Sunday baseball

What you missed, in a nutshell:

- Another win for Chien-Ming Wang and another homerun for A-Rod. Hohum. Yankees def. Royals 6-3.

- Chris Young was better than he's been in his last few starts, but the Padres can't remain playoff-bound on "better." Rockies def. Padres 4-2.

- Throw in some Pedro with a side of Alou's bat and you've got a rough day for Roy Oswalt. Mets def. Astros 4-1.

- While not as dominant as he's been in the past, Jason Bergmann continues to haunt the Braves. Nationals def. Braves 7-4.

- In case you were wondering how it could possibly get worse in Baltimore? Jeremy Guthrie left in the 6th inning with a rib cage injury. Oh yeah, and they still lost. Red Sox def. Orioles 3-2.

Other results of note: Mariners def. Tigers (14-7), Brewers def. Reds (10-5), Pirates def. Cubs (10-5), Phillies def. Marlins (8-5), Giants def. Dodgers (4-2), Diamondbacks def. Cardinals (6-5)

The Indians are leading the Angels in the bottom of the 7th inning, 6-2.

As for tomorrow:

RHP Shawn Hill (3-3, 2.98 ERA) and the Nationals look to pick up where they left off against the Marlins last week when they take on LHP Scott Olsen (9-12, 5.76 ERA). Hill is coming off (what else?) a no decision against the Marlins on September 4th. He lasted 6.1 innings in that game and allowed three earned runs on eleven hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Hill is 1-0 in three starts against the Marlins this season. And here's a trippy stat: Hill has yet to record a decision since returning from the DL on August 14th. In only one of those five games has Hill allowed over three runs.

Olsen is coming off a no decision against the Phillies on September 2nd. He lasted just 3.1 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits (1 HR) with three walks and three strikeouts. In two starts this season against the Nationals, Olsen is 1-1.His last start against them came on July 15th. In that game, Olsen went five innings and allowed two runs on six hits with five walks and two strikeouts.

LHP Oliver Perez (13-9, 3.46 ERA) and the Mets host RHP Tim Hudson (15-7, 3.47 ERA) at Shea. Perez is coming off a win against the Reds on September 4th. He went five innings and allowed three earned runs (five total) on four hits with five walks and two strikeouts. Perez is 3-1 in four starts against the Braves this season. His last start against them on August 7th was a loss. He went five innings in that one, allowing six runs on ten hits (2 HR) with no walks and five strikeouts.

Hudson is coming off of a no decision against the Phillies on September 5th. He lasted five innings and allowed five earned runs on eleven hits (1 HR) with two walks and four strikeouts. Hudson is 2-1 in three starts against the Mets this season. His last meeting with them was on August 31st. In the loss, Hudson lasted six innings and allowed four runs on six hits (2 HR) with no walks and one strikeout.

Other games of note:
Cardinals @ Cubs (Pineiro vs. Lilly)
Rockies @ Phillies (Jimenez vs. Lohse)
Brewers @ Pirates (Villanueva vs. Armas)
Devil Rays @ Red Sox (Kazmir vs. Schilling)
Blue Jays @ Tigers (Halladay vs. Rogers)
Indians @ White Sox (Carmona vs. Floyd)
A's @ Mariners (Blanton vs. Ramirez)
Diamondbacks @ Giants (Hernandez vs. Lincecum)

Huge divisional series between the Cardinals and Cubs starting tomorrow. With the NL Central so close, there could be a new leader in that division by the end of that series. Mets vs. Braves could effectively knock the Braves out of contention both in the division and possibly the wild card if the Mets have a good series. No big marquee pitching match-up on Monday. Kazmir vs. Schilling could be good if both pitchers are on their game. If anything, that should be a fun offensive series with the Devil Rays playing good baseball right now. Halladay vs. Rogers could be good as well.