FanHouse

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

New York Yankees (39-33) vs. San Diego Padres (31-42) - 1:05PM Est.

When Hank Steinbrenner came out earlier this season and basically demanded that Joba Chamberlain stopped being used out of the bullpen, and placed into the starting rotation, his general manager and manager kind of just ignored him. Hank was just doing anything in his power to try to be like his dad, and after dealing with George for all those years, Brian Cashman had become pretty adept at tuning his boss out.

Besides, the Yankees starters were just off to a rough start to the 2008 season, and things would turn around soon enough. Only they never did, as Phil Hughes struggled, Ian Kennedy got sent down, and Mike Mussina looked like a shell of a shell of his former self. So eventually Cashman and Joe Girardi had to cave, and move Joba into the starting rotation (and now that Chien-Ming Wang is out they're lucky they did).

His first start didn't go very well, but in the two starts since, Joba has improved each time out. This afternoon he'll be making his fourth start of the season, but will he finally pick up his first victory as a starter?

Joba pitched very well his last time out, lasting a season-high six innings and only allowing one run against the Astros, though he didn't factor into the decision as the Yankees won 2-1. Obviously, this will be Joba's first appearance against the Padres, and he'll be hoping to extend the Yankees win streak to seven games.
Josh Banks will start for San Diego, and if the Yankees were able to knock around Jake Peavy on Wednesday, I see no reason why they won't destroy Banks. Though Banks has been pretty good for the Padres ever since they claimed him off waivers from Toronto in April.

He'd allowed only one run in his first 15 innings as a starter before giving up three runs in five innings during his last start. He's faced the Yankees twice as a reliever in Toronto, and allowed one run in two innings of work.

St. Louis Cardinals (42-31) vs. Kansas City Royals (30-42) - 2:15PM Est.

Don't look now, but the Kansas City Royals have won their last four games and are on the verge of completing their first three game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals in seven years. A big reason for the Royals hot play as of late, aside from some solid pitching, has been David DeJesus who is hitting .471 with three homers and eight runs driven in during the streak.

The Cardinals will be hoping that Brad Thompson, who comes off the DL today to replace the newly disabled Anthony Reyes, will be able to handle him this afternoon and avoid the sweep. Thompson hasn't pitched since April 22, and was supposed to be making a rehab start before returning, but due to Reyes' injury the Cardinals need him today.

Brad is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA in his career against Kansas City.

Zack Greinke goes for the Royals, and he'll try to improve KC's record against the NL this season to 7-2. Of course, considering Zack is 0-3 with a 6.10 ERA in his last five starts, that'll be easier said than done. Greinke is even worse against St. Louis, going 1-2 with a 7.04 ERA against them in his career.

Baltimore Orioles (36-34) vs. Houston Astros (33-39) - 7:05PM Est.

Since we've already featured two teams on winning streaks, I figured it was time to turn the table. Remember back to the beginning of May when the Astros were winning 11 of 13 to vault themselves right into the race in the NL Central? Yeah, well, they've done everything in their power to erase any ground they've gained since then.

Going into their final game in Baltimore this evening, Houston has lost its last seven games, and are 3-12 in the month of June. The reason for this has been the offense, or their complete lack of one. Houston's managed to score one run or less three times in their last five games, and haven't scored more than six runs in a game since May 27.

That puts a lot of pressure on today's starter, Shawn Chacon, to be perfect. Chacon allowed only one run in 6.2 innings in his last start against the Yankees, but he hasn't been a fan of interleague play, going 5-7 with a 7.07 ERA in his career.

Brian Burress will go for the O's, and he may be the man to help the Astros bats wake up. Burrress is 1-1 with a 12.00 ERA in his last four starts, and he got knocked around by the Pirates in his last start. He's also struggled at Camden Yards where he's gone 3-2 with a 7.31 ERA in six starts.

Everybody Else

• Reds vs. Dodgers - 12:35PM Est.
• Twins vs. Nationals - 1:10PM Est.
• White Sox vs. Pirates - 2:05PM Est.
• Brewers vs. Blue Jays - 2:05PM Est.
• Rangers vs. Braves - 2:05PM Est.
• DBacks vs. Athletics - 3:40PM Est.
• Rays vs. Cubs - 7:10PM Est.
• Rockies vs. Indians - 9:05PM Est.