MLB on Sling TV: Nationals vs. Braves, or Yankees vs. Red Sox on FOX, Followed by Tigers vs. Indians on FS1; Saturday’s Action on FOX Sports Regional Networks
(All times Eastern, starters subject to change)
Washington Nationals (Gonzalez 11-9, 4.27) at Atlanta Braves (TBD)
1pm ET on FOX
Gio Gonzalez has had a pretty good second half, going 7-2 with a 3.59 ERA since July 5, and with fellow starters Joe Ross and Stephen Strasburg in questionable health, the Nationals are gonna need for him to keep it up. The regular season is essentially over for the Nats, who headed into the weekend series with a 10-game lead over the Mets, all but assured of the NL East crown. If either Ross or Strasburg can’t take the ball come the playoffs, Gonzalez will. The regular season is essentially over for the Braves, who at 56-90 went into the weekend trailing the Nats by 31 games, and are proud owners of the second-worst record in all of baseball. This team is sure to draw huge crowds at their new taxpayer-funded boondoggle next year.
New York Yankees (Mitchell 1-1, 2.45) at Boston Red Sox (Price 16-8, 3.81)
1pm ET on FOX
Yankees-Sox in September with playoff hopes on the line? Yes, please. Since dumping a slew of overpriced veterans at the trade deadline, the Yankees' youth movement, led by Gary Sanchez, has the Bombers back in the hunt. At 77-69, they’re 5 games behind the first place Red Sox in the East, and 3 games out of the Wild Card hunt. Sanchez, despite having played just 38 games this season, has 4th best WAR on the Yankees at 2.4. For the Sox, David Price has finally been living up to his monster contract, going 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA since late July. Bryan Mitchell pitched 5 shutout innings in his 2016 debut on September 7, but last week against the Dodgers he got whacked, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits in 2 ⅓ innings, though he got no love from his defense, as errors by Sanchez and Aaron Judge led to 4 unearned runs.
Detroit Tigers (Verlander 14-8, 3.33) at Cleveland Indians (Carrasco 11-8, 3.32)
4pm ET on FS1
The Indians came into this series with a reasonably comfortable 6-game lead over the Tigers in the AL Central, concerned with little more than getting their starting rotation in order for the playoffs. The Tigers, on the other hand, are fighting for their lives. At 78-68, they find themselves 2 games back of the Orioles and Blue Jays in the Wild Card race, with just 16 games to play. Verlander has been en fuego lately, going 7-2 with a 2.27 ERA and 109 K’s over 95 ⅓ innings since July 2, while Carrasco has been just OK over the same span, going 7-6 with a 3.90 ERA over the same span.
Watch the Washington Nationals vs. the Atlanta Braves, or the New York Yankees vs. the Red Sox at 1pm ET on FOX, followed by Tigers vs. Indians at 4pm ET on FS1 Saturday by subscribing to Sling Blue.
Check out the baseball available Saturday on FOX Sports Regional Networks across the land for Sling Blue subscribers:
Milwaukee Brewers (Davies 10-7, 3.87) at Chicago Cubs (Arrieta 17-6, 2.91)
4:05pm ET on FOX Sports Wisconsin
Detroit Tigers (Norris 2-2, 3.81) at Cleveland Indians (Carrasco 11-8, 3.32)
4:10pm ET on SportsTime Ohio
Pittsburgh Pirates (Williams 1-1, 6.75) at Cincinnati Reds (Finnegan 9-10, 4.04)
Pittsburgh Pirates (Taillon 3-4, 3.27) at Cincinnati Reds (DeSclafani 8-3, 2.93)
12:10pm & 6:10pm ET on FOX Sports Cincinnati
Tampa Bay Rays (Andriese 7-7, 4.46) at Baltimore Orioles (Tillman 16-5, 3.68)
7:05pm ET on Fox Sports Sun
Minnesota Twins (Santana 7-10, 3.53) at New York Mets (Lugo 4-2, 2.40)
7:10pm ET on FOX Sports North
Chicago White Sox (Gonzalez 4-6, 3.82) at Kansas City Royals (Vargas NA)
7:15pm ET on FOX Sports Kansas City
Oakland Athletics (Alcantara 0-1, 7.27) at Texas Rangers (Darvish 5-4, 3.28)
8:05pm ET on FOX Sports Southwest
Los Angeles Dodgers (Norris 6-10, 5.05) at Arizona Diamondbacks (Miller 2-11, 7.12)
8:10pm ET on FOX Sports Arizona
San Diego Padres (Jackson 4-5, 5.32) at Colorado Rockies (Gray 9-8, 4.69)
8:10pm ET on FOX Sports San Diego
St. Louis Cardinals (Leake 9-10, 4.60) at San Francisco Giants (Samardzija 11-10, 4.07)
9:05pm ET on FOX Sports Midwest
Toronto Blue Jays (Liriano 7-12, 5.16) at Los Angeles Angels (Nolasco 5-14, 4.94)
9:05pm ET on FOX Sports West
Watch baseball on FOX and FOX Sports Regional Networks by subscribing to Sling Blue.
All stats courtesy ESPN and Baseball Reference.