Month: September 2025

The 80-76 Cincinnati Reds have won five straight and are now tied with the New York Mets for the last NL wild card spot and hold the tie breaker over New York should the two clubs remain even at the end of the regular season. The Reds will look to keep it rolling when they open a 3-game set with the 67-89 Pittsburgh Pirates tonight at Great American Ball Park. The expected starter for the Reds is Brady Singer. Singer is 14-10 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Over his last three turns, it gets better. He is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA, a barely visible WHIP of 0.98, and Cincinnati is 6-0 in his last 6 home starts. The Bucs are expected to give the nod the Johan Oviedo, who is 2-0 with a 3.52 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, but that’s over just 30 innings of work. The Big Red Machine have won the last two meetings with the Pirates who are a dismal 23-52 on the road and Cincinnati is 6-0 in their last 6 games at Great American Ball Park.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

After taking two out of three from the Chicago White Sox over the weekend on the south side, the San Diego Padres return home tonight to open a 3-game set with the Milwaukee Brewers at Petco Park. The Brewers have clinched the NL Central and are on their way to finish the season with the best record in all of baseball. Will they put the brakes on for the final six games? It is very possible. On the other hand, the Padres have a magic number of two to secure a playoff spot and they will be extra motivated to get it done at home for their loyal fans. Tonight’s expected starters are two flamethrowers, with Freddy Peralta getting the nod for the Brewers and Nick Pivetta for the Padres. Peralta is 17-6 with a 2.65 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. Pivetta has similar numbers, at 13-5 with a 2.81 ERA and an outstanding WHIP of only 0.96. The Friars are tough at home with a record of 47-28. They are expected to get a boost to their lineup when Xander Bogaerts returns tonight at short. San Diego knows they can beat these guys and did so back in June, winning two out of three in Milwaukee.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The 85-70 Detroit Tigers once owned the best record in all of baseball and seemed to be a lock to win the AL Central but boy have things changed. The Tigers have lost 5 straight, 8 of their last 9, and are on the verge of being swept at home by the 72-83 Atlanta Braves. To make matters worse, the surging Cleveland Guardians are just 1 game back of Detroit for the lead in the AL Central. Today in the final game of their 3-game set with Atlanta at Comerica Park, the Tigers will turn to Casey Mize to get them back in the win column and he is up for the challenge. Mize has had a great year, with a record of 14-5, a 3.88 ERA, and a 1.27 WHIP. The Braves seem to be reveling in playing the spoiler role, winning 7 in a row. They will give the nod to Spencer Strider and Detroit should be able to put up some runs against him. Strider is 6-13 with a 4.84 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Tigers cannot lose this matinée with the Braves, or they are in major trouble. Up next for Detroit is a 3-game set with the Guardians in Cleveland and they finish the regular season against the Red Sox in Boston. Detroit cannot lose this game!
TODAY’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The New York Yankees had a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the Toronto Blue Jays last night for the lead in the AL East who were pummeled by the Kansas City Royals last night (20-1), but they did not. New York fell to the Baltimore Orioles, 4-2, due to another poorly managed game by Aaron Boone and sloppy play in the field. Tonight in Game 2 of their 3-game set with the Orioles at Birdland, the Yankees will send lefty Carlos Rodón to the hill. The southpaw is 16-9 with a 3.11 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and the Orioles are 0-4 in their last 4 games against a left-handed starter. Baltimore is expected to turn to Tomoyuki Sugano to throw strikes. Sugano is 10-8 with a 4.39 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Yankees have the edge in runs scored, run differential, hits, homers, etc., etc., etc. New York wins this game if: Aaron Boone lets Rodón go deep in the game, has Cody Bellinger in left, Trent Grisham in center, Aaron Judge in right, Ryan McMahon at third, Anthony Volpe at short, Jazz Chisholm Jr. at second, Paul Goldschmidt at first, Ben Rice catching, and Giancarlo Stanton as the DH, the Bombers cruise to an easy victory; but you never know what Boone is going to do.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Texas Rangers are 4 games back of the final AL wild card spot with only 9 games left in the regular season, but they are still alive. Texas will need to go on a run, and it will have to start tonight at home against the red hot Miami Marlins. The Marlins are 6 games back of the last NL wild card spot. Barring a miracle, Miami’s season is pretty much over but they have been playing their best baseball of the season, winning 3 straight and 6 of their last 7. Tonight the Marlins are expected to send Janson Junk to the hill. Junk is 6-3 with a 4.49 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The Rangers have lost 4 straight but at Globe Life Field they are an impressive 47-28. They will have Tyler Mahle toeing the rubber and he has been delivering. Mahle is 6-3 with an ERA of only 2.24 and a 1.13 WHIP. Texas has won 5 of their last 6 with Miami, and the best skipper in the business, the Rangers Bruce Bochy, will not go down without a fight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The 93-59 Milwaukee Brewers have clinched a playoff spot but not the NL Central, so they still have work to do. Tonight they will go for a 3-game sweep of the visiting 69-83 Los Angeles Angels and should get the job done. Over their first two games the Brewers have outscored the Angels 18-4. Milwaukee is expected to have Quinn Priester toeing the rubber and he is not in the habit of losing. Priester is 13-2 with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Los Angeles is expected to give the nod to Yusei Kikuchi who is 6-11 with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. Milwaukee is 7-0 in Priester’s last seven starts against a team with a losing record and the Angels have lost their last six overall and seven straight road games.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Houston Astros will look to sweep the Texas Rangers tonight at Daikin Park when they wrap up their 3-game set, but not so fast. The Rangers will have Jacob deGrom on the hill. The future Hall of Famer has been in the zone this year like every year. He is 12-7 with an ERA of just 2.82 and a WHIP of only 0.92. The Astros are expected to counter with Cristian Javier, and this guy is hittable. Javier is 1-3 with a 4.79 ERA and 1.29 WHIP. The Rangers are still in the wild card hunt but sit 3.5 games back for the final spot with only 10 games left so losing is not an option. Houston will be without Yordan Alvarez which hurts, and they are 0-5 in their last 5 games in Game 3 of a series.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS