Author: Roger

The Chicago Cubs and the Colorado Rockies will meet at Wrigley tonight to see who goes to the next level. Two southpaws will oppose each other and both have been delivering. Jon Lester gets the nod for the Cubs and Kyle Freeland will go for the Rockies. Lester is 18-6, with a 3.32 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and he has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts. Freeland has been on his mark. He is 17-7, with a 2.85 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP but he will be working on just three days’ rest. The Cubs are 51-31 at home and 5-1 in Lester’s last 6 starts against the NL West.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

Two young guns will square off today in So Cal when the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies play for the NL West title. Walker Buehler is expected to tap the rubber for the Dodgers and Germán Márquez is expected to start for the Rockies. Both flamethrowers have had impressive seasons. Buehler is 7-5, with a 2.76 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns he is 1-0, with a 0.90 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.70. Márquez is 14-10 on the season, with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and he is 2-1 in his last 3 starts, with a 2.25 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Colorado has lost its last four meetings with Los Angeles and are 0-4 in their last 4 trips to Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers capture the West.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The NL West is up for grabs and, with a win today and a Colorado loss, the Los Angeles Dodgers will own the title so losing today is not an option. The Dodgers are expected to turn to Rich Hill to throw strikes. Hill is 10-5, with a 3.87 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. The San Francisco Giants will likely counter with southpaw Andrew Suárez. He has not pitched well this year, with a record of 7-12, a 4.22 ERA, and the Dodgers are 4-1 in their last 5 road games against southies. Todd Tichenor will be behind the dish and the Dodgers are 5-0 in their last 5 games when he is pulling the strings.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the San Francisco Giants will play a matinée today at AT&T Park. The Dodgers will turn to their ace, Clayton Kershaw, to move them closer to a post-season berth. Kershaw is 9-5, with a 2.53 ERA, and is at the top of his game. The southpaw has won 6 straight and has not lost a game since July 21st. To say Kershaw has dominated San Francisco would be an understatement. He is 13-4 with an ERA of 1.30 in his career at AT&T Park and 22-10 with a 1.58 ERA overall against the Giants. Hunter Pence’s batting average against Kershaw is .186, Evan Longoria’s is .154, and Brandon Crawford’s is .125. The Giants are expected to give the nod to Pudge’s son, Dereck Rodríguez. He has pitched well, with a mark of 6-4 and a 2.50 ERA but San Francisco is 0-6 in his last 6 starts and they are 0-4 in his last 4 turns at AT&T Park. Dodgers get it done.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Chicago Cubs are getting hot, and just at the right time, with three games left in the regular season. Today in an early one, they will host their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the best in the business will tap the rubber for the Cardinals, Adam Wainwright. Unfortunately, Wainwright’s season has been plagued by injuries and he is 2-3, with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Kyle Hendricks will get the nod for the Cubs. Hendricks, who always finds his mark, is 13-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Chicago is 4-1 in his last 5 home starts and 7-0 in his last 7 turns against St. Louis. The Cardinals have struggled at Wrigley, going 4-13 in their last 17. Consider the Cubs.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Chicago Cubs bats finally woke up last night, resulting in a 7-6 win at Wrigley over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight they will go for a series split with the Bucs before hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for the final three games of the season. The Cubs hold a half game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, who are idle today, so this is a chance for them to gain some ground. The pitchers opposing each other today will be the lefty Jon Lester for Chicago and Trevor Williams for Pittsburgh. Both have been hurling all season with similar numbers. Williams is 14-9, with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Lester is 17-6, with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. When Williams takes the hill against the Cubs, the Pirates are 1-4 in his last 5 starts and they have had issues on the road against lefties, going 8-22 in their last 30. On the flip side, the Cubs are 38-14 in Lester’s last 52 home starts and 5-1 in his last 6 turns against the Pirates. The Cubs’ fans will be in rare form tonight and with Lester on the hill, the home team is the play here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Colorado Rockies are on fire, outscoring the Philadelphia Phillies 20-4 in the first two games of their 4-game set at Coors Field. Colorado has now won 5 in a row and find themselves just half a game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. The Rockies are expected to turn to Germán Márquez to keep it rolling. Márquez is 13-10, with a 3.91 ERA, and has been mowing them down with 210 strikeouts on the season. The Phillies have lost 6 in a row and are expected to give the nod to Nick Pivetta. Pivetta’s season is one he would like to forget, with a record of 7-13 and a 4.58 ERA. Pivetta is 0-2 in his career against the Rockies, with a bloated 16.43 ERA. Not good. The Rockies are 5-1 in Márquez’s last 6 home starts and the Phillies are 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Coors Field.
TONIGHT’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES