Weekend Preview: Intradivisional matchups could obvious up playoff picture

     Welcome to the second half of the baseball season, which couldn’t arrive quickly enough for teams like the scuffling Boston Red Sox but couldn’t have come at a worse time for the surging Detroit Tigers.

This weekend features a trio of intriguing intradivision series between teams that are tightly bunched in the wild-card standings and still have at least some aspirations of chasing down their respective division leaders.




     A closer look at each series:

ST. LOUIS CARDINALS AT CINCINNATI REDS

The NL Central contenders are separated by just a game and a half in the standings, and the bad blood between them recently was rekindled when former Cardinals manager Tony La Russa snubbed Reds righthander Johnny Cueto and second baseman Brandon Phillips when finalizing his NL All-Star roster.
But don’t expect the rivalry, which has spawned benches-clearing brawls and wars of words in the past couple of seasons, to get too heated during this three-game set.
"We have to learn to turn the page. I think that's a good quality we should all learn to have in our life," Reds first baseman Joey Votto told reporters this past week at the All-Star festivities. "I would like to think that we've all seen the error in our ways here, for lack of a better term, and move on. Let's play ball. If anything happens (this weekend) I'll be surprised."
The Reds’ primary focus should be on getting out the Cardinals’ quartet of All-Star hitters. Carlos Beltran, David Freese, Matt Holliday and Rafael Furcal have combined to hit .321 with seven homers and 17 RBIs in the six games between the teams this season. That is a big reason St. Louis has won four of them.
As for Cueto, he will have an opportunity for at least some measure of revenge when he starts Sunday night.

BOSTON RED SOX AT TAMPA BAY RAYS

Tropicana Field hasn’t been kind to the Red Sox, who are 13-25 there in the past five seasons. Overall, Boston hasn’t won the season series against Tampa Bay since 2007.
Boston enters the second half at .500, which is either a cut-half-full or cup-half empty situation. Despite a first half marred by injuries, poor play and turmoil, the Red Sox are just 2 ½ games back in the AL wild-card chase. But it remains to be seen whether the team simply can flip a switch, both in terms of performance and chemistry. One thing is for certain: Boston’s health is improving. Center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury is due back for the series opener, and righthander Clay Buchholz will be activated to start Saturday.
After losing 12 of 19 before the break, the Rays are a season-high 7 ½ games back in the AL East but just a half-game back in the wild card. The reason is simple: In those 12 losses, Tampa Bay scored a total of 30 runs. And with third baseman Evan Longoria’s return still unknown, there is little reason to expect improvement from an offense that ranks 28th in the majors in batting average (.232) and 26th in slugging percentage (.376).
So, the burden will remain on the Rays’ pitching staff, with Jeremy Hellickson, David Price and James Shields drawing the starts this weekend.

NEW YORK METS AT ATLANTA BRAVES

The Braves are tied atop the NL wild-card standings with the Cincinnati Reds, with the Mets just a half-game back. New York has won four of the six games between these teams this season, though they haven’t met since mid-April.
All-Star knuckleballer (and David Letterman guest) R.A. Dickey will start Saturday, hoping to avenge the worst beating he has endured this season. On April 18 at Turner Field, Dickey surrendered eight earned runs and served up three homers in 4 1/3 innings (he has allowed only four homers in 14 starts since then).
The Braves, who likely will try to add a starting pitcher via a trade, first will try to strike gold with a reclamation project. Ben Sheets, who hasn’t pitched in the majors since 2010 and has made only 20 starts in the majors since 2009 because of arm injuries/surgeries, will start Sunday’s series finale.
Pitching is even more of a concern for the Mets after righthander Dillon Gee had a procedure for a blood clot in his shoulder and will have what potentially could be season-ending surgery on the shoulder Friday. Gee had been scheduled to start the opener against the Braves.