Author: Roger

The Boston Red Sox will go for their fifth straight win and a series sweep of the San Francisco Giants when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Fenway. Boston has outscored San Francisco over the first two games, 10-2, and is expected to turn to Josh Winckowski to keep it rolling. Winckowski is 1-1 on the season with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP over 18 innings of work. Kyle Harrison is expected to take the mound for the Giants. He comes in at 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 33 innings of work. The Giants are just 1-6 in their last 7 interleague road games and the Red Sox have the edge in runs per game, batting average, hits, homers, etc., etc., etc.
TODAY’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Philadelphia Phillies will go for a series win when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon with the Los Angeles Angels at Angel Stadium. The Phillies are expected to have their ace on the hill, Zack Wheeler. Over his last 3 starts Wheeler has been dealing, going 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. The Angels are expected to counter with Patrick Sandoval and over his last 3 starts, not so good. Sandoval is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP, which doesn’t bode well when you have the worst bullpen in the league. Philadelphia has played well on the road, at 10-5, and LA will be without Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The 15-13 Minnesota Twins will go for their ninth win in a row when they face the 6-23 Chicago White Sox tonight in the second game of their 3-game set on the south side. The Twins’ recent success, with the exception of the 3-game sweep of the Angels, has been at the hands of the White Sox, winning all 4 in Minnesota last week and taking game 1 last night in Chicago. Tonight’s expected starter for the Twins is Simeon Woods Richardson and he has been delivering since he was called up. The young gun is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of only 1.00. The White Sox are expected to have Michael Soroka on the hill and he is not off to a good start. Soroka is 0-3 with an elevated ERA of 6.83, a 1.69 WHIP, and Chicago is 1-5 in his last 6 starts. The Twins have the edge in every conceivable category imaginable and the only way they lose this one is if they just take it for granted.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

Who is the hottest team in the Majors right now? You would have to say the New York Yankees. The Bombers just took two straight from a really good Milwaukee Brewers team in Milwaukee, outscoring them by a ridiculous number of 30-8. Tonight the Yankees will travel to Camden Yards to open a 4-game set with the Baltimore Orioles. Expected starters are Clarke Schmidt for the Yankees and Grayson Rodriguez for the O’s. Schmidt has pitched well, with a record of 2-0, a 3.55 ERA, and a 1.46 WHIP. Rodriguez is 3-1 with a 4.45 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and was roughed up in his last turn by the LA Angels, yielding 7 runs on 11 hits over 4-1/3 innings of work resulting in a 7-4 loss. The Bombers’ bats are on a fire and should be able to get to Rodriguez tonight. As long as Aaron Boone doesn’t rest some of his hot hitters, which he has a tendency to do once they get in the zone, the Yanks should come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The 13-15 Tampa Bay Rays are on the verge of being swept by the 5-22 Chicago White Sox today in an early one on the south side. But not so fast. The Rays are definitely in a slump but that happens in baseball and doesn’t last forever. Today’s expected starters will be Zack Littell for the Rays, who is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA, and Erick Fedde for the Sox, who is 1-0 with a 2.73 ERA. The Rays are the better team on the field today by far. They have the edge in runs scored, batting average, hits, homers and team ERA. If Tampa Bay gets swept today, the blame falls on management and maybe something needs to change.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

With the Oakland Athletics 3-2 win over the Baltimore Orioles last night at Birdland, the A’s have now won two straight. This is not the same team as a year ago. The Athletics are also coming off a series split with the Yankees in the Bronx but they will come back down to earth today at the Yard. The Orioles will have Cole Irvin on the hill and Baltimore is 6-1 in his last 7 home starts. The Orioles are averaging over 5 runs per game and the Athletics are under 3. Baltimore also has the edge in batting average, hits per game and homers.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES