Category: Baseball

The Cleveland Guardians are on a roll, winning 7 of their last 8, and sit 3.5 games back of the Seattle Mariners for the last wild card spot in the AL. The Guardians took game one of their 3-game set with the Chicago White Sox last night at Progressive Field, blanking them 4-0, and this seems to be a trend for Cleveland. They just have Chicago’s number. Tonight the White Sox are expected to send Davis Martin to the bump. He comes in at 6-9 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. The Guardians are expected to counter with Parker Messick, who is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Cleveland is clicking just at the right time with only 15 games left in the regular season. Keep an eye on them.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The best team in baseball, the 89-58 Milwaukee Brewers, are on a rare 3-game losing streak but should get back to their winning ways when they return home tonight to host the 72-75 St. Louis Cardinals. Milwaukee is expected to send Quinn Priester to the hill and all this guy does is win. Priester is 12-2 with a 3.25 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and was dominant once again in his last turn against the Pittsburgh Pirates, yielding just 2 runs over 7 innings of work with the Brewers winning 5-2. St. Louis is expected to turn to Andre Pallante to throw strikes and that is something he doesn’t do well. Pallante has not won a game since July 28th. He is 6-13 with an elevated ERA of 5.28, a 1.43 WHIP, and he is 0-1 in his career against the Brewers with a 5.33 ERA. The Brewers are tough at American Family Field, boasting a record of 46-26, and have won 4 of the last 5 meetings with the Cardinals.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Houston Astros will play the rubber game of their 3-game set in a matinée today at Rogers Centre. Toronto holds a 3-game lead over the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox for the top spot in the AL East and Houston is leading the AL West by one game over the Seattle Mariners, so this is a big game for both sides. Toronto will send lefty Kevin Gausman to the hill. Gausman is 9-10 with a 3.63 ERA, an excellent WHIP of just 1.02, and usually wins in Toronto. Houston is expected to have Cristian Javier toeing the rubber and he has been sketchy at best. Javier is 1-2 with a 4.43 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and lasted just 4.1 innings in his last start against the New York Yankees, yielding 6 hits and 4 runs with the Astros losing 8-4. The Blue Jays are 46-25 at home, they lead the league in hits per game and average 5 runs per game so expect an early exit for Javier.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The New York Yankees were embarrassed in front of their home crowd last night, losing to the Detroit Tigers 12-2. Once again, Aaron Boone pulled his starter after 6 innings and the bull pen went on to blow another game. Boone needs to stop paying attention to analytics and start managing the game himself but maybe he doesn’t know how. Tonight in the middle game of their 3-game set at the Stadium, the Yankees are expected to hand the ball to southpaw Carlos Rodón and he has been dealing. Rodón is 16-7 with a 3.12 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns, Rodón is 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The Yankees, who are first in the league in Runs Scored, Slugging, and Home Runs, should be able to get to the Tigers’ expected starter Jack Flaherty. Flaherty is 7-13 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Over his last 3 starts, Flaherty is 0-1 with a bloated ERA of 7.80 and a 1.60 WHIP. If Aaron Boone lets Rodón go deep in this game, the Yankees come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Tampa Bay Rays are 4 games back of the last AL wild card spot with 19 games left on the schedule so they need to take care of business when they visit the south side tonight to open a 3-game set with the Chicago White Sox. The 71-72 Rays will send Adrian Houser to the hill, and he will be extra motivated to put the screws to his old team who traded him to Tampa back in July. Houser has good numbers at 8-4 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The 55-89 White Sox will give the nod to rookie Yoendrys Gómez, and the Rays bats should be able to do some damage. Gómez is 3-2 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. The Rays score more runs than the White Sox, give up less, and cannot afford to lose to the worst team in the American League if they want to see the postseason.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies will open a 4-game set tonight at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets sit 7 games back of the Phillies for the lead in the NL East so if they want to gain some ground on their rival this is their opportunity. New York is expected to give the nod to rookie sensation Nolan McLean, who has been dealing. He is a perfect 4-0 with an ERA of only 1.37 and a 0.76 WHIP. In his last turn against a really good Detroit Tigers team, McLean was throwing flames, yielding just 2 runs on 3 hits over 6 innings of work and the Mets went on to a 12-5 romp. The Phillies are expected to counter with Aaron Nola, whose struggles continue. Nola is 3-8 with a 6.78 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP. He was lit up in his last turn against Milwaukee where he gave up 6 runs on 6 hits over 5 innings of work and the Brewers went on to a 6-3 win. The last time these two teams met back in August in Queens, New York swept Philly over a 3-game set outscoring them 25-8.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Los Angeles Dodgers had better get back on track and fast, with the San Diego Padres just one game behind them for the lead in the NL West. Los Angeles is on the verge of losing their sixth straight and being swept again by another bottom feeding team, the Baltimore Orioles, this afternoon at Birdland but I don’t see that happening. The Dodgers have the edge in runs scored, hits, batting average, and homers. They should be able to get to the Orioles expected starter Tomoyuki Sugano, who is 10-7 with a 4.42 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Sugano has struggled over his last three outings, going 0-2 with an ERA that soared to 6.91 and a 1.67 WHIP. The Dodgers will turn to southpaw Clayton Kershaw. Kershaw was not himself in his last turn against the Pittsburgh Pirates but the veteran will bounce back today. He is 9-2 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS