Today in the Daily Sports Roundup: The Jays play host to the Rays, the Giants try to get a victory in St. Louis, and the Canadian Football League season begins.
Meeting up in the Junior Circuit . . .
A Canada Day matchup north of the border on Wednesday afternoon has Tampa Bay at Toronto, with James Shields (6-5, 3.41 ERA) taking on Ricky Romero (5-3, 3.20 ERA). Righthander Shields is coming off a 6 2-3 inning performance vs. the Marlins last time out in which he gave up three earned runs in a no-decision. Lefthander Romero has pitched the Blue Jays to three consecutive victories over the Phillies (twice) and Nationals, allowing five earned runs over his 21 innings.
Also on the American League schedule for Wednesday: Boston at Baltimore, Minnesota at Kansas City, Detroit at Oakland, the White Sox at Cleveland, Seattle at the Yankees, and the Angels at Texas. Los Angeles will go with Jered Weaver (8-3, 2.65 ERA) in that last matchup, while the Rangers counter with Kevin Millwood (8-5, 2.64 ERA). Millwood has four wins over his last five outings.
Taking the field in the Senior Circuit . . .
The top pitching matchup in the National League on Wednesday has San Francisco's Matt Cain (9-2, 2.57 ERA) taking on St. Louis' Adam Wainwright (8-5, 3.51 ERA). Righthander Cain was tagged with a rare loss last time out, allowing five earned runs over seven innings vs. the Brewers; San Fran had won his previous nine starts. Righthander Wainwright took a hard-luck loss in his last outing, allowing three runs (just two earned) in seven innings against the Twins.
Elsewhere around the National League on Wednesday it'll be the Mets at Milwaukee, Colorado at the Dodgers, the Cubs at Pittsburgh, Arizona at Cincinnati, Philadelphia at Atlanta, Houston at San Diego, and Washington at Florida. Marlins probable starter Josh Johnson (7-1, 2.76 ERA) has given up three or fewer earned runs in 15 of his 16 outings so far this season. The Nats will counter Johnson with Jordan Zimmerman (3-3, 4.65 ERA) on Wednesday.
Rounding out the Roundup . . .
The Canadian Football League begins its 2009 campaign on Wednesday night, with Toronto at Hamilton and Montreal at Calgary. The Argonauts are pegged as 2-point road favorites against their East rival; those teams combined for just seven wins last season, with Toronto 4-14 (6-11-1 ATS) and Hamilton 3-15 (6-11-1 ATS). The Stampeders, meanwhile, are 3.5-point home favorites in their game against the Alouettes. Calgary went 13-5 (13-5 ATS) last season en route to their Grey Cup championship, while Montreal posted an 11-7 (10-8 ATS) mark.
Finally, the WNBA has just one game on tap for Wednesday, with Seattle at Phoenix. The Storm are coming off an ugly 82-55 defeat vs. Los Angeles last time out, while the Mercury fell 109-80 to Minnesota in their most recent matchup on Saturday. Cappie Pondexter had 19 points in the losing cause for the Mercury.
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