a stiff 10-13 mph wind blowing in from right field to home plate, likely keeping scores down. The good news is that no MLB venue has more than a 15 percent chance of precipitation.

Sunday, June 9

Rays LHP Blake Snell and Red Sox LHP Eduardo Rodrigues do battle at Fenway Park on Saturday afternoon, and it should be a good pitching matchup. The Rays are 4-0 in the past four game against American League East clubs, while going 8-2 in the past 10 road outings against a left-handed starting pitcher. They're 8-2 in Snell's past 10 starts against an AL East team, and 20-8 in the past 28 starts against a team with a winning record. They're 15-7 in Snell's past 22 starts, while going 1-4 in his past five on the road. The Red Sox are 13-3 in the past 16 starts against AL East teams, while going 23-6 in the past 29 outings at home. The Red Sox are 5-2 in the past seven starts by Rodriguez against the Rays, too.

The Athletics will use RHP Frankie Montas in their road outing against the very shaky LHP Drew Smyly in Sunday's start, although it wouldn't be a surprise to see an opener in this one for Texas, so be careful. Oakland has posted a 4-0 mark in Montas' past four outings against winning teams, 4-1 in his past five starts overall and 9-4 in his past 13 outings on the road. The A's are also 13-5 in their past 18 on the road vs. LHP, and 37-15 in the past 52 overall against lefties. For the Rangers, they're 12-4 in the past 16 at home, but just 1-4 in the past five outings by Smyly against an AL West opponent.

The Cardinals swept the Cubs in Busch Stadium last week, now the Cubs are looking to avenge that brooming with a series victory against their rivals. RHP Adam Wainwright takes the ball for St. Louis, while the Cubs counter with RHP Kyle Hendricks. St. Louis lost on Friday night, and they're just 1-4 in the past five road outings by Wainwright, too. That bodes well for the Cubs, as does the fact the Cards are 0-5 in Waino's past five road contests against teams with a winning overall mark. The Cubbies are 4-1 in Hendricks' past five home outings, and 7-3 in his past 10 inside the division. They're also 4-0 in his past four at home against winning teams, and 9-1 over his past 10 while working on four days of rest. More importantly, Chicago is a perfect 9-0 over the past nine outings by Hendricks against St. Louis, including 5-0 in his past five at Wrigley. 

Weather Report

On Sunday, the Reds and Phillies will again see a stiff wind blowing in fromt right field to home plate at a 12-15 mph clip. In New York, the Rockies and Mets will see an 11-14 mph wind blowing from first to third base. The Yankees and Indians will again battle winds from 11-14 mph blowing out to the left-field standing room only area at Progressive Field. The opposite holds true in the Motor City, as the Twins and Tigers battle an 11-14 mph wind blowing in from left field into the face of the batters.

The only venue with rain in the forecast will be in Chicago, as the Cards and Cubs face a 30 percent chance of light showers for the Sunday Night Baseball battle.