Month: June 2023

The 56-26 Tampa Bay Rays will go for their third win in a row tonight when they visit the 38-41 Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. The Rays will have their ace southpaw, Shane McClanahan, on the hill and he is the best in the business. McClanahan is 11-1 with a 2.23 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Cleveland Guardians will go for a sweep of the Kansas City Royals when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. With last night’s 14-1 pummeling of the Royals, the Guardians have now won 7 of their last 9 and have a ½ game lead over the Twins for the top spot in the AL Central. Today’s expected starters are two former CY Young winners, Cleveland’s Shane Bieber and Kansas City’s Zack Greinke. Bieber has not been as sharp as he usually is but still has decent numbers, at 5-5 with a 3.69 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and he is 6-0 in his career against the Guardians. Father Time has caught up with Greinke. The future Hall of Famer is 1-8 with a 5.31 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Royals own the second worst record in the majors, at 22-58, have lost 3 straight and 20 of their last 25. Consider Cleveland.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The 48-31 Texas Rangers flexed their offensive muscle last night, scoring 8 runs on 12 hits in an 8-3 win over the 34-44 Detroit Tigers in Arlington. Tonight, in game 3 of their 4-game set, I expect more of the same. Detroit is expected to send lefty Joey Wentz to the hill and he has struggled. Wentz is 1-8 with a 6.72 ERA and a WHIP of 1.58 – not good against a Rangers team that averages over 6 runs per game. Texas is expected to counter with Dane Dunning and he has been on cruise control. Dunning is 6-1 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The Rangers are 25-14 at Globe Life Field and barring a total meltdown, will get this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The New York Yankees will open a 3-game set tonight with the Oakland Athletics at the Coliseum. Oakland owns the worst record in baseball, at 20-60, and is just 9-29 at home. New York is 43-35 and a respectable 18-16 on the road. These two teams met in the Bronx back in May when the Bombers swept the A’s in a 3-game series, outscoring them 28-10. Jhony Brito is expected to get the nod for the Yanks. He last faced Oakland on May 10th and New York went on to a 11-3 romp. Paul Blackburn is expected to tap the rubber for the Athletics. Blackburn is 0-0 with a 4.21 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. The Yankees are 4-0 in Brito’s last 4 starts. If they can’t take care of business against the worst team on the planet, changes need to be made.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Minnesota Twins will be a big dog tonight when they open a 3-game set with the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park, and understandably so. The Braves are the best in the National League with a record of 50-27 and are 24-15 at home but if anyone can slow them down it is Minnesota’s expected starter, Sonny Gray. Gray is 4-1 with an ERA of only 2.56 and a 1.30 WHIP. Atlanta is expected to counter with Spencer Strider and he can deliver. Strider is 8-2 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP but over his last 3 turns he has an ERA of 8.40 and a 1.80 WHIP. The Twins are no slouch. They are 40-39 and atop of the AL Central. They have won 4 of their last 5 and with Sonny on the hill are worth a shot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

The Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies are 39-37 and 20-14 at home, with the Mets coming in at 35-41 and 18-26 on the road. Philadelphia has not been lighting up the scoreboard like they should be but that should change today when they face the Mets expected starter, Carlos Carrasco. His numbers are not good. Carrasco is 2-3 with a 6.34 ERA, a 1.55 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts it gets worse. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 7.82 and a 1.97 WHIP. The Phillies will counter with ex-Met Zack Wheeler, who has been dealing. Wheeler is 6-4 with a 3.48 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts he is 2-0 with a ridiculous ERA of only 0.47 and a 0.78 WHIP. Philadelphia is 5-0 in their last 5 in game 3 of a series and should come out on top today against the struggling New York Mets.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The 40-37 Boston Red Sox and the 32-45 Chicago White Sox will lock horns this afternoon on the south side. Boston took game 1 of their 3-game set last night, 3-1, and are starting to get on a roll, winning 7 of their last 9. The Red Sox are expected to send leftie James Paxton to the hill. Paxton has pitched well. He is 3-1 with a 3.29 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns he is 2-0 with a 2.33 ERA and a nasty WHIP of 0.88. Lance Lynn will get the nod for Chicago. Lynn is 4-8 with a 6.51 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP, and Chicago is 1-5 in his last 6 starts against a team with a winning record. Boston has the edge in runs scored, run differential, and batting average.
TODAY’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX