Month: July 2018

The Los Angeles Dodgers lost in extra innings last night to the Los Angeles Angels, 5-4. Today the two teams meet again in a matinée at the Ravine for the final game before the break. The Dodgers will send the best they have to the rubber, southpaw Clayton Kershaw. Is Kershaw back to his true form? I would say so. In his last 3 turns, he is 2-0, with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP. Kershaw has dominated Trout and company. The Dodgers are 5-0 in his last 5 starts against the Halos and 4-0 in his last 4 turns against them at home. Pitching has been an issue for the Angels and they will reach into the barrel today to send Deck McGuire to the hill. McGuire is 0-1, with a 6.10 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP in 20-2/3 innings of work, which is not good. The Angles are just 4-13 in their last 17 games against lefties so it could be a long day for them.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Philadelphia Phillies’ Aaron Nola has become one of the top flamethrowers in the Majors. Nola will be on the hill today at Marlins Park to face Trevor Richards and the Florida Marlins. The Phillies #1 pick in the 2014 draft has been paying off. Nola is 12-2, with a 2.27 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 3 turns, he is a perfect 3-0, with a nasty ERA of only 0.83 and a WHIP to match at 0.83. Nola last faced Florida back in May and was dominant, pitching 7-1/3 scoreless innings in a 6-0 Philadelphia victory. Trevor Richards will get the call for Florida. He has not been productive at 2-5, with a 5.24 ERA, a 1.61 WHIP, and in his last 3 starts he is 0-1, with a 6.39 ERA and a 2.21 WHIP. Philadelphia is 8-3 in their last 11 meetings with the Marlins and 7-3 in their last 10 trips to Miami. The National League East leaders should get this one.
TODAY’S PICK: FLORIDA MARLINS

The Arizona Diamondbacks will limp into SunTrust Park tonight for a 3-game set against the Atlanta Braves. Arizona lost their last two games to the Colorado Rockies and were outscored, 24-3. Zack Godley will be called upon tonight to right the ship. Godley is 10-6, with a 4.80 ERA, a 1.56 WHIP, and he had better go deep in the game because the Diamondbacks bullpen was tagged for 14 runs on Wednesday and 3 yesterday. Atlanta counters with Aníbal Sánchez. Sánchez is 4-2, with a 2.72 ERA, and a 1.04 WHIP. The Braves are 7-2 in his last 9 starts and they are 6-1 at home against a team with a winning record. The Snakes are 2-5 in their last 7 meetings with the Braves and 8-20 in their last 28 in Atlanta. I like the home team in this situation.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The New York Yankees will be in Cleveland tonight to take on the Indians for the final series before the All-Star break. Two of the best pitchers on the planet will oppose each other, with Luis Severino getting the nod for the Yankees and Corey Kluber for the Indians. Severino has the most wins in the Majors at 14, with just 2 losses. His ERA is 2.12, with a 0.96 WHIP, and he is a perfect 3-0 in his last 3 turns, with a 1.45 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Kluber sits at 12-4, with a 2.49 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, but in his last 3 starts he is 1-1, with an elevated ERA of 5.52 and a 1.43 WHIP. New York is 6-1 in Severino’s last 7 road starts and the Yanks swept the Indians in a 3-game set at Yankee Stadium back in May. Cleveland is 1-4 in their last 5 games overall and 1-4 in their last 5 against the American League East. Edge Bombers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Boston Red Sox will go for the series sweep over the visiting Texas Rangers and their ninth straight win, and the chances of that happening look very promising because Chris Sale will take the mound for Boston. Sale has been off the charts, going 3-0 in his last 3 turns, with a ridiculous ERA of only 0.45, and a WHIP of just 0.65. Texas will counter with 45 year old Bartolo Colón. Colón has surprised everyone and is having a pretty good year at 5-6, with a 4.65 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and in his last 3 starts he is 1-2, with a 3.60 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. Not bad for a guy that was pretty much written off last year. The Red Sox have won the last 5 meetings overall with the Rangers and the last 6 meetings at Fenway. Boston has too many weapons for Texas and with Sale on the hill, the Red Sox should get the win.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Miami Marlins went to extra innings last night with the host team Miami coming out on top, 4-3. The Brewers, who have won 6 of their last 10, will try to even the score tonight when the two teams hook up again for the second game of a 3-game set at Marlins Park. Jhoulys Chacín will get the nod for the Brewers. Chacín is having a productive year at 7-3, with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 104 innings of work. Miami is expected to counter with Pablo López, who will be making his third Big league start. López is 1-0, with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 11 innings of work. He did not look good in his last outing when he was spotted a 9 run lead against the Washington Nationals and gave up 5 runs over 5 innings, with the Nationals rallying for a 14-12 win. The Brewers are 11-4 in Chacín’s last 15 starts, 4-0 in his last 4 turns against the National League East and the Brewers have won 5 of the last 6 meetings with the Marlins.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees will play a doubleheader today at Camden Yards. The first game will have New York sending southpaw C.C. Sabathia to the rubber and Baltimore is expected to go with Jimmy Yacabonis. Yacabonis was once again called up from Triple A Norfolk. In his Big League appearances, he is 0-0, with a 8.53 ERA, and a 2.37 WHIP. Sabathia is 6-3, with a 3.02 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP. The Yanks are 11-5 in their last 16 meetings with the Orioles and 4-1 in their last 5 trips to Camden Yards. Baltimore owns the worst record in baseball, a dismal 12-29 at home, and have now lost 6 in a row. I like the Bombers in the first one.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES