Pitching Matchups 5/21/11

6:35pm
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Chad Beck 4-0, 2.56)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 3-4, 9.85)

7:00pm
Pawtucket Red Sox (Matt Fox 4-2, 3.65)
vs. Toledo Mud Hens (Thad Weber 1-4, 6.45)

7:05pm
Portland Sea Dogs (Brock Huntzinger 2-4, 9.00)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Craig Heyer 3-2, 3.03)

Game of the Day – Fisher Cats vs. Rock Cats – New Hampshire kicked off a four game set in New Britain with a 6-2 win last night, their fourth straight victory, knocking the Rock Cats down to two games back in the Eastern Division of the EL. The Fisher Cats would love nothing more than to continue putting distance between themselves and New Britain (and everyone else for that matter). Chad Beck looks for his fifth victory of the season in his seventh start for the Fisher Cats. Beck faced the Rock Cats back on April 28th, going 5 innings, allowing 4 hits and 4 earned runs while walking 3 and not earning a decision. Beck is currently tied for 2nd in the EL in wins (4), 10th in ERA (2.56) and 4th in WHIP (0.93). On the opposite end of the spectrum is New Britain starter Deolis Guerra…yet somehow he has managed to shoehorn himself into many Games of the Day. I just can’t divert my eyes from the wreckage! But Guerra did have one of his best outings of the season his last time out, 2-hitting the Portland Sea Dogs over five innings and earning his third win of the season. He also dropped his ERA to a league worst 9.85 (although he still has not pitched enough innings to qualify). This will be Guerra’s third start against the Fisher Cats this season and in the prior two games he only lasted a total of 6 2/3 innings. The Fisher Cats have lit up Guerra for 18 hits and 15 earned runs and the way their lineup has been hitting lately, there could be a lot more of the same in this one. If the Rock Cats can pull out a win tonight, then tomorrow’s double header gets a lot more interesting.

Side note prediction (5-10) – After taking a personal day from the site yesterday (aka my child won’t let me anywhere near a computer all day long), I’m back hoping to turn a one win streak into two. Thursday I picked the Fisher Cats scoring 5 or more runs and thanks in large part to BMets pitcher Brad Holt walking 8, I pulled that one out with ease. Because of this I am going to try a new path, sticking with the team that got me here. So today’s prediction is once again the Fisher Cats scoring five or more runs, something they’ve done in 5 of their last 6 games.

To listen to any of the above games live, click here: