The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend:
Curtis Granderson, Detroit Tigersvs. Colorado Rockies (6/27-29)
For those of you who counted out the Detroit Tigers after their horrible start, take a peak at the AL Central standings and think again. Granted, they still trail the division leading Chicago White Sox by five games but the Tigers won 14 of their last 17 and are just two games under .500 going into their weekend series with the Colorado Rockies. No one on the Tigers is hotter than Curtis Granderson. Going into the weekend series, Granderson is on a 14-game hitting streak. He is 23-for-55 during the streak with four doubles and 10 runs scored. In his five seasons with the Tigers, Granderson has never faced the Rockies but is hitting over .300 in Interleague play. The Tigers look to continue their run through Interleague play and will attempt to win their fifth consecutive Interleague series.
Albert Pujols, Saint Louis Cardinals at Kansas City Royals (6/27-29)
Before Albert Pujols' injury, the Cardinals trailed the Cubs by just two and a half games. From June 11-25, Pujols missed 13 games and the Cardinals went 6-7. Upon his return on Thursday -- despite their loss to the Tigers -- Pujols had an impact with a 4-for-4 performance and one RBI. Now, Pujols brings his .358 average and 16 home runs into Kansas City where he has thrived in their Interleague match-ups. In 21 games at Kauffman Stadium, Pujols is 35-for-88 with eight homers, 24 RBI and 22 runs scored in 21 games and hit safely in 19 of those 21 games. Without Pujols, the Cardinals were swept by the Royals in Saint Louis just two weeks ago. With Pujols most likely hitting out of the DH spot, the Cardinals will look to avenge their sweep. It might be tough against the Royals who are 10-1 in their last 11 games.
Jermaine Dye, Chicago White Sox vs. Chicago Cubs (6/27-29)
After being swept in last weekend's series at Wrigley, the White Sox look for a little Interleague revenge against the Chicago Cubs -- owners of the best record in baseball. After taking two of three from the Dodgers, the Sox hope to continue to get hot hitting from Jermaine Dye who has homered five times in the last seven games and is the owner of a seven-game hitting streak. Dye is particularly successful in Interleague play in his career with a .305 average, 36 homers and 127 RBI in 181 Interleague games. Against the current Cubs pitching staff, Dye is 21-for-71 with five home runs and 10 RBI. He has homered off of Ted Lilly and Jason Marquis twice each and Jon Lieber once and is 2-for-3 against Cubs' closer Kerry Wood.
Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins vs. Milwaukee Brewers (6/27-29)
Hot on the heels of the Chicago White Sox are the red hot Minnesota Twins. The Twins have won nine in a row and 11 of their last 12. One of the hottest hitting Twins is Justin Morneau. In his last 16 games, Morneau is 24-for-64 with two home runs and 18 RBI. Going into their series with the Brewers, Morneau is hitting .310 with 12 homers and 62 RBI. The 2006 AL MVP is quietly putting up numbers similar to his impressive MVP season and has his Twins in position to take over the AL Central division lead if the White Sox were to continue their struggles against the Cubs. In 26 career games against the Brew Crew, Morneau is a .299 hitter with five homers and 19 RBI in 87 at-bats. The Brewers have struggled to keep Morneau out of the hit column -- he has a 17-game hitting streak against the Brewers dating back to 2005. Morneau owns a walk-off home run against Milwaukee on June 17, 2007 in their 10-9 win.
Carlos Beltran, New York Mets at/vs. New York Yankees (6/27-29)
When Carlos Beltran took a look at the staring pitchers for the Mets-Yankees series this weekend, there is a good chance his mouth watered when he saw Sidney Ponson penciled in for the nightcap of their Subway doubleheader on Friday. In his career, Beltran is 12-for-25 with two home runs and six RBI against Ponson and owns a 1.336 OPS vs. the newest member of the Yankees rotation. Beltran is enjoying a productive June despite going 0-for-4 in his last two games. In 23 games, Beltran is hitting .303 with six home runs and 19 RBI. With four games against the Yankees, there is a chance that Beltran will not play all four games against the Yankees especially with the expected return of Ryan Church this weekend. If Jerry Manuel is doing his homework, he will make sure that Beltran is in the lineup to face Ponson as many times as he possibly can.
Jair Jurrjens, Atlanta Braves at Toronto Blue Jays (6/27)
Interested in seeing the 2008 National League Rookie of the Year play? There is a good chance that the title of NL Rookie of the Year could go to Braves pitcher Jair Jurrjens who is starting for the Braves on Friday. So far this season, Jurrjens is 7-3 with a 3.20 ERA. Although there were a couple of rocky starts mixed in, the 22-year-old Jurrjens has not lost since May 12 and is 3-0 in his last seven starts. There is a lot of history between the Blue Jays and Braves including their managers. New (old) Blue Jays skipper Cito Gaston played in the minors with Braves manager Bobby Cox. In addition, Cox hired Gaston as Toronto's hitting coach when he was the manager there and lost to Gaston's Jays in the World Series in 1992. If Jurrjens can get his eighth win on Friday night, it would tie him with Tim Hudson for victories this season.
Vincente Padilla, Texas Rangers vs. Philadelphia Phillies (6/28)
In Philadelphia Phillies lore, Vincente Padilla is less known for his 49-49 record during his five-plus seasons as a member of the team and more known as the most successful player to come out of a horrible trade that sent Curt Schilling out of Philadelphia and to a World Championship in Arizona. Before and after playing for the Phillies, Padilla has never faced his old team and on Saturday goes up against their ace, Cole Hamels. This season, Padilla is no slouch -- he is 10-3 with a 3.74 ERA. Saturday's Padilla-Hamels match-up is the game most likely to not be a high scoring affair of the three-game slate. The Rangers score more runs than any team in the American League and the Phillies trail only the Chicago Cubs in the National League in runs per game. With both teams averaging more than five runs a game and the Rangers not being shut out since August 19, 2007, no one is expecting a pitching duel, which is sometimes exactly when you see one.
Aaron Laffey, Cleveland Indians vs. Cincinnati Reds (6/29)
If there is any uncertainty as to why the Cleveland Indians are struggling this season, a close look at Aaron Laffey's performance this season will give you a glimpse as to why. It has nothing to do with the 23-year-old Laffey struggling, it is actually the exact opposite. Don't let Laffey's mediocre 4-4 record fool you -- in 11 starts, Laffey has a 2.83 ERA and nine quality starts. Despite a 2.84 ERA in two Interleague starts, Laffey has yet to pick up his first Interleague win. In five of the 11 starts, the Indians have scored two or less runs and Laffey is 3-0 when the team scores more than four runs. This is an important series for the Indians who expected to be in contention for the AL Central title but are currently in the cellar of the division. Already seven and a half games out of first place, another losing series and Laffey could soon see some new faces around the clubhouse as the team may begin a mid-season fire sale of talent to begin the rebuilding process.
Jon Rauch, Washington Nationals vs. Baltimore Orioles (6/27-29)
At the beginning of the season, Chad Cordero was the Nationals closer but due to injury, Jon Rauch took over the role. Limited in his save opportunities, Rauch is 4-1 with 15 saves in 39 appearances with the last place Nationals. Even when Rauch blows a save, the Nationals still do well -- in his four blown saves, the Nationals are 3-1. Rauch has performed particularly well in Interleague play. In his last 17 Interleague appearances, Rauch is 1-0 with 3 saves and a 0.00 ERA. He has held Interleague opponents in his last 18 innings worked and held them to just five hits and a walk while striking out 22. The last time Rauch gave up a run in an Interleague game was on May 19, 2007 when he blew a save in two innings of work against the same Baltimore Orioles that the Nationals are playing this weekend. If Rauch can continue his success, the Nationals might have a hot commodity this trading deadline.
On Wednesday, Marcus Thames' club record-tying consecutive games with a home run streak came to an end at five when he went 0-for-3 but he carries a unique streak into this weekend's series with the Padres -- Thames' last eight hits have all been home runs. The streak is the longest since Mark McGwire had 11 consecutive home run hits in 2001. A home run by Thames has meant success for the Tigers who are sneaking back into the playoff race -- Detroit is 10-1 in games where he goes deep. Thames has only started 34 games this year and the Tigers are 19-15 when he does. In Interleague play, Thames has 15 homers in 124 at-bats. His at-bats per home run in Interleague play is a Bonds-like 8.3. The Tigers and Padres have relived the 1984 World Series twice in Interleague play and Detroit is 5-1 in the two series meetings. 
If Brendan Harris is leading off the inning, it is important to not let him get on base. In 64 games, Harris has led off an inning 49 times and has reached base an unspectacular 10 times. What is impressive about his .204 on-base percentage leading off an inning is when he does reach base, the Twins score an average of 2.10 runs per inning. One other odd statistic about Harris is his success against relief pitchers in 2008. Harris is 23-for-71 with a .324 average and .410 on-base percentage -- much higher than his .241 average and .304 on-base percentage. In the unlikely event that Brendan reaches base to lead off an inning, look for the scoreboard to light up. The Twins were given little chance to win the AL Central at the beginning of the season but are one game above .500 and trail the White Sox by 4 1/2 games. A big series against the slumping Diamondbacks combined with the White Sox faltering against the Cubs would get them right back in the race. 
Akinori Iwamura has two impressive streaks this season. In the field, Iwamura has not made an error in 70 games at second base. In 323 chances, Iwamura has been perfect in the field. Compare that to their opponent's second baseman, Kaz Matsui, who has 10 errors in 53 games and 231 chances. At the plate, Iwamura has avoided grounding into a double play all season. Through 291 at-bats, Iwamura has not been doubled up once. Add in the 272 at-bats from last season and Akinori has not been doubled up in 563 at-bats. The last time Iwamura grounded into a double play was on July 17, 2007 and the last time the sophomore made an error at second base was, well, never. While Iwamura's streak of avoiding a double play is somewhat lucky and a little bit impressive, it pales into comparison to Tony Womack's streak of 219 games and 915 at-bats from May 30, 1997 to August 4, 1998 without grounding into a double play.
The M-V-P chants have taken a back seat for a bit and now the question is how long does Chase Utley get in Philadelphia before the boos begin. Through Wednesday, Utley is on an 0-for-20 streak and failed to get a hit in five consecutive games for only the second time in his career. Baseball's top home run hitter had manager Charlie Manuel saying Chase needed a day off after the Phillies dropped their third consecutive series after losing two out of three to Boston on Wednesday. He got exactly that on Thursday and now the Phillies have a tough series against the Los Angeles Angels. To keep from completely piling it on Utley, Bill James Online tracks a fielding stat called plus/minus and in 2008, Chase is the highest at +20. I have to admit I don't completely understand the statistic but plus is good and Utley is the highest in the league.
While he's no J.D. Drew, Jeff Baker is having a big June for the Rockies. In 11 games, Baker is 13-for-33 with four home runs, 18 RBI, 21 runs scored and a 1.295 OPS. Before going 4-for-4 on May 30, Baker was hitting .188 but since then he has raised his average 90 points to .278. In June, the Rockies are 11-6 and 7-1 when Baker starts. Baker is riding a three game home run streak into the Mets series and seems to have played himself into the starting spot at second base. In addition to second base, Baker has played at first, third and right field making him a versatile asset for the Rockies. Somehow, the 31-42 Rockies are not completely out of it since the Arizona Diamondbacks have come back to earth and are only 8 games ahead of Colorado with the lowest record of any division leader.
In three seasons with the Texas Rangers, Edinson Volquez started 17 games but never once at Yankee Stadium. Now, as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, the league leader in ERA (1.64) and strikeouts (105) brings his 9-2 record to New York to face off with the red hot Yankees. The likely All-Star will face off against Mike Mussina who is 10-4 and most likely an All-Star himself in what could be a rematch of starters in the 2008 All-Star game at Yankee Stadium in July. Volquez has slipped a little. In his last two starts, Edinson gave up three runs following a run of 12 consecutive starts giving up two runs or less. The team is 11-3 when he starts and Volquez has gone at least six innings in 11 consecutive starts but never beyond the seventh.
Not that the Red Sox have missed him but anyone in baseball would like to have Dice-K pitching every fifth day. Matsuzaka is 8-0 in 11 starts this season and has not had a losing decision since September 8, 2007. In Interleague play, Dice-K is 4-1 in five starts with a 1.60 ERA but has never faced the Cardinals. While the fact that Matsuzaka has not pitched since May 27 when he was injured might be cause for concern, being rusty rarely effects Dice-K. In his short Major League career, Matsuzaka is 4-1 with a 1.92 ERA in eight starts when pitching on six or more days rest. When Matsuzaka went down, the Red Sox trailed the Rays by half a game but since then went 14-6 and are now 1 1/2 games ahead of the Rays. The Cardinals send out rookie Mitchell Boggs who is 1-0 in two starts but was hit hard by the Phillies in his last start but was taken off the hook when Brett Myers coughed up two homers and six runs and the Cardinals won the game in the 10th on two Phillies' fielding blunders. 
In one of the few Interleague series with teeth, the battle for Chicago will feature Ryan Dempster against Javier Vazquez on ESPN on Sunday night. Since converting back to the starting rotation, Dempster has been a big surprise for the Cubs. Their gamble with moving him into the starter role has paid off with Dempster at 8-2 with a 2.76 ERA in 15 starts. Now more than ever, the Cubs need Dempster to continue his successful run with Carlos Zambrano injured and status unknown. Dempster notched nine quality starts so far this season and only gave up four earned runs twice. It is the second tough pitching match-up for Dempster -- against the Rays earlier this week, Dempster gave up one run in five innings but the team came up short against Scott Kazmir who also could not get past the fifth inning. The Cubs come into the weekend series with the best record in baseball even after being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. Now, they will have to try to turn things around without Zambrano and looking to Dempster, Ted Lilly, Sean Gallagher and Jason Marquis to step up in his hopefully short absence.
It must feel nice to be more than halfway through June and have not given up a run since April 30 -- ask Scott Downs. The Blue Jays reliever has thrived after a somewhat rocky April where he went 0-1 with one of two save opportunities converted and a 3.86 ERA. Since then, Downs has made 20 consecutive appearances without giving up a run. In 18 2/3 innings, opposing batters have hit just .185 against him with just 12 hits and 14 strikeouts. The seven-year veteran has been effective in Interleague play with a 3-1 record and 1.57 ERA in 27 Interleague games although the only loss came against the Pirates in a start in 2000. The last time Downs faced the Pirates was as a starter in 2004 when he went seven innings without giving up an earned run and picked up a victory as a member of the Montreal Expos.
It took until June 11 for Milton Bradley to have a blow-up worthy of national headlines since joining his sixth team in nine seasons. Before that, Bradley was quietly on the verge of his best season in the Majors. Bradley leads the American League in batting, hitting clean-up in the highest scoring offense in baseball. Behind Josh Hamilton in the lineup and the headlines, Bradley will have to make a rare appearance in the field to see playing time against the Mets. Most likely, the Rangers will make the accommodation to have his bat available -- Bradley is hitting .444 with five home runs and 11 RBI in his last eight games. Besides leading the AL in batting at .333, Bradley is also the league leader in on-base percentage (.454) and slugging percentage (.629). 
On May 28, Jose Guillen exploded on his team after they blew a game in the ninth and lost in 10 innings to the Minnesota Twins. After their 10th consecutive loss, Guillen said there were "too many babies" on his team and that he knew why the Royals organization had been losing for a while. Since then, the Royals' fortunes have not changed -- they extended their losing streak to 12 before finally winning and are 5-9 -- but Guillen has caught fire. In those 14 games, Guillen hit .407 with five doubles, five home runs and 14 RBI including a seven RBI game against the Yankees. Guillen heads into Arizona where he played part of his 2002 season with a seven-game hitting streak. On his ninth team in 12 seasons, Guillen has been named in a few stories referring to players who will be available near the trade deadline and if it were to happen, it would be the fourth time in his Major League career that Guillen was traded mid-season. Each trade saw Guillen go from one league to the other so Interleague Play is a prime opportunity for the Royals to showcase the American League leader in doubles (23).
Chicago Cubs outfielder Reed Johnson returns to play the team that drafted him in 1999 and cut him after the 2007 season. In the offseason, Johnson signed with the Cubs and has played in 52 games and started 41 of those with the possibility of Johnson seeing more playing time after Alfonso Soriano went on the disabled list. The 31-year-old Johnson was released from the Jays after hitting .236 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 79 games. In the 52 games with the Cubs, Johnson is hitting .267 with two homers and 27 RBI. He also knocked in the game winning run in the bottom of the 11th inning on Thursday when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to beat the Braves. The Cubs boast the best record in baseball but are just 14-16 on the road. It is expected that Johnson will get a warm reception in Toronto -- he was a fan favorite with the Blue Jays during his tenure with the club.
Another player heads back to where he started his career when Jorge Cantu returns to Tampa Bay as a member of the Florida Marlins along with former Rays Doug Waechter and Mark Hendrickson. Despite having his nine game hitting streak stopped by Marlins killer Jamie Moyer, Cantu comes into the weekend series with his former team hitting .425 with six home runs, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored in his last 10 games. He already has 14 home runs which is half of his career-high 28 home runs that Cantu hit in 2005 with Tampa Bay. Cantu has never played the Rays but is familiar with the friendly confines of Tropicana Field. In 158 games at Tropicana, Cantu hit .293 with 39 doubles, 23 home runs and 104 RBI. Both the Marlins and Rays have winning records marking the first time since 2004 that both teams in their Interleague rivalry had a winning record at the same time during their series. The Marlins lead the series 34 to 21 but the Rays come into this series having won the last two games over the Marlins.
The teams with the worst records in the American and National League square off when the Nationals travel to Seattle to play the Mariners. Only two players on the Mariners -- Ichiro Suzuki and Raul Ibanez -- and none on the Nationals have played in every game this season. Ibanez has been on some bad teams before. He played for the Mariners when they lost 99 games in 2004 and the Royals when they lost 100 games in 2002. Ibanez is hitting .264 with eight home runs and 40 RBI in 66 games and the Mariners are 24-42 this season. The Nationals are a perfect opportunity for the Mariners to start their turn-around. A week ago manager John McLaren went on an expletive-filled tirade about his team's performance and since then the Mariners have responded with a 3-3 record -- not quite good enough to dig them out of the basement of the AL West. The Mariners are on a pace to lose 103 games which would be the second time in the 36-year-old Ibanez's career he has played on a team that has lost over 100 games.
In four starts, Red Sox rookie Justin Masterson is 3-0 and has given up more than one run in only one of his starts. Masterson has gone at least six innings in every outing and has not been on the losing end of a decision. For Masterson, this will be his first Major League road start and first start in Interleague Play. In 24 1/3 innings, Masterson has a 2.59 ERA and a 1.068 WHIP with 18 strikeouts. The 23-year-old Masterson, Boston's second round pick in 2006, has made the most of his opportunities created by injuries to the Red Sox starting rotation. The more successful outings Masterson has, the harder it will be for manager Terry Francona to remove Francona from the starting rotation when Daisuke Matsuzaka and Curt Schilling eventually return. On Friday night, he faces off against hard luck Reds pitcher Aaron Harang who has pitched better than his 2-9 record in 14 starts indicates.
When Rich Harden takes the hill for the ninth time this season on Saturday, it will match the number of starts he made in 2006 and more than double his starts in 2007. For Harden, it is the first time he has made seven consecutive starts without spending time on the DL (a place he has already been once in 2008). There is good news in Harden's story -- he has pitched at least seven innings in his last five starts and is 3-0 with a 2.85 ERA. The team is 7-2 when Harden pitches and he has made six of nine quality starts including five in a row. At 26, if Harden can avoid the disabled list, he could become one of the best in the game. He has struck out 58 in 47 1/3 innings this season and is 34-18 in his career. The problem is Harden has only started 20 or more games in one of his six Major League seasons. Harden has been successful in Interleague Play with a 3-1 record in six starts including 1-0 in three starts against the Giants. On a lighter note, Harden enters the game with a one game hitting streak after getting his first Major League hit off of former teammate Tim Hudson when the Athletics played the Braves on May 17.
For the first time in his career, C.C. Sabathia is facing the possibility of having a losing record. In his previous seven seasons with the Indians, Sabathia posted a winning record in every single season but is 4-8 going into Sunday's game against the Padres. With the Indians five games under .500 and 6 1/2 games behind the White Sox, Sabathia has often been mentioned as a possibility to be moved near the trade deadline. Sunday's outing serves a dual-purpose with Sabathia pitching to help his team get back into the race and also give him an opportunity to showcase his talent for the Indians who might trade him if they cannot climb back into the race and for Sabathia who is in the middle of a contract year. He is coming off of his second complete game shutout of the season and is a respectable but unspectacular 10-6 with a 4.04 ERA in Interleague Play. The Padres send Greg Maddux to the mound against Sabathia who has also been mentioned as a trade deadline possibility which means a number of teams will be keeping one eye on this game.
With the Atlanta Braves coming to town, K-Rod should expect to see some action. The Braves are 7-24 on the road this season and have lost 21 consecutive one-run games on the road dating back to last August which ties a Major League record. With every save, Francisco Rodriguez's price tag in this upcoming offseason continues to rise. With 27 saves already, K-Rod is on a pace to save 65 which would shatter Bobby Thigpen's Major League record of 57. With 173 career saves, the 26-year-old closer is already second on the Angels' All-Time saves list (behind Troy Percival's 316). Rodriguez has converted his last 24 save opportunities and 33 of his last 34. The most impressive statistic has to be K-Rod's 537 strikeouts in 413 1/3 innings which works out to 11.69 strikeouts/9 innings, almost a full strikeout higher than Randy Johnson's 10.755. If the Braves go into the ninth inning trailing by one run, their futility in one-run road games is most likely going to continue.