Good week for pitchers

The overall numbers say that this week's major league schedule is fairly even. Sixteen teams are scheduled to play six games and 14 to play seven. However, batters and relief pitchers for four American League teams (White Sox, Indians, Yankees and Athletics) will have an advantage over the AL's other 10 teams that would be playing just six games. The opposite is the case in the National League -- where 10 teams are scheduled for seven games while the Diamondbacks, Braves, Cubs, Padres, Giants and Nationals would play six.

Five teams are scheduled to play seven games at home: the White Sox, Marlins, Astros, Dodgers and Cardinals. Another six -- Tigers, Mariners, Blue Jays, Braves, Padres and Nationals -- would play all six of their games at home. Of those 11 home parks, only the White Sox play in a park that favors batters greatly, and just Detroit and Washington play in pretty good hitters' parks. In contrast, St. Louis, Seattle and San Diego have very good pitchers' parks. The stadiums in Florida, Houston, Toronto and Atlanta, along with Dodger Stadium, also favor pitchers. On the whole, it should be a better week for pitchers than for batters.

Scheduled to start twice at home are RHPs Bartolo Colon, Gavin Floyd, Rick Porcello, A.J. Burnett, Roy Halladay, Kenshin Kawakami, Burke Badenhop, Roy Oswalt, Felipe Paulino, Hiroki Kuroda, Todd Wellemeyer, Mitchell Boggs, Jake Peavy and Craig Stammen, and LHPs Jarrod Washburn, Andrew Miller and Randy Wolf. My highest recommendations are Halladay, Peavy and Wolf, with Kawakami as a live longshot.