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Baseball Press presents "The 606", a look into the three most intriguing pitching matchups of the day, with a final prediction of the winning pitcher. You may be asking yourself "What exactly does The 606 mean? There's no major league baseball for that area code- it's in Eastern Kentucky!" BBP isn't listing players from Eastern Kentucky either. The 606 is short for 60 feet and 6 inches. If you still don't understand, I direct your attention to Official Rule 1.07 from Major League Baseball, referring to the distance from the pitching mound to home plate. Now that we've got that squared away, let's take a look at some pitching matchups for Friday, May 14th.

The 606 didn�t notch a victory yesterday, but still had a pair of strong outings from Josh Johnson and C.J. Wilson, who got no decisions but allowed just 1 earned run in 7 innings each.  On the other hand, CC Sabathia was rocked like a quarry by the Detroit Tigers in his 6 innings of work.

Today, the 606 features a rematch of the top two major league ERA leaders, pitting one of baseball�s premiere young aces against a former World Series MVP who seems to have recently rediscovered his past success.  Along with that, we have a pair of young American League righties facing off in Tampa Bay, and a good pairing of hurlers north of the border.

Yesterday's Results:

Loss: CC Sabathia (6 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1.50 WHIP)
No Decision: Josh Johnson (7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 0.43 WHIP)
No Decision: C.J. Wilson (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 1.00 WHIP)

The 606 Season-to-Date Record (W-L-ND): 47-38-29, 3.63 ERA (282 ER in 699 IP)


RHP Livan Hernandez- WAS (4-1, 1.04 ERA) vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez - DET (6-1, 0.93 ERA)
With a 1.04 ERA, Livan Hernandez is not the most likely candidate to be second in major league ERA, but there he is.  The former World Series star with the Marlins in 1997 has carved out a long career as an innings-eater and workhorse, but this is the first time in a while he has looked like an ace.  His only loss of 2010 came against these same Colorado Rockies, though Hernandez worked 8 solid innings in that game, allowing just 4 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs.  He was outdueled by a shutout by Ubaldo Jimenez and a pair of relievers that day and is hoping his teammates can help him out more on Friday.

Ubaldo already has a no-hitter and 13 strikeout game to his credit this season, and was even very effective in his only loss of the year in his last start (7 innings, 2 hits, 4 walks, 1 run allowed, 5 strikeouts).  He�s the major league ERA leader and has put himself into elite company as one of baseball�s very best pitcher through the first month an a half of the year.  He notched a victory against these same Nationals in Washington on April 22nd, and for his career he has a 3.06 ERA in 5 starts against them.  However, if Livan Hernandez can keep doing what he�s doing, Jimenez will need to bring his A-game to this one.

Final Prediction: Ubaldo Jimenez


RHP Doug Fister - SEA (2-1, 1.71 ERA) vs. RHP Wade Davis - TB (3-2, 3.18 ERA)
One of the few good surprises for the disappointing Mariners this year has been the emergence of 6-foot 8-inch righty Doug Fister, who is currently third in the American League with a 1.71 ERA in six starts.  Fister relies on contact for his outs (just 18 strikeouts in 42 innings), but Seattle�s solid defensive play behind him has aided his efforts this year.  The 26 year-old has just 17 appearances and 16 major league starts under his belt, but seems to be handling himself quite well so far.  Oddly enough, Fister�s lone career appearance in relief came in his first major league game last season, against Tampa Bay on August 8th, where he logged a scoreless inning.  That has been the only time he has faced Tampa Bay.

Wade Davis has shown up numerous times on the 606, a credit not only to his pitching ability but also the difficulty of some of the matchups he�s drawn here in 2010.  He gets another tough one on Friday as he searches for his fourth win of the season.  Davis allowed 3 runs in 5 innings of work in his last time out, against Oakland in a loss.  In his lone career start against the Mariners, Davis allowed 4 runs (2 earned) in 5.2 innings of a no decision, allowing 7 hits and 1 walk.  He hasn�t worked particularly deep into games here in 2010, averaging just 5.2 innings per start, but he�s been pretty effective in that time, so he definitely stands a good chance at home against a struggling Seattle club.

Final Prediction: Wade Davis


RHP Rich Harden - TEX (2-1, 3.53 ERA) vs. LHP Brett Cecil - TOR (2-2, 3.12 ERA)
Rich Harden�s first year in Texas has had its ups and downs, but he�s posted several solid outings in a row and is showing signs of returning to form.  Harden had a disappointing 4.09 ERA for the Cubs in 2009 (after a 1.71 in 12 starts for them in 2008), and many thought the move to hitter-friendly Texas could be disastrous for the 28 year-old hurler, but he�s fared pretty well overall (of course, his 3.24 road ERA this season is lower than his 3.79 mark at home, as expected).  Harden faced the Blue Jays in Texas to open his season back on April 7th and had a mixed game, striking out 8 hitters but working just 3.2 innings and walking five.  He�ll look for more stability this time out, but is 0-3 with a 4.54 ERA in his career against Toronto, and outfielder Vernon Wells is 5 for 15 with a homer and two doubles against him lifetime, so it may be a tough one.

Brett Cecil didn�t open the season in Toronto�s pitching rotation (or on their major league roster), but he�s proven himself to be a valuable hurler in 2010.  Cecil took the loss his last time out, working 5.1 innings and allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs, with 3 walks.  This was on the heels of a stellar 8-inning, 10 strikeout performance against Cleveland, where he took a perfect game into the 7th inning.  Cecil pitched poorly but received a victory in his only career start against the Rangers last season, so he�ll be looking to go 2-0 with better results against them this time around.

Final Prediction: Rich Harden