Month: April 2024

The St. Louis Cardinals will head to the west coast tonight to open a 3-game set with the Oakland Athletics. The Cards, who have lost their last two, are expected to send Sonny Gray to the hill to get them back on track. Gray was lights out in his season debut against a potent Philadelphia Phillies lineup. Gray pitched 5 scoreless innings, yielding 5 hits with 5 punch outs ,and the Cardinals went on to a 3-0 win. The Athletics are expected to counter with Ross Stripling. Stripling has struggled through his first 3 starts, going 0-3 with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. I expect Sonny will be extra motivated tonight against his old team plus the Red Birds have the edge in runs scored, batting average, and hits.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Arizona Diamondbacks will go for a series win today at Chase Field when they host the St. Louis Cardinals in the rubber game of their 3-game set. The D-backs will turn to their ace, Zac Gallen, to get the job done and just like last season that is what he is doing. Gallen is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and always wants to put the screws to the team that drafted him but let him go. The Cards will counter with Miles Mikolis. He is 1-1 with a 4.77 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The Snakes have the edge in runs scored, batting average, hits, homers, and is the side to consider today.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The 8-4 Atlanta Braves and the 2-12 Miami Marlins will play the second game of their 3-game set this afternoon at LoanDepot Park. The Braves poured it on once again last night, pounding the Marlins, 8-1. Atlanta is expected to send flamethrower and southpaw Chris Sale to the hill. Sale, who has been battling injuries the last few years, appears to be back to Sale form. The future Hall of Famer is 1-0 with a respectable 3.38 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Miami is expected to turn to Max Meyer to throw strikes. Meyer has been delivering with a record of 1-0, a 2.46 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.73, and he had better be on his mark today or this Braves lineup will do damage. Atlanta is averaging just shy of 7 runs per game, averaging over 11 hits, and has a team batting average of .308 which are all the best in the majors. The bottom line is the Braves can score runs and the Marlins can’t. The Fish are averaging just over 3 runs per game and with Sale on the hill, the Braves are the side to consider.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The 6-6 Cincinnati Reds have lost their last two games but a trip to the south side tonight for a matchup with the 2-10 Chicago White Sox might be just what the doctor ordered. The expected starters for tonight’s game are lefty Andrew Abbott for the Big Red Machine and Chris Flexen for the White Sox. In two starts this season, Abbott is 0-1 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Flexen is 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP. The Reds should be able to get to Flexen. They are averaging over 5 runs per game and over 8 hits. The White Sox are just 1-4 at home and have had issues with left-handed starters. They are just 1-6 in their last 7 against southpaws and 1-8 in their last 9 against the NL Central.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

Christian Yelich and his Milwaukee Brewers will go for a series win when they wrap up their 4-game set this afternoon with the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. The Brewers are off to a great start and so is Yelich. The Brew are 8-3 and Yelich is batting .316 with 5 homers. They should be able to do some damage today against the Reds expected starter, Nick Martinez. Martinez is winless thus far with an elevated ERA of 7.20 and a 1.60 WHIP. Freddy Peralta is expected to get the nod for the Brewers. Peralta is 1-0 with a 3.09 ERA and a nasty WHIP of 0.80. He is also 5-2 in his career against the Reds with an ERA of 2.88 and 3-1 in his career at Great American Ball Park with a 2.85 ERA. Milwaukee has won 2 straight against Cincinnati and 8 of the last 10 so they have their number and are the side to consider today.
TODAY’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

After last night’s 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics at Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers have now lost three in a row but the Champs get back on the rails tonight when the two teams play the middle game of their 3-game set. The expected starter for the Rangers is southpaw Cody Bradford and he is off to a great start. Bradford is 2-0 with a 2.13 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.47. The A’s, who have won 3 straight, are expected to counter with Ross Stripling. Although winless at 0-2, Stripling has pulled his weight with a 3.75 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP but Texas is the side to consider here. The Rangers are averaging over 5 runs per game, over 9 hits, have a team batting average of .272, and Oakland is 0-4 in their last 4 against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The New York Yankees just keep on rolling. With last night’s 7-0 thumping of the Miami Marlins at the Stadium, the Yankees are now 9-2 and will go for their fourth straight win when the two clubs play the middle game of their 3-game set tonight in the Bronx. It was evident last night that the Marlins have trouble with southpaws and they will face another one tonight when Carlos Rodón takes the hill for New York. Rodón has pitched well in his first two starts, posting a 2.79 ERA, a WHIP of 1.76, and he is 1-0 in career against Miami with a 1.64 ERA. A.J. Puk is expected on the hill for the Marlins. Puk, who has always been a reliever, made two starts this year and they have not gone well. He is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.00 and a 2.83 WHIP. New York is averaging over 5 runs per game, and if Puk isn’t in the zone, the Yankees will show no mercy.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES