Month: August 2023

The two best teams in baseball, the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers, will open a 4-game set tonight at Chavez Ravine. Atlanta owns the best record in the majors, at 87-45, with LA coming in at 83-49. These teams match up well and it will come down to starting pitching. Tonight, the Braves have the edge. Spencer Strider is expected to get the start for Atlanta and he has been dealing. Strider is 12-4 on the season with a 3.46 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts it gets better. He is 3-0 with an ERA of only 0.43 and a 0.62 WHIP. The veteran Lance Lynn is expected to be on the hill for the Dodgers. Lynn is 10-9 with a 5.56 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Atlanta won the last meeting on May 24th, 4-3, and have the edge in not only pitching, but runs per game, run differential, batting average, hits, and home runs.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The 64-68 New York Yankees are on the verge of doing something that has eluded them of late and that is win a series. Tonight they will play the third game of their 4-game set with the 59-73 Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The Yankees took the first two, outscoring the Tigers, 8-3, and will send their ace and Cy Young candidate, Gerrit Cole, to the hill. Cole has been dominant as usual. He is 11-4 with a 2.95 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, is 7-1 in his career against Detroit with an ERA of 1.94, and the Bombers are a ridiculous 21-4 in his last 25 starts against the AL Central. The Tigers have lost 4 straight and will likely do a bullpen game, with Joey Wentz probably getting the first leg. Wentz, who was just called back up from AAA, is 2-10 with a 6.62 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. The Tigers have scored just 9 runs during their 4-game skid and that doesn’t bode well for them when the Yankees have a flamethrower like Cole tapping the rubber.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Baltimore Orioles took game 1 of their 3-game set with the Chicago White Sox by trouncing the South Siders, 9-0, last night at Birdland. Tonight in game 2, I expect more of the same. Chicago is 52-80 overall, a dismal 24-43 on the road, and is expected to turn to Jesse Scholtens to throw strikes, which has been an issue for the right hander. Scholtens is 1-6 on the season and over his last 3 turns he is 0-2 with a bloated ERA of 7.80 and a 1.67 WHIP. The best team in the American League, Baltimore, is expected to give the nod to Dean Kremer. Kremer is 12-5 and over his last 3 starts he is 2-1 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. With last night’s win, the Orioles are now 82-49 overall, 41-25 at Camden Yards, and the only way they lose this one is if they have a total meltdown, which is something they don’t do.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds will open an important 3-game set tonight at Oracle Park. Both teams are 1½ games back of the Arizona Diamondbacks for the last wild card spot and they match up well. The Giants are 67-63 and 36-30 at home while the Reds are 68-64 and 37-30 on the road. Tonight’s expected starters are two lefties, with Andrew Abbott for the Big Red Machine and Kyle Harrison for the Giants. Harrison will be making his second big league start. He is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP. Abbott has been the Reds go-to guy, with a record of 8-3, a 3.16 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. He last faced the Giants on July 20th when he was lights out, pitching 8 scoreless innings, yielding just 1 hit, and the Reds went on to a 5-1 victory. Consider the road dog tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

The hottest team is baseball, the Seattle Mariners, will go for a series sweep of the bottom feeding Kansas City Royals at T-Mobile Park, and they should get it. Seattle has won 10 of their last 11 and put a beating on the Royals yesterday, annihilating them 15-2. The 73-56 Mariners will send their ace, Luis Castillo, to the hill. Castillo is 10-7 with a 3.15 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and Seattle is 5-0 in his last 5 starts. The 41-90 Royals are expected to counter with Alec Marsh, whose numbers are not good. Marsh is 0-6 with a 5.57 ERA, a 1.60 WHIP, and the Royals are just 2-8 over their last 10 games. Seattle’s Teoscar Hernández and Julio Rodríguez are on fire and should get this one. Seattle will not come cheap, obviously, but is still worth considering.
TODAY’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The 70-59 Toronto Blue Jays lost the series opener to the 61-68 Cleveland Guardians last night at Rogers Centre, 5-2, and have now lost three straight, but I expect they get back on track today in game 2 of their 3-game set. Toronto is expected to send lefty Hyun Jin Ryu to the hill and he has been sharp since returning from Tommy John surgery. Ryu is 2-1 with an ERA of only 1.89, a 1.05 WHIP, and is 2-0 in his career against the Guardians with a 2.35 ERA. Rookie southpaw Logan Allen is expected to tap the rubber for Cleveland. Allen comes in at 6-6 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Jays have scored only 5 runs during their 3-game skid but that won’t last with their explosive offense.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Seattle Mariners are clicking on every cylinder and will open a 3-game set tonight against the Kansas City Royals at T-Mobile Park. The Mariners are 71-56, have won 8 of their last 10, and are now just 1 game behind Texas for the lead in the AL West. Tonight’s expected starter for Seattle is Bryce Miller. The rookie has been dealing. He is 8-4 with a 3.78 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 3, Miller is 1-0 with a 1.06 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.88, and the Mariners are 5-0 in his last 5 starts against a team with a losing record. The 41-88 Royals lost 3 of 4 to the Mariners just last week at the K and will send Brady Singer to the hill. Singer is 8-9 with a 5.04 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and was torched by the Cubs in his last turn where he gave up 6 runs on 9 hits resulting in a 6-4 Chicago win. Seattle is the side to consider here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS