Month: July 2018

The Oakland Athletics dominance over the Toronto Blue Jays continued last night by thrashing them, 10-1. The A’s will go for their sixth straight victory against the Jays when they meet again tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. Trevor Cahill will get the nod for Oakland and he has mediocre numbers at 2-2, with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, but in 5 starts at home he has an ERA of only 0.80. Sam Gaviglio will start for Toronto. He comes into tonight’s contest at 2-3, with a 4.65 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and he has not won a game since May 25th. The Jays are 8-18 in their last 26 road games and 4-10 in their last 14 trips to Oakland. The A’s playoff chances are very much alive, sitting just 5 games back of the AL West leading Houston Astros, so they need to win. Toronto’s season is over and they don’t.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

The World Champion Houston Astros are on a rare 4-game skid and will turn to their ace tonight, Gerrit Cole, to get them back on track when they open a 3-game set against the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field. Cole has been at the top of his game, with a record of 10-2, a 2.54 ERA, and a 0.98 WHIP. The Mariners are expected to turn to their flame throwing lefty, James Paxton, who is 8-4, with a 3.70 ERA, and a 1.09 WHIP. Paxton is coming off of the DL with back soreness, which could still be an issue. Houston is 9-2 in Cole’s last 11 road starts and 8-1 in their last 9 trips to Safeco. Consider Houston tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The newly acquired J.A. Happ will take the hill in the Bronx for the New York Yankees in an early one today against the Kansas City Royals. The left-hander was 10-6 with Toronto, with a 4.18 ERA, and a 1.18 WHIP. The Royals will counter with Burch Smith, who is 1-1, with a 5.58 ERA, and a 1.46 WHIP. Kansas City is 0-7 in their last 7 games against southpaws and 17-45 in their last 62 games at Yankee Stadium. Yanks win today.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies will play the third leg of their 4-game set today at Great American Ball Park. Matt Harvey will tap the rubber for the Big Red Machine for probably his last turn before being traded. Harvey has seen better days, with a record of 5-6, a 5.21 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. Over his last 3 outings, he is 1-1 with a 6.91 ERA, and a 1.67 WHIP. Harvey was ripped in his last start by the Pirates, yielding 8 runs and 4 homers in just 3-2/3 innings of work. Not good. Vince Velasquez will take the hill for the National League leading Phillies. Velasquez is 7-8, with a 4.05 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and he has been throwing flames over his last 3 turns, going 1-0, with a 0.60 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Philadelphia will have some added offensive power today when the newly acquired Asdrúbal Cabrera takes the field. Philadelphia has won 4 of the last 5 meetings with Cincinnati and should get this one.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost their last two games but should get back on track tonight because they will be at Petco Park to take on the San Diego Padres. The Padres have obviously thrown the towel in and for good reason. They have lost 8 of their last 10 and 25 of their last 33. Tonight the Friars are expected to send Luis Perdomo to the bump. Perdomo has been awful, at 1-5, with a 6.99 ERA, and San Diego is 0-5 in his last 5 home starts. Arizona has played well on the road, winning 16 of their last 23 games, and will turn to their ace, Zack Greinke, to throw strikes. Greinke has been delivering. He is 11-5, with a 3.05 ERA, and is 6-0 in his last 7 starts with a nasty ERA of only 1.57. Greinke has been a Padre killer in his career, with a record of 10-2 and a 2.14 ERA. The Snakes sit just 1-1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League West. In order to keep pace, they have to capitalize on teams like San Diego and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees have been playing mediocre baseball and that is not going to cut it if they want to keep pace with the red hot Boston Red Sox. The Yankees will have a chance to get on a roll when they open a 4-game set tonight against the Kansas City Royals in the Bronx. Sonny Gray is expected to take the hill for New York. Gray has not lived up to the Yankees’ expectations at 7-7, with a 5.34 ERA, and a 1.49 WHIP, but he has pitched well of late, winning his last 2 outings. Gray faced the Royals on May 20th and was spectacular, allowing just 1 run in a Yankee 10-1 win. Jakob Junis is expected to start for Kansas City. Junis is 5-10, with a 5.03 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and has served up 24 homers which is not a good thing when you are facing the Bronx Bombers. The Royals own the second worst record in the Majors at 31-70 and are 16-43 in their last 59 visits to New York.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Los Angeles Angels can’t seem to figure out the Chicago White Sox. The Halos lost Monday’s matchup, 5-3, and fell again to them last night, 4-2. Tonight they will meet again for the third game of a 4-game series at Angel Stadium. The Angels will call on the southpaw, Tyler Skaggs, to throw strikes. Skaggs has pitched well, with a record of 7-6, a very respectable ERA of 2.68, a 1.22 WHIP, and Los Angeles is 5-2 in his last 7 starts. The White Sox are expected to counter with the veteran, James Shields. Shields has been shaky at 4-11, with a 4.26 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and Chicago is just 5-21 in his last 26 road starts. The Angels’ superstar, Mike Trout, has been in a bit of a slump but it’s just a matter of time before he erupts and against a guy like Shields, tonight could be that night.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS