Baseball Probable Pitchers

Buckner experienced his first Major League victory in more than three months in his last start, against the San Diego Padres on Sunday. He pitched seven innings, giving up four runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Buckner has pitched better over his past few outings, going at least six innings in four of his past five starts and lowering his ERA by 2.04 over that span.

Gorzelanny picked up the win in his last outing against the Giants, giving up one run on five hits and three walks over five innings. He struck out five. The lefty has a good chance at making the Cubs' 2010 rotation, and he's done nothing to give the team reason to think they need to add another pitcher this offseason.

On Friday night, Peavy outdueled Tigers pitcher Eddie Bonine, who took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning before surrendering a two-run home run to Gordon Beckham. On most nights, Bonine's effort would have been good enough, but Peavy completely shut down Detroit, allowing no runs on six hits in seven innings while striking out eight. It was Peavy's second successive victory since joining the White Sox rotation, and he owns a 2.25 ERA in those two outings. Peavy will be making his final 2009 start on six days rest.

Just when Jackson seemed to be out of his September slump, on came the White Sox in the sixth inning Sunday for three straight extra base hits and three runs to take the lead. He ended up with five runs allowed over 6 1/3 innings to raise his September ERA to 5.08. His challenge to start October will be to make the adjustments to quiet the White Sox in the rematch at Comerica Park.

Initially, Sean West was in line to make this start, but now the nod is going to VandenHurk, who will be making his 11th start of the season. The right-hander last started on Sept. 23 in a no-decision against the Phillies. He gave up four runs on seven hits with five strikeouts in six innings. VandenHurk has worked six innings in each of his past two starts.

Blanton struggled somewhat in his last start -- at Milwaukee -- giving up seven hits and five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings. He walked four and struck out four and wasn't able to throw his array of pitches consistently for strikes. The home run ball has been a problem all season for Blanton, who has allowed 30 homers in 30 starts. Still, the right-hander has been extremely effective in eight of his past 10 starts and he has been able to keep the Phillies in the game.

Purcey scattered nine hits over 5 1/3 frames of three-run ball last Saturday in a no-decision against the Mariners at Rogers Centre. The 27-year-old southpaw is 1-0 with a 2.89 ERA in three starts this month. On Sept. 21, he limited the Orioles to one run on four hits over 7 2/3 innings for his first victory of the season.

Berken continued his late-season struggles on Saturday. He couldn't get out of a troublesome fourth inning in which he allowed four runs. The right-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings against the Tribe and gave up the four runs on eight hits. He has now given up 15 runs in his past three starts, which have spanned 13 innings. Berken said he pitched as well as he has all season in the first three innings but struggled to keep the ball down in the fourth. Orioles manager Dave Trembley moved his scheduled start back a day just so he could have an extra day of rest.

Sowers is trending backward in these waning days of the '09 season. After the shortest outing of his career on Sept. 19 in Oakland, when he was tagged for six runs in just one-plus inning, he got roughed up for five runs on six hits with four walks and three strikeouts in five innings against the Orioles on Saturday. All five runs came in the fifth as Sowers reverted to his old path of struggling the third time through an opponent's lineup. He'll look to finish his season on a high note in Fenway.

Though Matsuzaka lost his last start to the Yankees, he continues to provide nothing but encouraging signs since his return from the disabled list. Matsuzaka was outdueled by CC Sabathia, but gave up just one run over seven innings, walking five and striking out three. This will be Matsuzaka's sixth start of the season at Fenway, where he is 1-4 with a 6.58 ERA. Matsuzaka has pitched two regular season games against the Indians in his career, going 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA. He also pitched twice against Cleveland in the 2007 American League Championship Series, going 1-1 with a 5.59 ERA.

Rodriguez won for the second time in seven starts Sunday when he struck out nine Reds and allowed nine hits in six innings. He's set career highs for starts (31), wins (14), innings pitched (199 2/3) and strikeouts (190). He's 2-1 with a 3.47 ERA in his career against the Mets but will be making his first appearance at Citi Field.

Maine's second-to-last start of the season appeared to be his least becoming. Not only did he allow seven hits, two walks and seven runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Marlins Saturday night, he also hit two successive batters, threw two wild pitches and surrendered a rocket three-run home run to a player who rarely hits home runs, Cameron Maybin. And all that against a team he had dominated in his career -- 5-1 record in nine starts -- and in a ballpark in which he never had lost. Now Maine will oppose the Astros on Friday at Citi Field in his final start. He hasn't pitched against Houston this season. And in his lone start against the Astros last season, he allowed eight runs in 5 2/3 innings. But he has a 3-1 record and 3.77 ERA in five career starts against them.

McCutchen made the best start of his young career in his last outing, though the right-hander is still looking for his first Major League win. Showing an aggressiveness and command of the strike zone that he did not have in his four previous starts, McCutchen limited Los Angeles to just two runs as he pitched into the seventh. And for the first time, he did not allow a home run in his start. McCutchen made his Major League debut in a start against the Reds back on Aug. 31. He allowed three runs on five hits and two walks in six innings. McCutchen, who did not factor in the decision, also struck out five.

Lehr will fill in for Matt Maloney, who had to be replaced due to a blister on his left middle finger. Lehr is 1-1 with an 8.18 ERA in 11 innings over two starts against the Pirates this year. He's made five starts each at home and on the road this season, faring considerably better at Great American Ballpark. He's 2-0 with a 4.35 ERA at home, compared to 3-2 with a 6.67 ERA on the road.

Hernandez is making his last start of the season. He believes he has six years left in his baseball career and wants those years to be with the Nationals. It's not a secret how much he loves the city of Washington and respects the Nationals -- so much so that he wanted to be on the team in 2008, so he could pitch the first Opening Day at Nationals Park like he did in 2005 in Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. Hernandez didn't achieve his goal last year, because the two sides couldn't reach an agreement. But being back with Washington this season is good enough for him.

Lowe provided six solid innings after allowing the Nationals to score twice during the first inning of Sunday's game. The veteran sinkerballer hasn't regained the dominance he possessed at the end of the 2008 season and during the early weeks of this season. But he has allowed three earned runs or fewer in five of his past six starts. Lowe is 1-2 with a 4.28 ERA in five starts against the Nationals this season.

In what was hardly a postseason tune-up performance, Sabathia struck out eight over seven innings of one-hit ball last Saturday against the Red Sox, extending his otherworldly streak of September success. With the win, Sabathia moved to 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA in five starts this month, after going 2-2 with a 2.11 mark last September with the Brewers. A more traditional postseason tune-up will come Friday against the Rays, in Sabathia's final start before what should be an ALDS Game 1 appearance next Wednesday.

Price did not get the result he wanted Sunday at Texas when he allowed five runs on six hits in five innings to take a no-decision. Price has had live stuff in most of his outings this season. Fastball command has been his biggest improvement over the course of the last two months. As a result, he's been getting ahead in the counts more often and walking fewer hitters. Price is 0-0 with a 2.65 ERA in three career appearances against the Yankees; he is 7-3 with a 3.08 ERA in 12 career appearances (11 starts) at Tropicana Field.

This will be DiNardo's last chance to make a favorable impression for next year. Since being called up from Triple-A Omaha, he's made four starts. The first two were pretty good; the last two not-so-good. He gave up eight runs in five innings to the Red Sox on Sept. 21 and seven runs in five innings to the Twins last Saturday night. Give him a break in the latter case; an error made only three of those runs earned. DiNardo, a lefty who doesn't throw that hard, needs to keep the ball down and induce ground balls to be successful.

Francisco Liriano made the last turn of the rotation in this spot, but he didn't make it out of the second inning against the Royals. So the Twins will instead turn once again to the man Liriano had replaced in the rotation, Manship. The rookie hasn't been effective in his four previous starts, pitching fewer innings in each one. His best start came against the White Sox on Sept. 1, when he allowed one run over five innings. Manship did pitch 3 2/3 innings of relief after Liriano's early exit vs. Kansas City and gave up one run on three hits with five strikeouts.

Looper surrendered two more home runs in his most recent start and has served up 39 this season, most in the Majors and a Brewers record. He has allowed at least one homer in 12 of his past 13 starts. He's allowed one in each of his two starts against St. Louis this season but is 1-0 in those games with a 3.75 ERA.

Wainwright will be going on an extra day of rest, and he can use it. He threw 130 pitches in the Cardinals' division-clinching win on Saturday in Colorado, and had to work hard for most of them. However, he may also have cemented a Cy Young Award with the performance. He'll be going for win No. 20, but it's unlikely that the Cardinals will push him in his last start before the playoffs.

Weaver, enduring a hard-luck stretch, yielded only two earned runs in six innings against the Athletics on Friday night at home but dropped his third straight start for the first time in his career. A leadoff walk in the fifth cost him a run on a two-out single, and another two-out hit delivered the second A's run in the sixth. Weaver gave up six hits and three walks, striking out one man. Weaver is 0-1 with a 4.02 ERA in three starts against the A's this season and 2-3, 2.93 in 10 lifetime outings.

Gonzalez shook off his previous two shaky outings to throw 6 1/3 scoreless innings against the high-powered Angels offense on Friday at Angel Stadium to get his sixth win of the season. Gonzalez also struck out seven batters and walked just one. He'll get another crack at the Angels on Friday in Oakland's last series of the regular season. Gonzalez is 1-0 with a 3.86 ERA in two starts against the Angels this season.

Zito's doomed to finish with his third consecutive losing record during his three-year Giants tenure. But he has again staged a second-half rally, posting a 5-4 record with a 2.90 ERA after finishing 5-9, 5.01 in the first half. He also has pitched capably at home, where he's 6-6 with a 3.92 ERA. By contrast, he's 4-7 with a 4.30 ERA on the road. Zito received a no-decision two starts ago against Arizona, pitching 4 1/3 innings and allowing four runs (three earned).

What kind of find has Kevin Correia been? He came to Spring Training on a Minor League contract worth $750,000 if he made the team. He ended up becoming the rock of the rotation after Jake Peavy was traded and Chris Young missed most of the second half of the season. Correia tossed his first complete-game shutout against the Diamondbacks in his last start, striking out seven and walking one batter. "Correia just completely, completely controlled the game and shut us out," Arizona manager A.J. Hinch said. "He came into our ballpark and dictated everything that happened tonight."

Jimenez pitched seven strong innings against Adam Wainwright and the Cardinals Saturday night, taking a tie game into his final inning on the hill before yielding a leadoff solo homer that proved to be the Cardinals winning run in their division-clinching victory. He struggled in the first inning, yielding three runs on two walks and two soft hits, and he is working to be more effective out of the gate. He allowed four runs on six hits and three walks, and once he found his fastball command he retired 10 of 11 batters faced after the first inning, and 16-of-20 into the seventh. His seven strikeouts came at big moments. He struck out the side in the fourth, which allowed the Rockies to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.

Wolf will probably get this start, which would put him in line to start Game 1 of the playoffs. Wolf pitched the club's postseason clincher in Pittsburgh and was in position to win after allowing two runs in 6 1/3 innings, but the bullpen let it get away for his 16th no-decision. Still, he's been the most consistent starter on the staff this year and a workhorse with 209 1/3 innings.

McCarthy took a no-decision in Sunday's 7-6 loss to the Rays despite holding Tampa Bay to a pair of unearned runs in 7 2/3 innings of work. McCarthy is 4-2 with a 3.40 over his last seven starts to lower his ERA from 5.60 to 4.47. He had a good year against the AL East, finishing the year 2-0 with a 4.37 ERA over six starts.

In his last start, Snell continued his late-season surge, pitching well enough to win his sixth game since being acquired from the Pirates on July 29. He limited the Blue Jays to five hits and two runs over 6 2/3 innings, but the usually reliable bullpen could not protect the lead and Snell had to settle for a no-decision. Even so, he has shown improvement each time out of late, getting ahead of hitters.