Author: Roger

The Chicago White Sox will be glad to get back to the south side after getting swept in the Bronx by the New York Yankees. Tonight they will host the St. Louis Cardinals and are due for a win. Chicago is 14-8 at home and will have Lance Lynn on the hill. Lynn is 4-1 with a 1.55 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Not bad. The Cardinals are expected to send lefty Kwang-hyun Kim to the bump. Kim is 1-1 with a 2.73 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP but that is in just 26.1 innings of work. The White Sox are 8-2 in their last 10 home games against southpaws and will notch another one tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The Tampa Bay Rays have now won 9 straight but will have to face Toronto’s best, Hyun-jin Ryu, today in Dunedin and he can deliver. Ryu is 4-2 with a 2.51 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.99, and has a career 2.70 ERA against Tampa. Kevin Cash will do a bullpen session today for the Rays and Michael Wacha will probably get the nod for an inning or two. Wacha is 1-1 with an elevated 4.76 ERA and the Jays should be able to jump on him early.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

Gerrit Cole will get the nod for the New York Yankees today when they go for two in a row against a very talented Chicago White Sox team. The Yanks needed just two runs to take care of Rodón and company yesterday, and that is all it will take today with Cole on the hill. Gerrit Cole is the best there is and he comes into today’s game with a 5-2 record, a 2.03 ERA, and a stingy WHIP of only 0.78. Dylan Cease is expected on the other side and he can deliver, with a record of 2-0, a 2.41 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, but on the road he is 1-4 in his last 5 starts against a team with a winning record. Yanks at home with Cole on the hill. Forget about it.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The San Diego Padres are hot but trends end. Tonight the Friars will host the Seattle Mariners and they will have their weak link, Chris Paddack, on the hill. Paddack is 1-3 with a 3.26 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. The Mariners are expected to give the nod to Chris Flexen, who is 4-1 with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. The Mariners are a big dog in this one and the Padres are 1-4 in their last 5 interleague games. You have to consider the Mariners.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The play today is the New York Yankees over the Texas Rangers and this is why. The Bombers have won 2 in a row, 8 of their last 11, and are riding high after Kluber’s no-no yesterday.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Milwaukee Brewers were unable to score a run yesterday against the Kansas City Royals but today should be a different outcome. The Royals are expected to send Brad Keller to the bump and he has an elevated ERA of 6.75 with a 1.86 WHIP – not good. The Brewers are expected to counter with Corbin Burnes and he has been on his mark, with an ERA of just 1.57 and a 0.64 WHIP. Give Burnes a run or two and you win.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The St. Louis Cardinals had a rare thing happen to them over the weekend; they were swept by the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. The Central-leading Cardinals will look to get back on track tonight when they return home to Busch Stadium to open a 3-game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. St. Louis is 12-8 at Busch and won the first 3 meetings with the Pirates earlier this year in Pittsburgh, outscoring the Bucs, 22-8. Tonight’s probables are Pittsburgh’s J.T. Brubaker (3-2, 2.58 ERA) and St. Louis’ John Gant (2-3, 1.83 ERA), who faced each other on April 30th with Gant coming out on top. To say the Cardinals have owned the Pirates would be an understatement. They are 20-6 in the last 26 meetings.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS