Tough Weekend

Wow! My baseball teams have a tough weekend ahead of them, particularly with how two of them have been playing lately (I'm looking at you, Nats!).

First up, the Nats play the Pirates at home. I don't think I need to tell you how the Nats have been playing lately, and the errors last night made me literally turn the game off. They are going up against a team that has won eight games in a row and are starting to hit their stride. In my opinion, the Pirates are the favorites to win the NL Central, just like I think the Nats will still win the NL East, so this is a potential playoff matchup. Hometown boy A.J. Burnett will start for the Bucs, and he has pitched very well to start the season. The Nats will need some runs and will have to minimize errors, particularly with youngster Joe Ross on the mound.

Next, the O's play the Blue Jays in Toronto. Now, the O's have been playing alright lately, so I don't have a lot of bad things to say. But they are going up against an equally effective Jays team at home, with guys like Josh Donaldson knocking balls all over and around Rogers Centre. The matchup tonight is Mike Wright vs. Marco Estrada, which probably means the balls will be flying out fairly frequently tonight. Look for a slugfest.

Finally, the Braves take on the Mets in Atlanta. Hopefully, I'll make one of the games this weekend, though it has been ridiculously hot and humid. The Braves are starting to become the Braves we all thought they'd be, though I will say the offense has been better than I thought. And, of course, I love that I can see Nick Markakis on a regular basis again (Great that he broke the outfielder errorless streak last night!). The Mets, on the other hand, are improbably in first place, and will feature some of the best young arms in baseball this weekend: Jacob DeGrom (tonight), Noah Snydergaard, and Matt Harvey. There will be plenty of fastballs for the Braves hitters! Tonight, the Braves counter with Matt Wisler, the #59 prospect in baseball, making his Major League debut. I haven't seen this kid yet, but I'm really looking forward to it! Talk to you later!