On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.
Philadelphia Phillies (65-58) at San Diego Padres (48-75) 8:05 PM ET
Premature to say that this game against the downtrodden San Diego Padres is a must game for the Phillies? Definitely. And just because the Mets are on an upswing against league dregs like Washington and Pittsburgh and the Phillies were swept by a division leader doesn't mean the Phillies are dead and buried. But just five days ago the Phillies were up on the Mets by two games. On this day, it's the reverse. So this is a valley that the Phillies would do well to dig out of starting tonight. The Phillies have the right guy on the mound to do that in Cole Hamels.
Chicago Cubs (75-48) at Florida Marlins (64-60) - 1:10 PM ET
If you're going by ERA, this is the pitching matchup of the day, as Ryan Dempster (13-5, 2.92) goes against Chris Volstad (4-2, 3.03). The Cubs had their nine game road win streak ended by the Marlins on Saturday, but the deed was done with multiple regulars on the bench for the Cubbies. They'll most likely have at least Derrek Lee and Geovany Soto back today, and perhaps the banged up Aramis Ramirez as well. The Marlins ... well they called up the ever-popular Paul Lo Duca.
Arizona Diamondbacks (64-59) at Houston Astros (62-61) - 2:05 PM ET
If you're going by star power, then this might be the pitching matchup for you, as Randy Johnson goes up against Roy Oswalt. The Diamondbacks, along with the Dodgers, might finally be escaping the indignity of being a division leader while hovering around .500, as they've won five of their last six. But beware: that streak immediately followed a four game losing streak. Speaking of streaks, Arizona has sent the Astros crashing back to reality a bit with two blowout wins at Houston's expense after they had won eight straight.
Everyone else:
- Royals at Yankees 1:05 ET
- Orioles at Tigers 1:05 ET
- Angels at Indians 1:05 ET
- Cardinals at Reds 1:15 ET
- Mets at Pirates 1:35 ET
- Rockies at Nationals 1:35 ET
- Giants at Braves 1:35 ET
- Blue Jays at Red Sox 1:35 ET
- Mariners at Twins 2:10 ET
- White Sox at Athletics 4:05 ET
- Brewers at Dodgers 4:10 ET
- Rays at Rangers 8:05 ET
