Author: Roger

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

The 40-20 Atlanta Braves will open a 3-game set tonight with the 29-31 Toronto Blue Jays at Truist Park. The best team in baseball is expected to give the nod to Bryce Elder. He had a rare bad outing in his last turn against Boston where he allowed 6 runs on 9 hits resulting in a 0-8 loss but that won’t happen tonight. Elder is 4-3 with an ERA of only 2.30 and an excellent WHIP of 1.08. Toronto has lost two straight and is expected to turn to the veteran Kevin Gausman to right the ship. Gausman has been delivering as he usually does with a record of 4-3, a respectable 3.13 ERA and a WHIP of only 1.09. It is never a wise thing to go against the Braves and especially when they are at home. Atlanta is 17-10 in home games. They average 5.3 runs per game which is second in the Majors and average 8.9 hits per game which is first in the Majors, plus they have one of the lowest team ERAs in the league at 3.16.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The San Franciso Giants will have their work cut out for them tonight when they travel to American Family Field to open a 4-game set with the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Milwaukee has been clicking, winning 5 of their last 6. They are 35-21 overall and 19-11 in home games. The expected starter for Milwaukee is lefty Shane Drohan and he has good numbers, at 2-1 with an ERA of only 2.63 and a 1.10 WHIP. The 23-26 Giants sit in the fourth spot in the NL West, have just 1 win in their last 6 tries, and have been clunkers on the road at 11-20. They are expected to send Landen Roupp to the hill. He is 5-5 with a respectable ERA of 3.30 and a 1.18 WHIP. The Giants do not score runs, averaging only 3.9 per game. The Brewers average just under 5 per game and have one of the lowest team ERAs in the majors at 3.17. The side to consider here is Milwaukee.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Athletics and the New York Yankees will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento. The 35-23 Yankees sit just 1.5 games back of the struggling Tampa Bay Rays for the lead in the AL East and will catch them. It’s just a matter of time. The Yankees have been hot, winning 5 of their last 6, and are 18-14 away from the Bronx. Will Warren is expected to get the start for New York and he has been delivering. Warren is 6-1 with a 3.55 ERA and an excellent WHIP of 1.17. The Athletics are under .500, at 28-30. They are a dismal 11-16 at home and are just 1-4 in their last 5 games in West Sac. Today’s expected starter for the A’s is southpaw Jacob Lopez. He is 4-2 with an elevated ERA of 5.73 and a 1.77 WHIP which is not good when you are facing the Bombers who are averaging 5 runs per game. New York has the edge in runs scored, run differential, homers, team ERA, and more times than not have success against a left-handed starter.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The 34-19 Tampa Bay Rays will be glad to return to the Trop tonight when they open a 3-game set with the 22-35 Los Angeles Angels. Tampa has lost 4 straight and went 1-4 on their 5-game road trip but they will get back on the rails tonight. The Rays own the best home record in the majors, at 19-5, and have won 4 straight in St. Pete. Tampa’s expected starter, Nick Martinez, has been in the zone. Martinez is 4-1 with an excellent ERA of 1.51 and a 1.11 WHIP. The Halos are expected to give the nod to Walbert Ureña who is 2-4 with a respectable ERA of 2.58 and a 1.36 WHIP. The Angels have been playing better of late but are still just 10-19 on the road. Mike Trout is on fire and proving once again he is the best player on the planet. The Rays score more runs than the Angels, give up less, and if they pitch around Trout they should be alright.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Fenway Park. The best team in baseball, the 37-19 Atlanta Braves, were shut out yesterday 8-0 which is a rarity, but they will bounce back today. The Braves are expected to send the 2024 NL Cy Young winner and future Hall-of-Famer to the hill, southpaw Chris Sale. Sale is once again in the running for the coveted award and so he should be. He is 7-3 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over 62.0 innings of work. The 23-31 Red Sox are expected to hand the ball to fellow southpaw Payton Tolle and he has been delivering. Tolle is 2-2 with a 2.46 ERA and a WHIP of 0.82 but that is over just 36.2 innings of work. The Braves are 5-0 in Sale’s last 5 road starts against a team with a losing record and Boston is averaging just 3.9 runs per game which is not good when you are facing the Condor.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES