Month: May 2017

The Toronto Blue Jays lost their last two games to the Atlanta Braves at Rogers Centre but they hope to fare better now that the series has switched to SunTrust Park in Atlanta. The struggling Jays should get a boost in their lineup today as Troy Tulowitzki is expected to return. Toronto will send Joe Biagini to the hill and he is 1-1, with a 2.28 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Atlanta will counter with Mike Foltynewicz and he is 1-4, with a 4.04 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and Alanta is 1-5 in his last 6 starts. I like Toronto tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Toronto Blue Jays

The Los Angeles Dodgers will try to even the score tonight with the San Francisco Giants when they play the second leg of a 3-game set at AT&T Park. Two lefties will face off tonight, with Rich Hill going for the Dodgers and Ty Blach for the Giants. Hill is 1-1, with an ERA of 3.38. The Giants Blach is winless at 0-2, with a 4.88 ERA, and San Francisco is 0-4 in Blach’s last 4 starts. The Dodgers can hit lefties, going 5-0 in their last 5 against southpaws. The Giants will be without Hunter Pence tonight, who is out with a hamstring issue. I like the Dodgers in this one.

Tonight’s pick:

Los Angeles Dodgers

Two flame throwers will square off today when Chris Archer and the Tampa Bay Rays travel to Progressive Field to face Carlos Carrasco and the Cleveland Indians. Both of these hurlers have been on their game. Chris Archer is 3-1, with an ERA of 3.04, and a WHIP of 1.12 but has struggled against Cleveland. In 5 career starts against the Tribe, Archer is 0-5 with an ERA of 5.14. Carlos Carasco has been lights out for Cleveland, with a record of 4-2, a 1.86 ERA, and a WHIP of just 0.77. Cleveland’s slugger Edwin Encarnación is 1-17 in his last 5 games and it’s just a matter of time before he gets back on track. Tampa Bay is 1-10 in their last 11 meetings with Cleveland and 0-4 in their last 4 trips to Progressive Field. The numbers say Indians in this one.

Tonight’s pick:

Cleveland Indians

The ex-Yankee Ivan Nova will take the hill for the Pittsburgh Pirates today as they try to make it two in a row against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Robby Ray is slated to start for Arizona and over his last 3 outings he has been mediocre at best, with a 5.09 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and Arizona is 0-4 in his last 4 starts against the National League Central. Nova has been on his mark. In his last 3 starts he has a 2.53 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP and Pittsburgh is 11-4 in their 15 meetings with the Diamondbacks. Jerry Meals is behind the dish today and Arizona is 1-5 in his last 6 when he is pulling the strings. Good dog bet here.

Today’s pick:

Pittsburgh Pirates

I still like the Washington Nationals over the Philadelphia Phillies tonight. Refer to yesterday’s blog because nothing has changed except each team had an extra days’ rest. Tanner Roark is still expected on the hill for the Nationals and Nick Pivetta for the Phillies. The forecast for DC tonight is cloudy, with a temperature of 56, and winds out of the NNW at 10 mph. They will get this one in tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Washington Nationals

The game tonight between Philadelphia and Washington has been postponed.

The Philadelphia Phillies open a 3-game set tonight in Washington and the edge goes to the Nationals in this one. The Phillies are 5-11 on the road, 1-7 in their last 8 overall, and 1-5 in their last 6 trips to Washington. Nick Pivetta gets the nod tonight for Philadelphia and he is 0-2, with a 5.40 ERA, a 1.90 WHIP and faced the Nationals on May 5th, where he yielded 4 runs on 9 hits, 3 of which were homers, in 5 innings of work. The Nationals are at the top of the National League East at 22-12 and are 10-6 at Nationals Park. Tanner Roark will be on the rubber for Washington. Roark is 3-1, with a 3.46 ERA, a WHIP of 1.15, and the Nationals are 12-5 in his last 17 home starts. Washington will be well rested after last night’s rain out with Baltimore.

Tonight’s Pick:

Washington Nationals