The players to watch and what to watch for this weekend in baseball:

Marcus Thames, Detroit Tigers at San Diego Padres (6/20-22)

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. 

Brendan Harris, Minnesota Twins vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (6/20-22)

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, Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros (6/20-22)

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.

Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Angels (6/20-22)

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.

Jeff Baker, Colorado Rockies vs. New York Mets (6/20-22)

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.

Edinson Volquez, Cincinnati Reds at New York Yankees (6/20)

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.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, Boston Red Sox vs. Saint Louis Cardinals (6/21) 

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.   

Ryan Dempster, Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox (6/22)

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.

Scott Downs, Toronto Blue Jays at Pittsburgh Pirates (6/20-22)

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.