Top pitching matchups - 6/7/11

The most intriguing fantasy matchups tonight:

Best Battles:
7:05 PM EST
Red Sox - Lester
@ Yankees - Garcia
No surprise here - it's the Red Sox and Yankees, afterall. What wasn't anticipated before the year, however, was such a good year by Freddy Garcia. A tough matchup against the BoSox may help determine the extent of that resurgence.

8:05 PM EST
Diamondbacks - Hudson (6-5, 4.22)
@ Pirates - Correia (8-4, 3.40)
It's rare for a Diamondbacks-Pirates matchup to headline, but with two good pitchers on the hill this could be special. Hudson has had his ups and downs, but he's still potential ace material. Correia was the first pitcher to 8 wins this year.

8:05 PM EST
Mariners - Hernandez
@ White Sox - Humber
Phil Humber looks to prove he can compete with another high-end opponent.

Debuts:
6:05 PM EST
Dodgers - De La Rosa (1-0, 1.80)
@ Phillies - Oswalt (3-3, 2.70)
Rubby De La Rosa makes his first big league start. after a few good bullpens he has a legitimate shot to compete against Roy Oswalt. Oswalt has struggled recently, but he has the better offense backing him and therefore the advantage.

6:05 PM EST
Braves - Hanson (6-4, 2.28)
Marlins - Hand (0-0, NA)
Little known Brad Hand tries his arm at the big league level out of Double-A.. He's a pretty good prospect, so it's a shame he has such a tough draw the first time out. Still might be worth a desperate flier in fantasy play.

Upset:
9:05 PM EST
Rays - Cobb (0-0, 5.91)
@ Angels - Haren (5-3, 2.29)
With Haren battling a health issue and Cobb having reversed his luck in a second no decision in two starts, why not gamble on the young gun? It's not like the Angels offense sets the world on fire.
Sure Thing:

No brainer:
8:05 PM EST
Mets - Capuano (3-6, 5.19)
@ Brewers - Marcum (6-2, 2.78)
If Capuano is available on the waiver wire, you're better off without him. Marcum is the best bet off all starters to get a win tonight.

Games of the Day - 6/6/11

Update - 6/7/11 @ 12:20 PM: Not a prediction. All four matchups lived up to their billing, and John Danks got his first win. He's a great waiver wire add. Tomlin's recent struggles should be very worrying if he's anything but a low-end option on your fantasy team.

Top pitching matchups tonight (6/6/11):

7:05 pm EST
Dodgers - Lilly (4-4, 4.22)
@ Phillies - Lee (4-5, 3.94)
***Both lefties have struggled to live up to expectations in 2011. Lee recently lost badly to weak-hitting Washington and Jon Lannan. We'll see if his offense can help against a tougher veteran lefty in Lilly.

7:05 pm EST
Athletics - Gonzalez (5-3, 2.49)
Orioles - Matusz (0-0, 1.59)
***Gotta like a matchup of two promising young lefties. Matusz won his first outing on June 1st after a lengthy DL stint. Gonzalez is looking to prove he can maintain consistency as a an above-average fantasy starter.

7:05 pm EST
Twins - Baker (4-2, 3.86)
@ Indians - Tomlin (7-2, 3.27)
***The focus is on Tomlin. He gave up 7 earned runs last week but still beat the Blue Jays. A light-hitting Twins order without Joe Mauer and potentially without table-setter Denard Span would look to get Tomlin back on track. If not, his fantasy status takes a major hit.

8:10 pm EST
Mariners - Pineda (6-2, 2.60)
@ White Sox - Danks (0-8, 5.25)
***Pineda is rolling. Danks looks like he might roll right out of the Sox rotation. Then again, against one of the worst offenses in baseball, this could be his chance to turn things around. The Sox own some slumbering big bats in a small ballpark. Let's see if Pineda can overpower them.