Month: August 2021

Even though the San Diego Padres appear to be spiraling out of control, they are still very much alive in the hunt for the second Wild Card spot in the NL. San Diego needs to get back on track now and who better to do that against than your hated enemy, the Los Angeles Dodgers? The Padres and Dodgers will kick off a crucial 3-game set for both teams tonight at Petco Park. Los Angeles is expected to give the nod to Julio Urías, who has been stellar all year with a record of 13-3 and a 3.29 ERA. San Diego made a bold move yesterday, firing their pitching coach, Larry Rothschild, and have not announced who will toe the rubber but we might see the return of Yu Darvish, who is 7-7 with a 3.70 ERA and knows the Dodgers well. There is no line on this one yet but I will bet the Friars will be a home dog which is just fine. San Diego has won 7 of the last 8 meetings this year with LA and the last 4 at Petco.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees are both riding a 9-game winning streak and one of them will buckle tonight when they open a quick 2-game set at Truist Park. The expected starters for tonight’s matchup are New York’s southpaw Jordan Montgomery and Atlanta’s Huascar Ynoa. Both hurlers have been delivering. Over his last 3 turns, Monty is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Ynoa is 1-1 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Atlanta has ripped off 9 straight but keep in mind those wins were against Washington, Miami, and Baltimore. Not very stiff competition. On the other hand, the Yankees 9 game run has been against Boston and the White Sox, with the only easy foe coming against the Minnesota Twins. New York is 21-5 in their last 26 overall, 6-0 in their last 6 interleague games, 6-0 in their last 6 against the National League East, 14-6 in their last 20 against the Braves, and they are a currently a dog. Consider the Bombers in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers will go for the series win today when they wrap up their 3-game set with the Washington Nationals at American Family Field. The Brewers’ bats erupted yesterday and so did All Star Christian Yelich’s, and that could be trouble for Washington’s expected starter, Sean Nolin. Nolin has made just one start this year in the Bigs and is 0-1 with a 12.00 ERA and a 2.67 WHIP. Not good. The Brewers are expected to have Adrian Houser toe the rubber and he has been on his mark. Houser is 7-5 with a 3.55 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and over his last 3 he is 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Houser is returning from COVID-19 protocol so his pitch count could be limited but that won’t matter; the Brewers have one of the best bullpens in the Majors. The Nationals, who underachieved this year and have nothing to play for, are 5-16 in their last 21 road games and 1-4 in their last 5 in Milwaukee.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The San Francisco Giants are on a rare 2-game losing streak after falling to the Oakland Athletics last night, 4-1, at the Coliseum. Today they meet again in a matinée and the Giants are expected to have their ace, Kevin Gausman, on the hill. Gausman has been throwing flames. Over his last 3 starts, he is 3-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Just the opposite can be said for the Athletics expected starter, lefty Sean Manaea. Over his last 3 starts, Manaea has imploded, going 0-2 with an ERA of 12.27 (that is not a typo) and a 2.18 WHIP. The Giants usually bounce back following a loss and I expect them to do just that today.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The St. Louis Cardinals are very much alive in the wild card hunt and should help their cause this weekend when they open a 3-game set tonight at Busch Stadium against the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis is expected to send Miles Mikolas to the rubber. Mikolas has been sidelined with arm issues and sat out all of 2020 but if healthy, and he says he is, the stuff is there. In 2018, he was 18-4 with a 2.83 ERA. Pittsburgh is expected to counter with Mitch Keller and he is having a season he would like to forget. Keller is a dismal 3-10 with a bloated ERA of 6.86 and a 1.85 WHIP. The Cardinals should win this game. They are 9-3 on the season against Pittsburgh and the Bucs have just one win in their last 14 games.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The New York Yankees are surging and coming off a 3-game sweep of their hated rival, the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees have won 6 straight and are 18-5 in their last 23 overall. Tonight they open a 4-game set with the Minnesota Twins in the Bronx, a team they have literally dominated over the years and especially at Yankee Stadium, where they are 40-11 in the last 51 meetings. John Gant is expected to take the bump for Minnesota. Gant is 4-6 with a decent ERA of 3.49 and a 1.52 WHIP. New York will counter with Jameson Taillon and he has been delivering. Taillon got off to a rocky start but has turned things around dramatically. He is 7-4 on the season with a 3.89 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and is 6-0 in his last 11 starts with an ERA of just 2.37. The Bombers are hot, ride them ’til they’re not.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

This is not the time for the AL West leading Houston Astros to go cold, with the Oakland Athletics just 2-1/2 games back of them for the top spot in the West, but they have. Houston has lost 3 straight and the first 2 of their 4-game set with the Kansas City Royals but I expect them to get back on track tonight. Houston’s ace, Zack Greinke, is expected to get the nod at Kauffman Stadium. Greinke has been throwing flames all year. He is 11-3 with a 3.51 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and was nearly flawless in his last outing on Friday against the Angels, pitching 7 scoreless innings, surrendering just 2 hits in a 4-1 Astros win. Brady Singer is expected to get the nod for the Royals. Things have not gone well for Singer. He is 3-8 with a 5.42 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP, and has not had a win since June 1st. Kansas City is 0-7 in Singer’s last 7 home starts against a team with a winning record and despite their recent success against the Stros, they are still just 4-11 in their last 15 meetings with Houston.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS