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.

Royals' third shot at Tomlin

Keep an eye on Indians starter Josh Tomlin tonight and this week. Tomlin, who has looked extremely effective in his seven starts this season (4-1), faces the Kansas City Royals for the third time Monday night. The previous two meetings, the Royals failed to string together hits and save for a pair of solo homers in game two put little pressure on Tomlin. Now with a new and potent lefty bat in the lineup in Eric Hosmer, we'll see if the third time is the charm for Kansas City. Tomlin's gotten by while surrendering a hefty eight home runs in 46 2/3 innings so far this season. If Tomlin does get past KC, he'll face a tough lineup in the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.

Fantasy Impact: We'll see if the Royals can better game plan for Tomlin after seeing him twice in the span of six days back in late April. Tomlin's peripheral numbers are underwhelming. He's striking out just five batters per nine innings and the longball could eventually become a problem - that is if at team can produce some more hits against him. Tomlin has sparkled, allowing just 1.7 walks per nine innings and six hits per nine. The hits numbers are atypical for a guy who doesn't strike people out. Tomlin has pitched like a fantasy ace over the early part of this season. We'll see if the team that's seen him the most can actually expose him. Otherwise, we might be witnessing the emergence one of those few guys that can really pitch and get by without much help from strikeouts.