Month: June 2016

After being swept at Wrigley, the Chicago Cubs will try to right the ship when they head south to Florida to take on the Miami Marlins. Two lefties will face each other tonight, John Lester for the Cubs and Wei-Yin-Chen for the Marlins. Lester is having a stellar year, owning a 9-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Chicago boasts a road record of 22-12. They are 5-0 in Lester’s last 5 starts and 5-1 in his last 6 road starts. Miami’s Wei-Yin-Chen is 4-2 on the season, with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Chen was nailed in his last outing, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits in just 2-1/3 innings against Colorado. The Cubs have had success on the road against southpaws, going 11-2 in their last 13. Anthony Rizzo is not expected in lineup tonight for the Cubs.

Tonight’s pick:

Chicago Cubs

The lefty Cole Hamels gets the call tonight when his Texas Rangers play host to Dan Straily and the Cincinnati Reds in Arlington. Hamels is 7-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.88 and has been dominant against the Reds. In Hamels’ run with Philadelphia, he had 14 starts against Cincinnati, posting a record of 9-1 with an ERA of just 1.96. Cole was throwing flames in his last outing, yielding a meager 3 hits in 7-2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over St. Louis. Straily on the other hand, was lit up in his last contest, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits in 4-1/3 innings of work. Straily is 4-3 on the season with a respectable ERA of 3.66. Joey Votto sat out last night’s game with an illness and is questionable for tonight. The Reds were 8-22 in their last 30 against southpaws, and they are 1-8 in their last 9 interleague games against a team with a winning record.

Tonight’s pick:

Texas Rangers

The Toronto Blue Jays will try to get back on track when they host the hot Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Rogers Centre. Marco Estrada is expected on the hill tonight for the Jays. Estrada is having a quality year with a 5-2 record, an ERA of 2.58 and a WHIP of just 0.98. Toronto is 10-4 in Estrada’s last 14 home starts and 4-1 in his last 5 interleague starts. Patrick Corbin is expected to get the start for the Diamondbacks and he is 3-6 on the season with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Arizona has struggled in interleague play, going 2-6 in their last 8 and they are 1-4 in Corbin’s last 5 starts. Toronto should get this one.

Tonight’s pick:

Toronto Blue Jays

The Houston Astros will send Doug Fister to the mound tonight when they open a 3 game set against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Over his last 3 outings Fister has been delivering, going 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.03. The Angels will counter with Jhoulys Chacin who is 1-1 with an ERA of 7.04 and a 1.83 WHIP over his last 3. Houston is 9-0 in Fister’s last 9 starts and the Angels have struggled at Minute Maid, posting a dismal record of 3-9 in their last 12. Altuve has been red hot for the ‘Stros with a batting average of 3.93 in the month of June and is he is .351 lifetime against the Angels.

Tonight’s pick:

Houston Astros

The Detroit Tigers got routed in their last 2 outings but that won’t happen today. Jordan Zimmerman takes the hill for the Tigers today. He is 9-3 on the season, with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Detroit is 4-1 in Zimmerman’s last 5 road starts. Chris Young is on the other side for the Royals. He is 2-6 on the season with a 6.15 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP. Young gives up the long ball. Over his last 4 starts, he’s given up 12 dingers. Miggy should take advantage of that.

Today’s pick:

Detroit Tigers

Two Martinez’s are expected to face off today at Bush Stadium with Carlos for the Cards and Nick for the Rangers. Carlos has been red hot, winning his last 3 outings, giving up just 4 runs and yielding 15 hits in 22-1/3 innings of work. The Rangers are 0-6 in Nick’s last 3 road starts so I think the Cards cool off the red hot Rangers today.

Today’s pick:

Saint Louis Cardinals

The New York Yankees will try to make it 2 in a row when they send Masahiro Tanaka to the mound to face Pat Dean and the host, Minnesota Twins. Tanaka is 3-2 on the season with a 3.08 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Masahiro has been dominant on the road thus far, going 2-1 with a stingy ERA of 1.36. Tanaka has 2 career starts against the Twins, winning both and posting an ERA of 2.40 with 12 strike outs in 15 innings of work. Pat Dean is 1-2 on the season with an ERA of 4.17, a WHIP of 1.42 and has yet to win one at home. I like the Bombers again tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

New York Yankees