Author: Roger

The Baltimore Orioles should continue their dominance over the Tampa Bay Rays today when they send Chris Tillman to the hill. Tillman is 16-5, with a 3.68 ERA and he is 3-0, with an ERA of 3.04 in 4 starts against the Rays this season. Baltimore is 5-0 in Tillman’s last 5 starts against Tampa. The Oriole’s Mark Trumbo, who leads the Majors with 42 home runs, is expected back in the lineup today after sitting out the last game with back spasms. Matt Andriese gets the start for the Rays and he is 7-7, with a 4.46 ERA, and he is 0-3 with a bloated 9.24 ERA against the Orioles. The Rays struggle at Camden Yards, going 1-8 in their last 9 games there.

The Texas Rangers’ magic number to clinch the west is 7, and they’ll try to inch closer today when they host the Oakland Athletics in Arlington. Yu Darvish gets the start for the Rangers and he is 5-4, with a 3.28 ERA, and defeated Oakland on August 17th, yielding 2 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings of work. Texas is 6-1 in Darvish’s last 7 starts. The Oakland Athletics will give Raul Alcantara the nod today and he’ll be making his third Major League start. Alcantara is 0-1, with a 7.27 ERA, has struck out just 4 batters in 8-2/3 innings, and has served up a home run in each of his 2 starts. The Athletics are 3-13 in their last 16 against the American League West and they are 0-4 in their last 4 in Arlington.

Today’s picks:

Baltimore Orioles
Texas Rangers

The Miami Marlins still have a glimmer of hope to get a wild card spot and their chances get better because the doctor ordered a 3-game set in Philadelphia. Tom Koehler takes the hill for the Marlins and he is 9-11, with an ERA of 3.97, and Miami is 8-0 in his last 8 starts against a team with a losing record. Adam Morgan gets the nod for Philadelphia and he is 2-10, with an ERA of 5.73, and the Phillies are 1-7 in his last 8 home starts. Look out Morgan because Giancarlo Stanton is expected back in the line up for the Marlins.

Today’s pick:

Miami Marlins

The Kansas City Royals are still alive in the wild card hunt but barely, and another loss tonight to the bottom feeding Oakland Athletics will really hurt any chances they might have… Edinson Vólquez will try to stop the bleeding for the Royals. Vólquez is 10-10, with a 5.09 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.49, and he is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 5 career starts against the A’s. The Athletics send Daniel Mengden to the hill and he is 1-7 on the season, with an ERA of 6.39 and a WHIP of 1.69. In Mengden’s two starts since returning from a Minor League stint, he has struggled, yielding 9 runs and 13 hits in just 7-2/3 innings of work. Oakland is 0-4 in Mengden’s last 4 starts and 0-4 in his last 4 against a team with a winning record. The umpire behind the dish tonight is Mike Estabrook. The Athletics are 1-5 in their last 6 games when Estabrook he is pulling the strings. Royals avoid the sweep.

Tonight’s pick:

Kansas City Royals

After squandering a 9th inning lead to the San Diego Padres last night, the San Francisco Giants will try to bounce back today and avoid a sweep in the final game of this 3-game set. Madison Bumgarner will go for his 100th career victory when he takes the hill today at AT&T Park. Bumgarner is 14-8 on the season with a 2.61 ERA, a WHIP of 1.04, and San Francisco is 5-1 in the Bum’s last 6 starts. Bumgarner has been a Padre killer at home. The Giants are 10-2 in his last 12 home starts against San Diego. The Pads send Luis Perdomo to the hill and he is 7-9, with an ERA of 5.89, a WHIP of 1.68 and San Diego is 2-5 in his last 7 starts. Bochy should get the win today against his old team.

Today’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

The Detroit Tigers will look to continue their dominance over the Minnesota Twins when they play the second of a 4-game set tonight at Comerica Park. Minnesota has issues and especially on the road where they own a 24-45 record. They are 0-11 in their last 11 road games, 7-25 in their last 32 games overall, and 0-4 in their last 4 meetings with the Tigers. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Twins and he is 5-9 on the season, with a 5.34 ERA, a 1.58 WHIP, and lost to Detroit on August 23rd, yielding 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings of work. Detroit will send the southpaw Matt Boyd to the hill. Boyd is 5-3, with an ERA of 3.89, a 1.26 WHIP and is 2-0 against the Twins this season.

Tonight’s pick:

Detroit Tigers

The Kansas City Royals need to keep winning in order to stay in the wild card hunt and that should happen when they open a 4-game set at home tonight against the Oakland Athletics. Dillon Gee will get the start for the Royals and over his last 3, he is 1-1, with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Oakland will counter with the lefty Ross Detwiler and over his last 3, he is 0-2, with a 5.51 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. The A’s have been awful on the road, winning just 4 of the last 18, and have not fared well against the Royals, with a record 3-9 in the last 12 meetings and 1-5 in their last 6 at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. The Royals’ skipper Ned Yost, is one victory away from 1,000 career wins. He should get that tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Kansas City Royals