Month: June 2018

The Houston Astros streak of 11 straight road wins was snapped yesterday in a 3-2 defeat to the surging Tampa Bay Rays. The two teams meet again today in a matinée at Tropicana Field. Are the Rays playing over their heads? I think so, but they are 7-3 in their last 10 and have disposed of some powerhouse teams like the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals. The Rays skipper, Kevin Cash, will stick to his experiment of starting relief pitching. Ryne Stanek will get the start for Tampa and in 24-1/3 innings of work he is 1-1, with a 1.85 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and in his last 11-2/3 innings he has given up just 2 runs. Justin Verlander will get the nod for Houston. Verlander has been almost unhittable at 9-3, with a 1.82 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. Now that is domination. Houston is 4-0 in Verlander’s last 4 road starts and in his career, he is 8-3 against the Tampa Bay Rays. Stanek’s numbers look impressive but remember, he is a reliever and has only pitched 24-1/3 innings. When Stanek gets the start for the Rays, they are just 1-4 in his last 5 against a team with a winning record and 0-4 against the American League West. It’s hard to go against the World Champs and especially when Verlander is on the hill.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants will open a 3-game set tonight in the desert at Chase Field. Both teams will have southpaws on the hill, with Patrick Corbin getting the nod for Arizona and Andrew Suárez for San Francisco. Corbin has been on his mark, with a record of 6-3, a 3.24 ERA, a 1.00 WHIP, and is coming off a stellar performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where he struck out 12 batters in a 2-1 Diamondback win. Corbin has dominated the Giants this year, with a record of 2-0 and an ERA of just 2.32. Arizona has been on a roll, winning 8 of their last 10 games, all of which were on the road. The Diamondbacks are 4-1 in their last 5 home games against lefties and 6-0 in their last 6 games at Chase after a road trip of 7 days or more. The Giants Suárez comes into tonight’s match-up with a losing record of 2-4, a 4.43 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and the Giants are 1-4 in his last 5 road starts. San Francisco has not been good on the road at 16-26 and especially at Chase Field, where they are 2-9 in their last 11. Consider the snakes in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Seattle Mariners always seem to find a way to win and today they will go for a 4-game sweep over the lowly Baltimore Orioles in an early one at Camden Yards. Seattle will call on Mike Leake to deliver. He is 8-4, with a 4.11 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and in his last turn on Saturday against the Red Sox, he pitched 8 scoreless innings, striking out 5 and allowing just 3 hits in a 7-2 Mariners victory. Dylan Bundy was slated to start for Baltimore but was put on the disabled list so they called up Jimmy Yacabonis from AAA Norfolk. Yacabonis has pitched some relief in the Bigs but this will be his first Major League start. The Orioles, who own the worst record in baseball, have lost 4 in a row and 14 of their last 15 at home. Seattle is 5-0 in Leake’s last 5 road starts and 13-5 in their last 18 meetings with Baltimore.
TODAY’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The Boston Red Sox dominance over the Los Angeles Angels continued last night with a 9-1 shellacking at Fenway Park. Boston has won all 4 meetings against LA this year, outscoring them by a staggering 36-4. It won’t get any easier for the Angels tonight because Rick Porcello is expected to get the nod. The former Cy Young winner is in prime form. He is 9-3, with a 3.44 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and in his last turn against Minnesota he was throwing flames. Porcello allowed just 1 hit and yielded no runs over 7 innings in a 9-2 romp. The Angels are expected to counter with Andrew Heaney. Heaney has been mediocre at 4-5, with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he is 1-1, with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. If the Red Sox stay focused on tonight’s game and not the 3-game set they have coming up in the Bronx against the Yankees, they should get this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros opened a 3-game set last night at Minute Maid Park, with Toronto coming out on top, 6-3. Due to their depleted pitching staff, the Jays are expected to reach down to AAA Buffalo and call up Ryan Borucki, who will be making his Major League debut. Borucki was 6-5 in AAA, with a 3.27 ERA in 13 starts. Houston will send Charlie Morton to the rubber. Morton is having a spectacular year, with a record of 9-1, a 2.74 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and is a perfect 2-0 in his last 3 turns, with an ERA of 2.30 and a 1.34 WHIP. Houston is 6-2 in Morton’s last 8 starts and 4-1 in his last 5 turns at Minute Maid Park. Toronto has managed to put together 3 road wins in a row but let’s not forget that will make them just 4-10 in their last 14 games away from Rogers Centre. Of all teams for Ryan Borucki to face in his debut, the World Champions and in their own ball park, that has to weigh upon his mind.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Cincinnati Reds are on a roll and will be at SunTrust Park tonight to take on the Atlanta Braves. The Reds have now won 7 in a row but the last 6 of those wins have been at the friendly confines of Great American Ball Park. Tyler Mahle will get the nod for the Reds and he has pitched well. Mahle is 6-6, with a 3.89 ERA, and a 1.38 WHIP. The Braves are 22-15 at home and will counter with Mike Foltynewicz. Foltynewicz is 5-4, with an ERA of only 2.16, a 1.14 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns he is 1-1 with a nasty ERA of only 0.95 and a 0.68 WHIP. The Reds have not been good on the road, with a record of 15-22, and are just 6-14 in their last 20 against the National League East.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The New York Yankees are on the verge of being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays when they play the final game of a 3-game set today in an early one at Tropicana Field. The Yankees were blanked yesterday, 4-0, and on Friday they mustered just one run in a 2-1 loss. Where have the Yankee bats gone? The Yankees might have a future ace in Domingo Germán and he will take the hill today for the Bombers. The 25 year old Dominican has nasty stuff, getting better and better every time he taps the rubber. In his last outing against a powerful Seattle Mariner team, he struck out 9 and yielded just 2 runs over 7 innings to get the win. Prior to that, Germán faced the team he will go up against today, striking out 10 and giving up 3 runs over 6 innings to notch the victory. You never really know who the Rays are going to throw at you but they are expected to start Matt Andriese. Andriese has mainly worked out of the bullpen and is 1-3, with a 3.68 ERA, and in the month of June he has given up 6 runs over 9-2/3 innings of work, which is not good. Aaron Judge has feasted on this guy, going 7-12, with 3 homers, and 2 doubles. The Bombers should get back on track today.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES