Month: September 2018

The NL West is up for grabs and, with a win today and a Colorado loss, the Los Angeles Dodgers will own the title so losing today is not an option. The Dodgers are expected to turn to Rich Hill to throw strikes. Hill is 10-5, with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The San Francisco Giants will likely counter with southpaw Andrew Suárez. He has not pitched well this year, with a record of 7-12, a 4.22 ERA, and the Dodgers are 4-1 in their last 5 road games against southies. Todd Tichenor will be behind the dish and the Dodgers are 5-0 in their last 5 games when he is pulling the strings.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants will play a matinée today at AT&T Park. The Dodgers will turn to their ace, Clayton Kershaw, to move them closer to a post-season berth. Kershaw is 9-5, with a 2.53 ERA, and is at the top of his game. The southpaw has won 6 straight and has not lost a game since July 21st. To say Kershaw has dominated San Francisco would be an understatement. He is 13-4 with an ERA of 1.30 in his career at AT&T Park and 22-10 with a 1.58 ERA overall against the Giants. Hunter Pence’s batting average against Kershaw is .186, Evan Longoria’s is .154, and Brandon Crawford’s is .125. The Giants are expected to give the nod to Pudge’s son, Dereck Rodríguez. He has pitched well, with a mark of 6-4 and a 2.50 ERA but San Francisco is 0-6 in his last 6 starts and they are 0-4 in his last 4 turns at AT&T Park. Dodgers get it done.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Chicago Cubs are getting hot, and just at the right time, with three games left in the regular season. Today in an early one, they will host their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the best in the business will tap the rubber for the Cardinals, Adam Wainwright. Unfortunately, Wainwright’s season has been plagued by injuries and he is 2-3, with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Kyle Hendricks will get the nod for the Cubs. Hendricks, who always finds his mark, is 13-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Chicago is 4-1 in his last 5 home starts and 7-0 in his last 7 turns against St. Louis. The Cardinals have struggled at Wrigley, going 4-13 in their last 17. Consider the Cubs.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Chicago Cubs bats finally woke up last night, resulting in a 7-6 win at Wrigley over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight they will go for a series split with the Bucs before hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for the final three games of the season. The Cubs hold a half game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, who are idle today, so this is a chance for them to gain some ground. The pitchers opposing each other today will be the lefty Jon Lester for Chicago and Trevor Williams for Pittsburgh. Both have been hurling all season with similar numbers. Williams is 14-9, with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Lester is 17-6, with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. When Williams takes the hill against the Cubs, the Pirates are 1-4 in his last 5 starts and they have had issues on the road against lefties, going 8-22 in their last 30. On the flip side, the Cubs are 38-14 in Lester’s last 52 home starts and 5-1 in his last 6 turns against the Pirates. The Cubs’ fans will be in rare form tonight and with Lester on the hill, the home team is the play here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Colorado Rockies are on fire, outscoring the Philadelphia Phillies 20-4 in the first two games of their 4-game set at Coors Field. Colorado has now won 5 in a row and find themselves just half a game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. The Rockies are expected to turn to Germán Márquez to keep it rolling. Márquez is 13-10, with a 3.91 ERA, and has been mowing them down with 210 strikeouts on the season. The Phillies have lost 6 in a row and are expected to give the nod to Nick Pivetta. Pivetta’s season is one he would like to forget, with a record of 7-13 and a 4.58 ERA. Pivetta is 0-2 in his career against the Rockies, with a bloated 16.43 ERA. Not good. The Rockies are 5-1 in Márquez’s last 6 home starts and the Phillies are 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Coors Field.
TONIGHT’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES

The New York Yankees opened a 4-game set last night at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays, using the Rays’ tactic of starting relievers and it worked, resulting in a 4-1 Yankee victory. Tonight they will abandoned that and give the nod to their ace, Louis Severino. Severino, who is 18-8 with an ERA of 3.38 and a 1.14 WHIP, was spectacular in his last turn, allowing just one run in a 10-1 beating of the Boston Red Sox. Tampa’s first pitcher will be Jake Faria, who is 4-3 on the season, with a 5.17 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and the Rays are 2-5 in his last 7 home starts. Severino is 7-2 in his career against the Rays with a 3.06 ERA and the Yanks are 20-8 in his last 28 starts against the AL East. The Yankees are just 1-1/2 games up on the Athletics for the top Wild Card spot. They will have to take care of business in Tampa because it won’t be easy down the stretch when they finish the season against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Arizona Diamondbacks may be eliminated from post-season play but they would love nothing better than to put the screws to Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tonight they will have that opportunity when they open a 3-game set at Chase Field. We all know Kershaw’s track record and he has been delivering again with a record of 8-5, a 2.45 ERA, and a 1.02 WHIP. In his last 3 turns, Kershaw is 2-0, with a 2.84 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP however, the Dodgers have struggled at Chase Field, going 3-8 in their last 11 and are 3-8 in Kershaw’s last 11 starts in Arizona. The Diamondbacks will give the nod to Robbie Ray and he has been getting it done. Ray is 6-2, with a 3.92 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. In his last 3 starts, Ray is 1-0, with a 2.08 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.92. The Snakes are 4-1 in his last 5 turns and are 5-0 in his last 5 starts at home against the Dodgers. Good spot to consider the home team.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS