Author: Roger

The Pittsburgh Pirates are 9 back in the National League Central and cannot afford to lose a series to a bottom dweller like the Milwaukee Brewers. So tonight they’ll send the hard throwing southpaw Francisco Liriano to the hill to try to take the rubber game in this 3-game set. In Liriano’s last 3 outings, he is 1-1 with a 3.94 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Bucs are 6-1 in his last 7 starts when he has 5 day’s rest and 9-2 in his last 11 against a team with a losing record. The Brewers will counter with Matt Garza who has been struggling. Over his last 3 outings, he is 0-3 with a bloated ERA of 8.80 and a WHIP of 1.96. Milwaukee is 1-5 in Garza’s last 6 starts and 0-5 in his last 5 outings against a team with a winning record. The Brewers have had issues at PNC Park, posting a dismal record of 2-6 in their last 8 there. Gerry Davis is pulling the strings tonight and that favors the Pirates. They are 7-1 in their last 8 when he is behind the dish. I like Cutch and company tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Oakland Athletics took the first 2 games of a 3 game set against the Houston Astros and will try to go for the sweep today in an afternoon contest at the Coliseum. The Astros’ Doug Fister gets the start and he will face off against Oakland’s Daniel Mengden. Fister is 9-6 this year, with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Fister is 2-1 on the season against the Athletics, which includes a win at the Coliseum where he gave up only 1 run in 6-2/3 innings. Mengden is 1-4 on the season, with an ERA of 5.54 and a WHIP of 1.49. Mengden was nailed in his last outing against the Jays on Friday, giving up 7 runs on 6 hits with 3 walks in 3-1/3 innings. Houston is 6-1 in Fister’s last 7 road starts and 11-0 in their last 11 Wednesday games. Astros avoid the sweep.

Today’s pick:

Houston Astros

Two southpaws will face off tonight in Oakland when the Houston Astros send Dallas Keuchel to the mound to face Dillon Overton and the Athletics. Keuchel has found his groove, going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over his last 3 outings. Houston is 5-0 in Keuchel’s last 5 starts and 7-1 in his last 8 against the Athletics. Dillon Overton was just called back up from Triple-A Nashville. In his last outing in the Big Leagues on June 30th, he was drilled by the San Francisco Giants, yielding 8 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks in 3 innings of work. Overton is 1-1 with an inflated ERA of 11.42 and a 2.31 WHIP in his last 3 Major League starts. The Astros can hit lefties, posting a 5-1 record in their last 6 games against them. Oakland, on the other hand, has struggled against southpaws at home, going 0-6 in their last 6 at the Coliseum. I like the Astros in this situation.

Tonight’s pick:

Houston Astros

The New York Yankees will try for 2 wins in a row when they host their American League East rival, the Baltimore Orioles, tonight in the Bronx. The Orioles are sending the 1-6 Kevin Gausman to the mound tonight and Baltimore is just 5-16 in his last 21 road starts. The Yanks counter with the 6-5 Ivan Nova. New York is 5-2 in Nova’s last 7 starts against the Orioles. Baltimore has struggled at the stadium, going 3-8 in their last 11 in New York. I like the Bombers in this one.

Tonight’s pick:

New York Yankees

The best team in baseball, the San Francisco Giants, will try to avoid a sweep against the San Diego Padres when they send Johnny Cueto to the hill today at Petco Park. Cueto has been dominant. He is 13-1 with a 2.47 ERA and WHIP of 1.00. The Giants are 16-2 in Cueto’s last 18 starts and 9-0 in his last 9 road starts. Pomeranz was supposed to get the nod today for the Padres but they offed him to Boston. Why, I don’t know… So Edwin Jackson will start for the Padres. He is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. The Giants are 19-7 in their last 26 meetings with the Padres.

Today’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals will try to even up the 3 game set with the Miami Marlins today at Busch Stadium. Wainwright has been solid, going 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.37 over his last 3 outings. Tom Koehler takes the hill for the Marlins and he has struggled over his last 3 starts, posting an 0-1 record with an ERA of 7.50 and a WHIP of 2.08. Miami is 0-7 in Koehler’s last 7 starts against a team with a winning record and they are 2-6 in their last 8 meetings with St. Louis. The Cardinals are 9-2 in Wainwright’s last 11 starts against the National League East and they are 5-2 in his last 7 against the Marlins. The Cardinals should get this one.

Today’s pick:

St. Louis Cardinbals