On Deck: Glavine to Face New Old Friends - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups

Atlanta Braves (22-21) vs. New York Mets (22-19) - 1:05PM Est.

When Tom Glavine first joined the New York Mets and had to face the Atlanta Braves, it probably felt a little odd for him. I mean, it has to be weird for anybody to pitch against the team that they just spent the last 16 years with. Today, Tommy has to go through it all over again, as he faces the Mets for the first time since rejoining the Braves this season.

"I'm just trying to treat it like any other game, to be honest with you," Glavine told the Braves' official Web site. "I think there's the tendency to make more out of it than it probably is, like I did at times when I came back here and pitched against the Braves."

More important for both teams than this little reunion is that it's about time they started to get things going and catch those pesky Florida Marlins in the NL East.

If the Braves are going to make a run towards the top of the division, today would be a pretty good time to start. This four-game set (this is the first game of a double-header today) marks the start of a season-long eleven game homestand for Atlanta.

Glavine picked up his first win since returning to the Braves in his last start, though he didn't pitch all that great. He allowed four runs in 5.2 innings, but his offense picked him up. In his career against the Mets, Tom is 16-7 with a 2.86 ERA, though obviously he hasn't started against them since 2002.

The Mets are coming off of a two-game "sweep" of the Yankees this weekend, and it's amazing what beating their city rivals can do. Why it's been a couple of days since I heard how Willie Randolph was going to get fired, or Billy Wagner ripped his teammates.

John Maine gets the start and he's looking to pick up a win in his fifth straight start. In fact, Maine hasn't allowed more than two runs in his last seven starts. The last time he gave up more than that was back on April 5th when he allowed four runs against the Braves. Will he get his revenge today? Don't know, but he's 2-2 with a 4.61 ERA in five career starts against Atlanta.

Chicago White Sox (23-20) vs. Cleveland Indians (22-22) - 8:11PM Est.

It seemed like only a few days ago that the Indians had taken over first place in the AL Central, and this White Sox fan was having his own personal funeral for the White Sox. Fortunately for me, nothing is certain in the mess of mediocrity that has become the AL Central.

The White Sox are returning home from a 10-game west coast trip in which they posted a 7-3 record, and reclaimed first place in the division. They've also won five in a row after Ozzie Guillen finally made some changes to the lineup, and are looking to win their season-high sixth straight tonight.

Jose Contreras, who has suddenly been reborn, looks to put a little distance between the Sox and the Tribe in the standings tonight. Jose has looked a lot more like the pitcher that dominated the American League during the last half of 2005 and first half of 2006. He's won his last two starts, and is 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA lifetime against the Indians.

C.C. Sabathia has been reborn a bit as well, as it looks like he's rebounded from his horrible start to the season. Sabathia has won his last two starts, and is facing a team he's had a ton of success against in his career. C.C. is 14-3 with a 3.66 ERA against the Sox lifetime, but more impressively, he's 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA at U.S. Cellular Field.

Florida Marlins (24-19) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (28-16) - 7:10PM Est.

Today is the day we start to find out how good the Diamondbacks really are. I know they've played well, but as I've mentioned in the On Deck before, most of it has come at the expense of their own division (20-5 vs. west, 5-9 vs. rest). Another factor in Arizona's hot start? So far they've played 27 of their first 44 games at home.

Today marks the start of a stretch of games in which the Diamondbacks will play 26 of their next 38 games on the road.

Micah Owings gets the start for Arizona, and he'd be best served to stay away from Dan Uggla. Uggla has been doing his best Micah Owings impression and is killing the baseball. He's hitting .531 with five homers, four doubles, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored during a 9-game hitting streak. He's also managed nine homers in his last 15 games.

Owings got a win in his last start to bust out of a funk, and has only faced Florida once in his career. He allowed four runs in three innings in that start, but managed to get the win and, of course, he hit a two-run homer.

Mark Hendrickson goes for Florida, and he's coming off the worst two starts of his season. He looks to turn things around against an Arizona team he's 3-1 with a 3.70 ERA against in his career.

Everybody Else

• Red Sox vs. Royals 7:05PM
• Tigers vs. Mariners 7:05PM
• Yankees vs. Orioles 7:05PM
• Pirates vs. Brewers 7:05PM
• Braves vs. Mets 7:05PM - Game Two
• Blue Jays vs. Angels 7:07PM
• Nationals vs. Phillies 7:10PM
• Astros vs. Cubs 8:05PM
• Twins vs. Rangers 8:10PM
• Rockies vs. Giants 8:35PM
• A's vs. Rays 10:05PM
• Padres vs. Cardinals 10:05PM
• Dodgers vs. Reds 10:10PM