Month: July 2018

The Arizona Diamondbacks bats erupted yesterday, crushing the San Diego Padres, 20-5. Today the two teams will conclude a 4-game set at Chase Field. Arizona’s Zack Greinke got off to a slow start to begin the season but has turned it around in a big way. Greinke sits at 9-5, with a 3.36 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and has been virtually unhittable in his last 3 starts, going 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Clayton Richards will get the call for San Diego. Richards has been trudging along at 7-8, with a 4.46 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and is 1-2 in his last 3 turns, with a 5.21 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. The Diamondbacks are 22-7 in Greinke’s last 29 home starts. The Friars are 5-16 in their last 21 overall and 1-5 in their last 6 road games. A consideration on Arizona is warranted here.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees fell to the Toronto Blue Jays last night at Rogers Centre, 6-2, and Sonny Gray lost again. Today the Yanks will send a legitimate Cy Young contender to the hill, Luis Severino. Severino leads the majors in wins with 13 and has been a hitter’s nightmare. He has a 1.98 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. It is a known fact that the Yankees are interested in Toronto’s lefty, J.A. Happ, and don’t be surprised if he is wearing pinstripes before too long. Happ will take the hill today for the Jays. He is the one bright spot in Toronto’s rotation, with a record of 10-4, a 4.03 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP, but was tagged by Detroit in his last turn, yielding 7 runs on 10 hits in a 9-1 Toronto loss. The Bombers feast on lefties, going 22-6 in their last 28, and they are 4-1 in their last 5 meetings with Toronto. Yanks even the score.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

There will be a pitching mismatch tonight at “The K” when the Kansas City Royals play host to the Boston Red Sox. The American League East leaders will send their ace southpaw, Chris Sale, to the hill. Sale has been hurling flames, with a record of 8-4, a 2.41 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he has been off the charts, going 2-0, with a 0.86 ERA and a 0.52 WHIP. In his last start on Saturday against the New York Yankees, Sale pitched 7 scoreless innings, striking out 11 in a 11-0 Boston rout. Now that is domination. The Royals are expected to counter with Jason Hammel. Hammel is 2-10, with a 5.56 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and he has been hammered in his last 3 turns, going 0-3, with a 9.19 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP. With numbers like that, it could be a long night for Hammel. Boston is 31-17 on the road. They are ranked first in Runs Per Game at 5.19 and second in Team Batting Average at .266. The Royals are 11-32 at home and are ranked 30th in Runs Per Game at 3.45 and 23rd in Team Batting Average at .237. All the numbers indicate a Red Sox victory here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The San Francisco Giants will be glad to get back home after losing their last three games to the Colorado Rockies. Tonight they will open a 4-game set at AT&T Park against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants are expected to send Johnny Cueto to the hill, who missed all of May and June due to an elbow issue. Prior to going on the DL, Cueto was delivering, with a record of 3-0, a nasty 0.84 ERA, and a WHIP of just 0.69. The Cardinals are expected to counter with Luke Weaver. Weaver has been awful. He is 4-7, with a 5.16 ERA, and a 1.45 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, Weaver is 1-1, with a bloated 8.22 ERA, a 1.89 WHIP, and he was throttled in his last turn on Saturday by Atlanta, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits in just 4-2/3 innings of work. San Francisco is tough at home, with a record of 26-14, and they are 7-1 at AT&T in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record. The Giants bats have been silent but they should be able to get to Weaver tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The New York Yankees own the best home record in the Majors, at 32-13, and will go for a series victory today in the Bronx over the National League East leading Atlanta Braves. Atlanta will call on Julio Teherán to throw strikes and he is having an up and down season. Teherán is 6-5, with a 4.21 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and has served up 15 home runs (which is not good) against a team that leads the Majors in home runs. Carsten Charles Sabathia will get the nod for New York. CC is not pitching like a 37-year old. He is 5-3, with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and in the month of June, he had an ERA of only 1.93. When CC is on the rubber at the Stadium, the Yankees are 20-6 in his last 26 starts and they are 9-2 in his last 11 starts against the National League East. The Bombers have won 4 of the last 5 meetings and the way they are crushing the ball, they should come out on top in this one.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies will open a short 2-game series tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Buck Showalter’s squad owns the worst record in baseball at 24-59, and to go along with that, the worst road record in the Majors at 12-30. Alex Cobb will get the call for the Orioles and he has been getting torched. Cobb is 2-9, with a 6.75 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP, and is 0-1 in his last 3 turns with an ERA of 5.30 and a 1.39 WHIP. The Phillies will send Zach Eflin to the rubber and he has been throwing flames. Eflin is 6-2, with a 3.02 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and was a perfect 5-0 in the month of June with an ERA of only 1.76. In Eflin’s last turn on Wednesday against the explosive Yankees offense, he pitched 7 scoreless innings in a 3-0 Phillies win. Now that’s impressive. Philadelphia is 28-16 at home and 4-1 in their last 5 at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are 3-1/2 games back of the division-leading Atlanta Braves. If they want to keep pace, they cannot afford to lose to bottom feeders like Baltimore and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Los Angeles Dodgers avoided a sweep yesterday to the Colorado Rockies, thanks to the play of Matt Hemp. Kemp was on fire, tallying 3 hits, driving in 4 runs, and launching it in the eighth to put the Dodgers on top. Tonight they will open a 3-game set at Chavez Ravine against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Pittsburgh recalled Nick Kingham from Triple A Indianapolis and he will get the nod tonight. Kingham is 2-3, with a 3.82 ERA, and has struggled on the road, with a record of 1-2 and a 4.86 ERA. The Dodgers will send the lefty, Alex Wood, to the rubber. Wood is 4-5, with a 4.00 ERA, but has been lights out in his last 3 starts, going 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA. The Pirates are winless in Kingham’s last 4 turns, 1-6 in their last 7 games against southies, and 2-8 in their last 10 meetings with the Dodgers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS