Author: Roger

The Milwaukee Brewers are very much alive to win the NL Central, sitting just 3 games back of the Division leading Chicago Cubs. Tonight they will go for their third straight win when they host the Cincinnati Reds in the second leg of a 3-game set. Tonight’s pitching matchup will have Sal Romano tapping the rubber for the Reds and Junior Guerra for the Brewers. Both pitchers have struggled of late. Guerra is 6-8, with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, Guerra is 0-1 with a 5.60 ERA but the Brewers are 5-1 in his last 6 starts at Miller Park. Romano is 7-10, with a 5.31 ERA and a WHIP of 1.45. In his last 3 turns, Romano is 1-2 with a 7.62 ERA. In his last outing, Romano was lit up by Cleveland, surrendering 6 runs in just 1-2/3 innings of work. The Reds are 0-5 in Romano’s last 5 starts against the Brewers, they are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings overall, and 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Miller Park. Guerra needs to go deep into this game because Milwaukee’s bullpen has issues.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The surging Oakland Athletics sit just one game back of the AL West leading Houston Astros and will look to gain some ground on them tonight when they host the Texas Rangers. Bartolo Colón was due to start yesterday for the Rangers but was scratched do to back stiffness and as of now, he is scheduled to get the nod tonight but that could change. The veteran is 7-10, with a 5.19 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and Texas was on the losing end in his last turn against Oakland, by a score of 7-6. The newly acquired Mike Fiers will start for the Athletics. Fiers is 8-6, with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and he was 2-0 against Texas this year as a Tiger. Oakland swept a 4-game set from Texas in Arlington back in July and they have won 10 of the last 12 meetings against them at home. Consider the A’s tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

The Arizona Diamondbacks’ Zack Greinke has been a San Diego Padre killer and that is who he will face today at Petco Park. In his career, Greinke is 11-2 against the Friars, with a 2.10 ERA, and is 12-8 on the season, with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP. Brett Kennedy will be making his third Big League start for San Diego and in his first two turns he has not looked good. Kennedy is 0-2, with an ERA of 11.00, and a 2.33 WHIP. Arizona is 6-1 in their last 7 games in San Diego and should notch another one today.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The San Francisco Giants fell to the Cincinnati Reds in extra innings last night, 2-1, and will turn to their ace, Madison Bumgarner, tonight to get them back on track when the two teams meet again at Great American Ball Park. Bumgarner is 4-4, with a 2.71 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Reds will send Matt Harvey to the rubber and he isn’t the flamethrower he used to be. Harvey is 5-7, with an elevated ERA of 5.19 and a 1.32 WHIP. The last place Reds will be without their superstar first baseman, Joey Votto, due to a bruised leg. Consider the Giants in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The New York Yankees have lost two in a row but should be able to get back on track tonight when they open a 3-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays in the Bronx. The Yankees will go with the newly-acquired Lance Lynn. Since donning pinstripes, Lynn has been paying dividends, going 1-0, with a 0.54 ERA and 22 K’s in 16-2/3 innings of work. The Jays will counter with Marcus Stroman, who is 4-8, with a 5.03 ERA and Toronto is 0-5 in his last 5 starts at Yankee Stadium. Stroman is battling a blister on his pitching hand which is never a good thing. Yankees should get this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Philadelphia Phillies have a golden opportunity to gain some ground on the Atlanta Braves when they play a doubleheader today at Citizens Bank Park against the NY Mets. In game 2, southpaw Steven Matz will be tapping the rubber for the Mets. Matz will be making his first start since coming off the DL and he is 5-9, with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Phillies will send Zack Eflin to the bump. Eflin is 8-4, with a 3.57 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and the Phillies are 4-1 in his last 5 home starts. Philadelphia is tough at home, at 39-19, and at Citizens Bank Park they crush lefties, going 18-6 in their last 24.
TODAY’S PICK: GAME 2 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Los Angeles Dodgers are in a tailspin, losing 5 in a row, but should wiggle out of it tonight because Hyun-jin Ryu will be tapping the rubber. Before Ryu went on the DL, he was 3-0, with a 2.12 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.88. The Giants will give the nod to Derek Holland. The southpaw is 6-8, with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. At the Ravine, the Dodgers are 39-19 in the last 58 against lefties. LA gets back on track tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS