Sunday MLB Info

[Raji]

------Manager Joe Maddon said after Saturday's game B.J. Upton's punishment would not be extended and he would be back in the starting lineup Sunday night.

Upton was pulled off the field in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday for a lack of hustle and benched on Saturday.

The Rays might, though, be without SS Jason Bartlett, who had some issues with his right knee after a third-inning slide. "He's all right, I just don't know how stiff he's going to be,'' Maddon said. "I'm going to have to wait to find out ... if he can go. I'd like to him to go if he can, but we'll see.''

Bartlett missed 16 games earlier this season with a sprained right knee after a similar slide.

"It looked like he slid late again ... kind of jammed it a bit, but he said it did not feel like the last time at all,'' Maddon said.

---In the wake of Saturday's 7-6 loss to the Twins, the Mariners confirmed that right-handed starter Carlos Silva is going on the disabled list.

Silva, who lasted just 3.1 innings Friday while giving up nine runs to Minnesota, is 4-14 overall and 0-5 in his last eight starts.

After Friday's game he told the club that he'd felt some pain in his elbow during a bullpen session midweek, and so the decision was made to put him on the disabled list.

The move makes it easy for the Mariners in that they were going to have to create an opening on the roster for lefty Ryan Feierabend, who is being promoted from Triple-A Tacoma to start Sunday's game.

The Mariners say that Silva's injury isn't considered particularly serious and he should be ready to start again sometime in September after his 15 days on the disabled list are up.

In 13 starts at Tacoma, Feierabend was 7-1 with a 2.04 ERA. The left-hander lasted at least 6.0 innings in 10 of 13 starts. In action with the Mariners in 2006 and 2007, he was a combined 1-7 with a 6.92 ERA.

Raji

[Raji]

Philadelphia Phillies at San Diego Padres (-175, 7 1/2)



Padres hurler Cha Seung Baek (4-7, 5.20) opening on the mound is the epitome of a team out of the race and forced to find innings from a bad middle reliever. Last year, the Mariners forced him into 14 games, 12 starts, and the 28-year old South Korean finished with an eerily similar 5.16 ERA. With the Phillies desperate to find some love out West after losing again yesterday, and with their ace Cole Hamels (9-8 3.32) toeing the rubber, Corey Haim has a better chance of landing a leading role in Hollywood than San Diego has of winning two straight against Philly.



Pick: Phillies



Colorado Rockies at Washington Nationals (+147, 8 1/2)



For all the crap the Rockies have received after last season’s World Series appearance, their lineup is finally healthy and management’s willingness to keep everybody around has them actually believing they can catch Joe Torre’s boys or the run-challenged Diamondbacks. Considering southpaw Odalis Perez hasn’t finished a season with an ERA under 5.57 since 2005, I’m guessing his highest pitch total of the season in his last start brings him back to reality after a few solid outings. As for Rockies starter Aaron Cook (14-8, 3.87), having lost two-straight look for him to find a groove after only throwing 83 pitches on Aug. 9 and sporting an 8-3 record on the road this season.



Pick: Rockies



New York Mets at Pittsburgh Pirates (1 1/2 runs, +110)



The red-hot Metropolitans will be focused on Sunday Funday not only because they’ve finally grabbed a two-game lead in the East, but because their bats desperately owe some love to Johan Santana (10-7 2.89). As for the Pirates, they’ve been experimenting with the line-up lately, and just like most teams out of the race, probably had a little more fun than Jerry Manuel’s vets last night. New addition Jeff Karstens (2-1, 1.23) has been ridiculous since joining the Bucos to start August, which means he’s probably do for a reality check after throwing 316 innings so far this month.



Pick: Mets

Raji