Month: July 2024

The San Diego Padres and the Atlanta Braves will wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Petco Park. The Padres and Braves split the first two games of the series. If San Diego wants to go into the break on a winning note, they had better bring their A-game to the field today because Atlanta will have Chris Sale on the hill. The Condor is back to his 2018 form with a record of 12-3, a 2.74 ERA, and a nasty WHIP of only 0.94. The Friars are expected to counter with Randy Vásquez, who is 2-4 with an ERA of 4.66 and a 1.60 WHIP, and in his career against the Braves, he is 0-2 with a 4.82 ERA. These teams are similar in many ways, but the difference maker today will be the southpaw, Sale, who has never lost in his career to San Diego. Chris Sale last faced the Padres on May 20th, pitching 7 shutout innings and the Braves went on to a 3-0 win.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The best team in baseball, the Philadelphia Phillies, looked out of sorts yesterday when they fell to the lowly Oakland Athletics at home, 6-2, but they will get back on track today in the middle game of their 3-game set. Two rookies will oppose each other with Tyler Phillips getting the nod for the Phillies and Mitch Spence for the A’s. Phillips’ only outing in the Bigs was against the Atlanta Braves and he was impressive, allowing just 1 run with 7 Ks in 4 innings of work. On the flip side, Spence is 5-5 with a 4.29 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and was lit up in his last turn against Baltimore, yielding 7 hits and 5 runs in a 6-3 loss. The Phillies are 36-15 at Citizens Bank Park and rarely lose two in a row.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Miami Marlins will look to snap a 3-game skid when they head to Great American Ball Park tonight to face the Cincinnati Reds. The Marlins are not a very good team, with a record of 32-61, and on the road, they are a dismal 14-30. Tonight, they are expected to hand the ball to Yonny Chirinos to throw strikes and he is winless with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The 45-49 Reds have been playing well, winning 3 of their last 4, and are expected to give the nod to Carson Spiers. He is 2-2 with a respectable ERA of 3.64 and a 1.26 WHIP. Cincinnati’s bats have been on fire, smacking 14 hits in their 8-1 romp over the Colorado Rockies last night, and I expect more of the same tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

The AL West leading Seattle Mariners will open a 4-game set tonight with the 4th place Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim. The Mariners are coming off a 2-game sweep of the San Diego Padres and are expected to have Luis Castillo on the bump. Castillo is 7-9 with a respectable ERA of 3.72, a 1.16 WHIP, and was impressive in his last turn when in yielded just 2 hits and 1 run against the Toronto Blue Jays resulting in a 2-1 Seattle victory. On the flip side, the Angels are expected to send Jack Kochanowicz to the rubber and he will be making his big league debut. In AA this season, not AAA, he was not that impressive with a record of 5-6 and a 4.55 ERA. The Mariners swept the Angels earlier this year in a 3-game series and are 9-1 in the last 10 meetings with the Halos.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The 57-34 Baltimore Orioles were pummeled last night by the 43-49 Chicago Cubs, 9-2, but I expect they bounce back tonight when the two clubs meet again at Birdland. The first place O’s are 29-18 at Camden Yard and will have Corbin Burnes on the hill. He has been dealing, like he always does. Burnes is 9-3 with a 2.32 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and Baltimore is 4-0 in his last 4 home starts.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The Texas Rangers will go for a 3-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays today at Globe Life Field. The Rangers have owned the Rays, winning 9 of the last 10 meetings, and will have Nathan Eovaldi tapping the rubber. Eovaldi has been lights out at home and is coming off a stellar performance last Tuesday against the San Diego Padres when he yielded just one hit against the Friars and the champs went on to a 7-0 victory.
TODAY’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS