Month: June 2021

The 42-30 Chicago White Sox, who are leading the AL Central, had better right the ship and soon because the Cleveland Indians are breathing down their necks. Chicago squandered a 7th inning lead last night to the 26-45 bottom-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-3, which now makes it 5 straight losses for the White Sox. Today they will get a chance to avenge yesterday’s loss when the two teams meet again in a matinée at PNC Park. The White Sox are better than the Bucs in runs per game, batting average, hits, home runs and I could go on. Dylan Cease, 5-3 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.90 WHIP, is expected to get the start for Chicago. The White Sox are 8-0 in his last 8 starts against a team with a losing record. It’s just a matter of time until the White Sox hitters start barreling it and they should be able to do just that today against the Pirates expected starter, Chase De Jong, who is 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The Seattle Mariners are clicking on every cylinder, winning 4 in a row and 7 of their last 8. Tonight they will host the Colorado Rockies, who are horrendous on the road. The Rocks are 5-27 away from Coors Field and their chances of making it 6-27 tonight look slim. Colorado is expected to have lefty Kyle Freeland tapping the rubber and he is a far cry from what he once was. The southpaw is 0-2 with an ERA that has ballooned to 9.58 and a 2.27 WHIP. Chris Flexen is expected to get the nod for Seattle. Flexen is 6-3 with a 4.12 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and was sharp in his last outing, pitching 8 scoreless innings against the Minnesota Twins resulting in a 10-0 rout. The Mariners are 23-15 at T-Mobile, where they are also 4-0 in their last 4 against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The New York Mets lost 3 out of 4 to the Washington Nationals over the weekend but the good news is they return to Citi Field today for a doubleheader with the Atlanta Braves. The Mets are 20-7 at home this year and are expected to send the best pitcher on the planet to the bump in Game 1, Jacob deGrom. His numbers are off the charts, with a record of 6-2, a 0.54 ERA and a 0.51 WHIP. That’s nasty. The Braves lost 3 of 4 earlier this year to the Mets and were outscored, 24-11, during that span. Ian Anderson is expected to tap the rubber for Atlanta in Game 1 and he is a respectable 4-3 with a 3.58 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Atlanta has played better of late but are still upside down on the season, at 33-36, and are 13-16 on the road.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK METS – GAME 1

After yesterday’s ninth inning comeback at Camden Yards, the Toronto Blue Jays will have plenty of momentum going into today’s rubber match with the Baltimore Orioles. In addition to that, the Jays will have their ace on the hill, southpaw Hyun-jin Ryu. Ryu is 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and Toronto is 4-1 in his last 5 road starts. Matt Harvey is expected to get the start for the Orioles and he has not pitched well. Harvey is 3-8 with a 7.76 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP, and that is not good against a Jays team that averages over 5 runs per game. Baltimore is just 12-22 at the Yard and 1-7 in their last 8 at home against Toronto.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The 38-29 Cleveland Indians fell to the 24-44 Pittsburgh Pirates last night in Pittsburgh, 11-10, but the Indians are a resilient team. Cleveland is 10-1 in their last 11 following a loss and will look to get even with the Pirates today at PNC Park. Two winless pitchers are expected to oppose each other today, with Cal Quantrill getting the nod for the Indians and Will Crowe for the Bucs. Quantrill is 0-2 but has a respectable 3.11 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP as opposed to Crowe, who is 0-4 with a bloated ERA of 6.75 and a 1.61 WHIP. Pittsburgh sits dead last in the NL Central and are just 14-19 at home. Cleveland is by far the superior team and they know they have to beat teams like Pittsburgh if they want to catch the AL Central-leading Chicago White Sox, who are 3½ games up on the Indians.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

Both the Baltimore Orioles and the Toronto Blue Jays are in need of a win and will meet tonight when the Orioles host the Jays at Camden Yards. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann (4-4, 4.83 ERA) is expected to get the nod for Baltimore and had better be in top form if the Orioles hope to end their 8-game skid against the talented Toronto Blue Jays. Toronto has won their last 6 trips to Baltimore but have a depleted bullpen so expected starter southpaw Robbie Ray (4-2, 3.45 ERA) will need to go deep in the game and if he does the Jays should come out on top. The Orioles are just 11-21 at home and 1-7 in their last 8 against a left-handed starter. The Jays were just swept by the Yankees in Buffalo, but were in every game, and if not for some fielding blunders the outcome would have been different.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The New York Mets will go for a 4-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs tonight at Citi Field. New York is a dangerous team at home, with a record of 20-6, and will turn to Marcus Stroman to throw strikes. Stroman comes into tonight’s game with a record of 6-4, an ERA of just 2.32 and a 1.08 WHIP. Chicago will counter with Kyle Hendricks to try to stop the bleeding. Hendricks is 8-4 but has a mediocre ERA of 4.46 and a 1.35 WHIP. At home, the Cubs get it done but take them out of Wrigley and they are 14-20. The Metropolitans are hot, winning 6 of their last 7, and are 5-0 in their last 5 against the National League Central.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS