Month: July 2017

The Houston Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies will square off tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Brad Peacock gets the start for the Houston Astros and Philadelphia will counter with Vince Velasquez. Peacock has been on the money, with a record of 8-1, a 2.49 ERA, and the Astros are 5-0 in his last 5 road starts. Velasquez, not so good. He is 2-5, with an ERA of 5.14, and the Phillies are 2-8 in his last 10 home starts. Houston is 0-8 in their last 8 trips to Philadelphia which could explain the low number, but trends can be broken and Houston should get this one tonight.

Tonight’s Pick:

Houston Astros

Sunday night baseball will feature the St. Louis Cardinals at the Chicago Cubs in the rubber game of a 3-game set. José Quintana will be making his first start at Wrigley Field since moving to the north side. On July 16th, Quintana pitched his first game for his new team and was on his mark against Baltimore, going 7 innings, giving up no earned runs, posted a WHIP of 0.43 and the Cubs blanked the Orioles, 8-0. St. Louis will send Michael Wacha to the hill tonight. Wacha is having a great year, with a record of 7-3, an ERA of 3.71, a 1.33 WHIP but the Cardinals are 1-5 in his last 6 starts against the Cubs. Chicago is hot, winning 7 of their last 8 games and St. Louis has struggled against the Cubs. The Cardinals are 1-4 in their last 5 meetings and 1-5 in their last 6 trips to Wrigley. Edge Chicago.

Tonight’s Pick:

Chicago Cubs

The Milwaukee Brewers have now lost 6 in a row and the Chicago Cubs are breathing down their necks for the lead in the NL Central, so they better get their act together soon. The Brewers will try to end their slide today by sending Brent Suter to the hill. The southpaw is 1-1 on the season, with a 3.09 ERA, and a 1.31 WHIP in 32 innings of work. The Phillies will counter with Jeremy Hellickson. The right-hander has been steady with a record of 6-5, a 4.44 ERA and a WHIP of 1.23, however Philadelphia is just 1-6 in his last 7 starts and 1-4 in his last 5 home starts. Milwaukee is 9-3 in their last 12 trips to Philadelphia and they could have Ryan Braun back in the lineup tonight, who has batted .372, with 21 home runs and 57 RBIs in 61 games against the Phillies.

Today’s Pick:

Milwaukee Brewers

The New York Yankees will try to make it two in a row tonight against the Seattle Mariners after beating the best they have, King Felix, last night in a 4-1 victory at Safeco Field. Seattle will send Andrew Moore to the hill tonight, who has had problems. Moore has a record of 1-1, with a 5.25 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP and was drilled in his last start by the Chicago White Sox, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, which included 3 homers over just 3 innings of work. The veteran left-hander CC Sabathia will get the nod for the Yankees. CC has found his mark again, with a record of 8-3, an ERA of 3.54, a WHIP of 1.27 and has won 6 out of his last 7 starts. Sabathia has been dominant over the years against the Mariners. He is 13-6 lifetime against Seattle, with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. The Yanks are 12-2 in his last 14 starts against the Mariners and 6-0 in his last 6 starts at Safeco. I like the Bombers’ chances in this one.

Tonight’s Pick:

New York Yankees

There will be a lopsided pitching duel tonight at Camden Yards when two southpaws face off, with Cole Hamels going for the Texas Rangers and Wade Miley for the Baltimore Orioles. Hamels has been lethal over his last 3 starts, going 2-0, with a ridiculous ERA of 0.82, a WHIP of just 0.50, and has held opponents scoreless in his last 21 innings. Texas bats have been silent but if they’re going to break out of their funk, it should be tonight against Wade Miley. Over Miley’s last 3 starts, he is 1-2, with a bloated ERA of 11.25, a WHIP of 2.75, and was rocked in his last outing by the Chicago Cubs, surrendering 7 runs on 9 hits with 4 walks over 4-2/3 innings. Texas can hit lefties, going 5-2 in their last 7 games, as opposed to Baltimore, who is 3-8 in their last 11 games against southies. The Rangers have lost 4 in a row but I like their chances tonight to get back on track.

Tonight’s Pick:

Texas Rangers

The Arizona Diamondbacks finally got back in the win column with an 11-2 romp last night over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ballpark. Their odds of making it two in a row look promising tonight, when they send their ace flamethrower Zack Greinke to the hill. Greinke has been spectacular over his last 3 outings, going 3-0, with a 1.42 ERA, and a 0.74 WHIP. Greinke is 8-2 lifetime against the Reds, with an ERA of 2.21 and he last faced them on July 7th where he pitched 7 scoreless innings in an Arizona victory. Tim Adleman will tap the rubber tonight for Cincinnati and he has struggled, going 0-3 in his last 3 outings, with a 6.91 ERA, a WHIP of 1.67, and the Reds are 1-6 in his last 7 starts. Arizona acquired the slugging outfielder J.D. Martinez from Detroit and he should be in the lineup tonight. The Diamondbacks are 6-1 in Greinke’s last 7 starts and 7-2 in their last 9 trips to Cincinnati. All the numbers point to an Arizona victory.

Tonight’s Pick:

Arizona Diamondbacks

The New York Yankees are going in the wrong direction, dropping two in a row, and they are just 9-21 in their last 30 games overall. Tonight they should get back on track when they face 44-year old Bartolo Colón and the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Before he was released by the Atlanta Braves, Colón was awful, posting a record of 2-8, with an ERA of 8.14. The Yankees will counter with Luis Cessa, who is seeking his first win. Cessa comes into tonight’s game with a record of 0-3, and an ERA of 4.18. The Yankees have owned the Twins over the years, going 46-16 in the last 62 meetings, and they are 40-18 in their last 58 trips to Minnesota. The Bombers’ bats should get to Colón tonight.

Tonight’s Pick:

New York Yankees