Month: June 2026

With last night’s 6-2 loss to the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, the Cincinnati Reds have now lost five straight and it is obvious they miss Elly De La Cruz who is sidelined with a hamstring injury. Even without De La Cruz in the lineup for tonight’s second game of their 3-game set, the Reds get back on the rails. Chase Burns is expected to get the nod from Terry Francona and good things happen when he is on the hill, the Reds win. Burns is 7-1 with a 2.05 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.95, and he will keep the Padres’ bats in check, who are averaging just 3.8 runs per game which is dead last in the majors.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

The Philadelphia Phillies will be north of the border tonight when they open a 3-game set with the Toronto Blue Jays. Two southpaws are expected to get the start tonight with Cristopher Sánchez for the Phillies and Patrick Corbin for the Jays. Corbin is 2-2 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. He has not fared well in his career against the Phillies, going 6-11 with a 4.83 ERA, and was not sharp in his last turn against Atlanta, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits over 5 frames and the Braves went on to a 7-3 win. Sánchez has been nothing short of amazing. He is 7-2 with a 1.46 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and he is 3-0 in his career against Toronto with a 2.00 ERA. Sánchez went 50-2/3 innings without yielding a run until he gave up only one to the Padres in his last turn. Since April 25th, the Phillies are 27-12. They have won three straight against the Jays and have Cristopher Sánchez toeing the rubber. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will play an early one today in the Bronx. The Yankees have Cam Schlittler slated to get the start. The young phenom had a rare bad outing in his last turn against the Cleveland Guardians after allowing 5 runs on 5 hits, resulting in a 9-4 loss. Despite his last turn Schlittler is still 7-3 with an ERA of only 1.89, a 0.86 WHIP, and last faced the Red Sox back in April where he twirled a gem allowing only 1 earned run on 4 hits over 8 frames and the Yankees went on to a 4-2 win. Boston is expected to have lefty Ranger Suárez toeing the rubber. Suárez is 2-3 with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and is 1-2 in his career against the Yankees with an ERA of 4.38. The Yankees at home are always the side to consider. The Bombers are 18-12 in the Bronx, have won five of their last six meetings with the Red Sox, and feast on left-handed pitching.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Tampa Bay Rays snapped their 3-game skid last night, shutting out the Miami Marlins 6-0 in the first leg of their 3-game set at LoanDepot Park. The AL East leading Rays are expected to send their ace southpaw Shane McClanahan to the hill and he has been in the zone. McClanahan is 6-2 with an ERA of only 2.48 and a 1.02 WHIP over 55 innings of work. The Marlins are likely going with a bullpen game and Lake Bachar is expected to get the start. Bachar is winless at 0-0 with a 3.45 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP over 31.1 innings of work. The Rays are 7-1 in their last 8 interleague games, 10-1 against the NL East, and have won two straight against the Marlins and four of the last five. They also have edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average, hits, and homers. Tampa Bay can feel the heat from the New York Yankees who are just 1.5 games back of the Rays for the top spot in the AL East so they need to take care of business against sub .500 teams like the Marlins, and they know it.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds will open a 3-game set tonight at Busch Stadium. These two teams a very similar in many ways. The Cardinals are 32-28 on the season and the Reds are 31-30. Both teams are averaging just over 4 runs per game and have similar team ERAs but the edge tonight sides with St. Louis due to the expected starters. The Reds are expected to give the nod to Brady Singer, and this guy has been getting lit up. Singer is 2-5 with a bloated ERA of 6.18, a 1.69 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns it gets worse. He is 0-3 with a 7.82 ERA and a 1.82 WHIP. The Cardinals are expected to send Kyle Leahy to the hill. Leahy comes in at 5-3 with a 4.25 ERA, a 1.56 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts he is 1-0 with an ERA of 4.11 and a 1.50 WHIP.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

When Donny Baseball took over as skipper for the Philadelphia Phillies on April 28th, they were bottom feeders with a record of 9-19. Since then, they have done a complete 180^o. Philadelphia is now 32-29 and sits in the second spot in the NL East. Today in a matinée at Citizens Bank Park, they will go for another sweep of the San Diego Padres. The Phillies swept the Friars just last week in a 3-game set in San Diego and should do it again today. Philadelphia is expected to have Zack Wheeler toeing the rubber and he has been throwing flames. Wheeler is 4-1 with an ERA of only 2.27 and has one of the lowest WHIPs in the Majors at 0.85. The Padres are expected to counter with Lucas Giolito. He is 2-0 but has an elevated ERA of 4.97 and a 1.74 WHIP. The Phillies are one of the hottest teams in baseball and have the Padres’ number.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Cleveland Guardians were able to get to the New York Yankees starter Cam Schlittler last night. They dinged him for 5 hits and 4 runs over 4-1/3 innings resulting in a 9-4 win but don’t expect the same outcome tonight in Game 2 of their 3-game set at the Stadium. The Yankees are expected to have their ace, Gerrit Cole, on the hill and he has been almost unhittable. Cole has scary numbers. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00, a 0.71 WHIP, and over 12-2/3 innings of work he has yielded just 6 hits. Cole has also had success in his career against the Guardians, going 7-2 with an ERA of only 2.82. Cleveland is expected to turn to Gavin Williams to throw strikes. Williams has been delivering, coming in at 8-3 with a 3.07 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and in his career against the Yankees he is 1-1 with an elevated 4.72 ERA. New York averages over 5 runs per game, leads the league in homers and, with Gerrit Cole on the hill, the side to consider is obvious.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES