Matt Fargo’s Diamond Preview – A look at the upcoming week in baseball

Monday, July 7th

Minnesota Twins at Boston Red Sox 7:05 PM ET

The Twins head to Boston as the hottest team in baseball with wins in 18 of their last 21 games. The one issue could be that of those 21 games, 18 took place in the Metrodome so this team isn’t exactly used to life on the road. Boston is back at Fenway after a rough roadtrip where it went 3-7 to fall five games behind the first place Rays in the A.L. East. Boston is a solid 31-10 at home but the Twins have been a thorn as Minnesota is 13-7 over the last 20 meetings.

Tuesday, July 8th

Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees 7:05 PM ET

This really could be the do-or-die series for the Yankees. New York heads into this two-game set trailing Tampa Bay by nine games so anything short of a sweep will be considered disappointing. The Yankees have owned Tampa Bay in the past but the season series is knotted at five games each. The Rays send Scott Kazmir to the hill and he has been struggling of late with his command. He shut the Yankees out through six innings in his first start against them this season and he has a solid 2.68 ERA in nine career starts.

Wednesday, July 9th

San Francisco Giants at New York Mets 7:10 PM ET

The best pitching matchup of the week takes place on Wednesday as Tim Lincecum takes on Johan Santana. Lincecum is 10-1 with a 2.49 ERA through 17 starts. That ERA is 2nd best in the National League and it actually goes down to 1.87 in his nine road starts where Lincecum is a perfect 7-0. Santana has a 2.96 ERA on the season but his record is at only 7-7 which is in part due to no run support. The Mets have scored two runs or fewer in his last four starts and they have dropped his last six outings.

Thursday, July 10th

Minnesota Twins at Detroit Tigers 1:05 PM ET

The first game of this four-game series starts on Thursday afternoon. While the Twins are the hottest team in baseball, the Tigers are not far behind. Detroit has gone 20-8 over its last 28 games to move to .500 on the season. Minnesota is just a game back of the White Sox in the American League Central while Detroit sits seven games back. This is a huge series for both team but a series loss for the Tigers could mean the season being done much quicker than originally anticipated.

Friday, July 11th

Los Angeles Angels at Oakland A’s 10:15 PM ET

The Angels took two of three against the A’s in their series last week and now it will be up to Oakland to return the favor and remain in the divisional race. The A’s are six games back heading into this week and will be taking on the team with the best road record in baseball as the Angels are 27-15 in their 42 roadies. Rich Harden has a 1.79 ERA at home this season and looks for some revenge following a 5-3 loss against Los Angeles to start the month. Jon Garland is 4-10 lifetime against the A’s with a 4.70 ERA.