Month: May 2018

The San Diego Padres will take their pathetic 6-9 road record into PNC Park tonight to open a 4-game set against the red hot Pittsburgh Pirates. Southpaw Eric Lauer will get the call for the Friars and he has been awful. Lauer is 1-2, with a bloated ERA of 8.27, a soaring 2.14 WHIP, and in his last turn he allowed 6 runs and 4 homers in just 2-1/3 innings of work. The Pirates are tough at home, with a record of 14-6, and have won 7 of their last 8 games. Tonight they send Chad Kuhl to the hill. Kuhl has pitched well at 4-2, with a slightly elevated ERA of 4.17, and a 1.35 WHIP. The Bucs are 4-1 in his last 5 overall and 5-1 in his last 6 at PNC. It could be a long night for the Padres. They are 2-7 in their last 9 games in Pittsburgh and the Pirates are 4-1 in their last 5 home games against lefties.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The Boston Red Sox are on the verge of being swept at home by the Oakland Athletics and have now fallen one game behind the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East. The Red Sox have been stranding base runners in scoring position and if you want to win games in this league, you can’t do that. Tonight they will have a chance to change that pattern when the A’s send Trevor Cahill to the rubber. The journeyman has pitched well thus far, with a record of 1-1, a 2.25 ERA, and a 0.96 WHIP. However, he does have an issue with his elbow and has struggled against Boston. In 5 career starts against the Red Sox, he has an ERA of 6.35 and has been throttled at Fenway, allowing 20 runs in 21-1/3 innings. That’s not good. Boston’s ace, hard throwing southpaw Chris Sale, will get the nod tonight. Sale has been dominant as usual, with a record of 3-1, a 2.17 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and has fanned 27 batters in his last 2 outings. That’s scary. John Tumpane will be behind home plate tonight and he has been kind to Boston. The Red Sox are 7-1 in their last 8 games when he calls the shots.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in a tailspin after being swept by the lowly Cincinnati Reds and will open a 3-game set tonight in Miami against the Marlins. The good news for the Dodgers is third baseman Justin Turner and second baseman Logan Forsythe are expected to return from the DL for tonight’s match-up. Two southpaws will oppose each other, with Alex Wood taking the hill for Los Angeles and Wei-Yin Chen for Miami. Chen has been getting lit up, with an ERA of a whopping 10.27 and a 1.95 WHIP. Wood might be 0-3 but has not pitched bad at all. He has a 3.60 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and 5 no-decisions. The Dodgers can hit lefties, going 18-8 in their last 26 road games, and they are 4-1 in their last 5 trips to South Florida. Consider the Dodgers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Two division leaders will meet in the desert tonight when the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Milwaukee Brewers play the first leg of a 3-game set. Arizona has been in a funk, losing 5 in a row, and will turn to their flame throwing lefty, Patrick Corbin, to get them back on track. Corbin has yet to lose a game at 4-0 and has an ERA of just 2.12 with a 0.82 WHIP. Milwaukee will send Junior Guerra to the rubber. Guerra sits at 2-3 and is 0-3 in his last 3 turns, with a 5.62 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP during that span. The Brewers are 2-6 in their last 8 trips to Chase Field and when Corbin is on the hill at home the Diamondbacks are 16-5 in his last 21 starts.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

After losing three in a row, the Los Angeles Dodgers are on the verge of being swept at home by one of the worst teams in baseball, the Cincinnati Reds. My question is, after last year’s blunder in the World Series when Dave Roberts started a struggling Darvish over a ready Kershaw and with the way they are performing thus far, how does this guy still have a job? He is incompetent. With that said, the Dodgers should be able to get back in the Win column today because the Reds will send Luis Castillo to the hill. Castillo has been shaky at best, with a record of 2-4, a soaring ERA of 6.47, and a 1.54 WHIP. The Dodgers will counter with the lefty Rich Hill. Hill is a top ranked hurler and has been struggling since coming off of the DL but it’s just a matter of time before he finds his groove and that will be today. The Dodgers are 7-1 in Hill’s last 8 starts against teams with a losing record and he is 4-2 in his career against the Reds with an ERA of 3.80.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

After being red hot, the New York Yankees have now lost two in a row but I see them getting back on track today when they play an early one in the Bronx against the Oakland Athletics. During their hot streak, the Bombers mowed down the best in the business – the Angels, Astros, Indians, and Red Sox. Today they will send the young upstart, Domingo Germán, to the hill. Germán has shown signs of brilliance. He possesses a 2.66 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and in his last 2 outings he has pitched 10 scoreless innings. Oakland counters with Andrew Triggs. Triggs has been an anchor for the Athletics at 3-1 but has an elevated 4.41 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and the A’s are 1-5 in his last 6 starts against the powerful American League East. The conditions today in New York are ripe for the Bombers’ bats, with a temperature of 58 degrees Fahrenheit and 11 MPH winds out of the NNE.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES