Chris Carpenter will get his second start of the season on Tuesday night as the Cards get a visit from Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers. Here’s your Daily Sports Roundup . . .
Event of the day . . .
Carpenter wasn’t dominant in his much-anticipated return from the disabled list last week, but his team got the win – and he didn’t get hurt. The righthander went four innings against the Braves in his 2008 debut, giving up a single earned run on five hits and fanning two batters. St. Louis ended up winning the game by a score of 7-2.
And now Carpenter’s comeback will continue at home on Tuesday, as his Cardinals play host to the Dodgers in an 8:15pm ET contest. Both St. Louis and Los Angeles had Monday off, so the clubs should be well-rested heading into this key matchup of playoff contenders. The Cards are right in the thick of the NL Wild Card race with the Brewers, while the Dodgers are right there with the Diamondbacks in the NL West.
Chad Billingsley (11-9, 3.05 ERA) will take the mound for the Dodgers on Tuesday night, and he’ll be looking for his third consecutive victory. The righthander tossed a gem in his last outing, giving up just five hits and fanning eight in a complete-game shutout versus the Giants. Los Angeles is 7-3 in Billingsley’s last 10 starts.
Non-event of the day . . .
The Braves and Giants have little to play for this season, and baseball fans have little to watch on Tuesday when these clubs meet again. Mike Hampton (0-0, 10.00 ERA) will make his third start of the year for Atlanta, and you can tell by his ERA that the first two didn’t go so well. Jonathan Sanchez (8-7, 4.61 ERA) will get the ball for San Francisco, and the Giants are a miserable 0-5 over his last five outings.
Also on the schedule . . .
The Marlins and Phillies will begin a key National League series on Tuesday, with Josh Johnson (1-0, 4.18 ERA) taking on Jamie Moyer (10-6, 3.79 ERA). Other NL games on tap: Houston at the Cubs, San Diego at the Mets, Milwaukee at Cincinnati, Washington at Colorado, and Pittsburgh at Arizona. Ace Brandon Webb (15-4, 3.04 ERA) will get that start for the Diamondbacks.
Over in the American League the Tigers will be looking to make up some ground in the AL Central when they start a series with the White Sox – Nate Robertson (6-8, 6.06 ERA) will face Gavin Floyd (11-6, 3.43 ERA) in that one. Elsewhere, it’s Oakland at Toronto, Cleveland at Tampa Bay, the Yankees at Texas, Boston at Kansas City, Baltimore at the Angels, and Minnesota at Seattle.
News from the wire . . .
Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith has been suspended by the team for the first two games of the regular season for fighting in practice . . . Bucs quarterback Jeff Garcia continues to miss time with a strained calf . . . Padres pitcher Greg Maddux and Mariners pitcher Jarrod Washburn could still find themselves traded over the next week . . . Twins pitcher Francisco Liriano impressed in his return from the minors on Sunday, tossing six scoreless innings in a win over the Indians.
Peek at the future . . .
It’ll be Detroit’s Justin Verlander vs. Chicago’s John Danks in Wednesday’s top pitching matchup . . . Phil Mickelson is the early 8/1 Vegas favorite to win the PGA Championship later this week . . . the Giants and the Patriots will both play their preseason openers on Thursday, with New York at Detroit and New England hosting Baltimore . . . the men’s basketball tournament at the Olympics gets started on Sunday.
