Month: September 2017

Baseball is a streaky sport and after losing 3 in a row, Boston is now on a 3-game run. The Red Sox should make it 4 in a row tonight when their ace southpaw, Chris Sale, takes the mound at Fenway to face Matt Andriese and the Tampa Bay Rays. Sale is 15-7, with an ERA of 2.85, and he mowed down the Rays on August 8th, throwing 8 scoreless innings with 13 strikeouts and giving up just 2 hits. Matt Andriese is 5-2 with a 3.78 ERA. The Rays are 1-5 in his last 6 road starts and they are 4-10 in their last 14 trips to Fenway. Boston is 4-0 in Sale’s last 4 turns against a team with a losing record and 6-2 in his last 8 home starts.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Seattle Mariners have lost 3 in a row and now sit 4 games back of the second AL Wild Card spot so they had better start winning games. It’s not do or die time but its getting close. Their AL West rival, the Los Angeles Angels, will make the trip to Safeco Field to open a 3-game set tonight and the Mariners have a good chance of taking game 1. Newly acquired Mike Leake, from the Cardinals, will tap the rubber for Seattle. Leake is 8-12, with an ERA of 4.14, but was lights out in his first 9 starts with St. Louis, posting an ERA of 1.91, and in his lone start for Seattle, he is 1-0, with an ERA of 2.57, and a 1.29 WHIP. Mike Scioscia will send Ricky Nolasco to the hill. Nolasco is a dismal 6-12, with an ERA of 5.08, and he is lucky to have that. The Angels are 3-10 in Nolasco’s last 13 starts on 5 days’ rest and Nelson Cruz has been a Nolasco-killer, going 11 for 25 with 4 homers. Both teams need this game but Seattle needs it more and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost another one last night, falling victim at home to the Arizona Diamondbacks and bringing their skid to 6 games, but that should end tonight when they open a 4-game set at Chavez Ravine against the Colorado Rockies. The Dodgers have won 5 of the last 6 meetings with the Rockies and are expected to send the best pitcher in baseball to the hill, Clayton Kershaw. What can you say about Kershaw? Just that he is 16-2 on the season, with an ERA of 1.95, a WHIP of 0.86, and he is 21-6 lifetime against the Rockies. In his last 3 starts, Kershaw is 2-0, with an ERA of 0.00, and a 0.73 WHIP. That’s scary. The Rockies are expected to send Jon Gray to the rubber. Gray has a 6-4 record, with an ERA of 4.26, and a WHIP of 1.43. In his last 3 outings, Gray is 1-2, with a very respectable ERA of 2.55, and a 1.25 WHIP. The Rockies are 2-5 in their last 7 overall, 6-14 in their last 20 against the National League West, and are 1-4 in Gray’s last 5 road starts against a team with a winning record. The number in this one is high and it should be, because everything points to a Dodgers victory.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

It took the Boston Red Sox 19 innings last night against the Toronto Blue Jays to end their 3-game skid and I like their chances to make it two in a row tonight when they face the Jays in the rubber game of a 3-game set at Fenway. Doug Fister has been outstanding for Boston in his last 3 starts, going 2-1, with a stingy ERA of 1.57, and has coupled that with a WHIP of just 0.65. Joe Biagini will get the nod for Toronto and in his last 3 outings, he posted a record of 0-2, with a 6.75 ERA, and a 1.88 WHIP. Biagini has pitched a total of 11 innings against Boston this year, which includes 1 start, and has allowed 7 runs on 12 hits during that span. The Jays are 0-4 in his last 4 starts and they are 1-4 in the last 5 meetings with Boston. Shane Livensparger will be behind the dish tonight and home teams are 4-0 in his last 4 games when he is pulling the strings.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Milwaukee Brewers took the loss yesterday at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park but I like their chances to even the score tonight when Zach Davies takes the hill in the second game of a 3-game set. Davies has a record of 16-7, with an ERA of 3.85. The right-hander has allowed just 3 earned runs in his last 4 starts and has been lethal on the road, where he boasts a record of 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA. The Reds will call on Robert Stephenson to throw strikes. Stephenson owns a record of 3-4, with a 5.52 ERA and has 3 career appearances against Milwaukee with an inflated ERA of 7.94. The Reds are 3-8 in their last 11 home games against a team with a winning record and 0-4 in Stephenson’s last 4 starts against a team with a winning record. The Brewers Ryan Braun has been hot, going 5-8 in his last 2 games.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Arizona Diamondbacks are red hot, winning their last 9 games, but I see that coming to an end today when they take on the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Zack Godley will tap the rubber for Arizona and in his last 3 outings, he is 1-2, with an ERA of 5.51, and a 1.59 WHIP. The Rockies will counter with Germán Márquez. Márquez is 1-0 in his last 3 starts, with an ERA of 4.50 and a 1.44 WHIP. Colorado is 8-2 in his last 10 outings and 9-0 in his last 9 home starts.
TODAY’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES