Bryan Leonard's Entire MLB Card FREE for Saturday

The best pitching matchup of the day will be at Yankee Stadium between Felix Hernandez and Hiroki Kuroda. Hernandez has been good pretty much all season, but he's been especially good since the All-Star break with a 1.44 ERA in four starts. Hernandez has, understandably, pitched worse on the road than in friendly Safeco Field, but his road ERA of 3.48 is still very respectable. He's given up just 21 runs in his last 11 starts. In 13 career starts against the Yankees, he's 7-5 with a 3.38 ERA. His advanced metric stats like FIP and xFIP are certainly within range of his ERA and that points to Hernandez pitching the way he should be.

Kuroda has been incredible in day games this season, not allowing a single run, earned or unearned, in 30 daytime innings. He's allowed just 16 hits in those four games. Kuroda has loved pitched at Yankee Stadium with a 2.63 ERA and .222 opposing batting average, compared to a road ERA of 4.23. One of the big keys to Kuroda's success has been holding opponents to a .217 batting average with men on base. Like Hernandez, Kuroda has been good since the All-Star break with a 2.45 ERA over four starts.

This total will be inflated based on Yankee Stadium's hitter-friendly dimensions, but these two pitchers are good no matter what ballpark they're in and both are throwing the ball well right now.

PLAY: SEA/NYY UNDER

The Diamondbacks send Joe Saunders to the mound against Roy Halladay and the Phillies on Saturday night in Philly. Joe Saunders has been a road warrior this season, with a 2.44 ERA away from the desert. Part of the reason for Saunders's success this season is a higher K/9 rate than ever before while he has lowered his BB/9. Pitching ahead in the count has allowed Saunders to lower his HR/FB% and give up fewer line drives. The D-Backs are playing spirited ball right now, completing a three-game sweep of the Dodgers at Chavez Ravine before an off day and a flight to the East Coast. They've won five of their last six and gotten back into the NL West hunt. With the exception of getting slowed down by knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, they're scoring six runs per game in their last six games.

Roy Halladay has really struggled this season. Along with a DL stint, Halladay is dealing with his lowest K/9 and highest BB/9 in the last five years. Six consecutive years of throwing over 3,000 regular season pitches plus playoff work may be taking a toll on the workhorse right hander. His average fastball velocity is the lowest in his career, the first time it's been below 91 mph. He's responded by throwing more breaking balls and has thrown just 42% of his pitches in the strike zone, by far a career low. That's a good sign for the Diamondbacks who are tied for second in the NL with the most walks. The Phillies are just 12-22 against left handed starters this season.

PLAY: ARIZONA

Mark Buehrle heads to the mound for the Marlins to take on the hottest pitcher in baseball, Jordan Zimmermann. Buehrle's last win came against the Nationals on July 14, going seven innings and allowing just one run on six hits with seven punchouts. The two teams played a doubleheader on Friday night and that gives Buehrle an advantage. Jordan Zimmermann had this start pushed back a day due to shoulder inflammation. Zimmermann has been injured quite a bit in his young career, with last season's 161 IP being a career high. Last year, in eight starts after the All-Star break, Zimmermann posted a 4.47 ERA, after posting a 0.85 ERA in June. Now, he's dealing with arm trouble? That's not a good sign for a pitcher who has already overachieved this season. Zimmermann is stranding 83.6% of baserunners, an unsustainable number.

Now in the dog days of summer, Zimmermann's throwing a lot of pitches and pitching a lot of big games for the Nationals. With a 2.28 ERA, 3.42 FIP, and 3.60 xFIP, Zimmermann was already due for regression without dealing with arm troubles.

PLAY: MIAMI