I nearly spit my drink everywhere when I checked the scoreboard this afternoon and saw that the Pirates — the f—ing Pirates — put up 6 runs in the second inning against Gavin Floyd. Then I realized that only one of those runs was earned, and it ended up being a pretty good day for Gavin: 5 2/3 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 6 strikeouts and a win. The WHIP’s a little higher than I’d have liked, but I’ll take the W, ERA and K boosts without a single complaint. James Loney (3-for-4, 2 R, RBI) also had a very solid afternoon for me. With all the afternoon games today there aren’t many left to play tonight, but there are a couple of notable matchups:

Evan Longoria vs. Sean Gallagher: Longoria’s been kinda-sorta-hot as of late, and the Rays are looking to complete the sweep of the Cubs at home. It’s a toss-up, really — Gallagher’s stuff isn’t spectacular and he’s taken two consecutive tough losses, but more often than not his pitching is pretty good quality, and Longoria can go cold just as easily as he gets hot (witness his 0-for-14 skid last week). I don’t know about you, but I love watching a young pitcher take on a young hitter. When you’re young (both of these guys are 22), you tend to throw caution to the wind and go all-out all the time. This one should be good.
Lance Berkman/Hunter Pence vs. Brian Burres: The Astros are in a tailspin, losing seven in a row and nine of their last ten. Playing against a pitcher with a 7.09 ERA at home and a 10.05 ERA in his last three starts is usually a pretty good way to come out of a tailspin. The exception to this rule is when Shawn Chacon is pitching for your team. You absolutely must give him all the run support you can muster because, let’s face it, he’s Shawn Chacon. It’s simple, really: Berkman and Pence have to hit Burres early and hard or the Astros are going to get swept by the Baltimore Orioles.

Short column, I know, but again, blame the abundance of afternoon games.