NL East Tonight

Last night, the Chicago Cubs defeated Atlanta, 4-2. But, today's another day. Javier Vazquez (5-7 3.05 ERA) will take the mound for the visiting Braves. Cubs ace, Carlos Zambrano (4-3 3.50 ERA) will be pitching for the bad guys. Atlanta will need to provide the hard luck Vazquez with some offense, if the Braves are going to avoid a 4 game losing streak. With the All Star Break just 6 days away, any moment the Braves can capture will be huge going into the second half of the season. But, Atlanta MUST find a spark for their struggling offense. If the bats don't heat up soon, this could be a very long season for the Bravos. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 eastern. If your cable provider carries WGN, you can watch their broadcast of the game. Go Braves!

As for the rest of the NL East:
Cincinnati is in Philadelphia. Starting for the Reds will be right hander, Aaron Harang. He brings a 5-8 record with a 3.86 ERA into tonight's game. Opposing him, will be 26 year old J.A. Happ. The former Northwestern Wildcat is 5-0 with an impressive 2.96 ERA for Cincinnati. The first pitch will be thrown at 7:05 eastern.

Meanwhile, the struggling Mets look to rebound from an awful ten game stretch, that has seen NY lose 8 of these games. With Manny Ramirez back from suspension, the Dodgers bring a confident squad to Metropolis. 21 year old Clayton Kershaw (5-5 3.49 ERA) takes the mound for L.A. The young south paw has allowed 5 Homeruns in 87 and 2/3 innings pitched. Opposing batters are hitting a dismal .207 against him. Mike Pelfrey (6-3 4.26 ERA) will be pitching for New York. First pitch is slated for 7:10 eastern.

Washington is at Colorado. Pitching for those annoying Nats, will be 23 year old Jordan Zimmerman. He is 3-3 with a 4.52 ERA on the season. The Rockies will rely upon South Carolina native, Jason Hammel. Hammel is 5-4 with a 3.90 ERA. First pitch is set for 8:40 eastern.

And for the nightcap, the Florida Marlins will face off against the San Francisco Giants at 10:15 eastern. Josh Johnson (7-1 2.76 ERA) will pitch for the visiting fish. San Francisco goes with left hander, Barry Zito, who is coming off a terrible outing. In his last start, Zito surrendered 5 earned runs in just 4 and 1/3 innings. Through 16 starts, opponents are batting .255 against him. Zito looks to improve upon a disappointing 4.82 ERA. The former All Star is just 4-8 with 4 no decisions at this point of the season.