Category: Baseball

The Boston Red Sox will go for a 3-game sweep of the Houston Astros today in a matinée at Minute Maid Park but put the brakes on. José Urquidy will take the mound for the Stros. He has good numbers, at 9-4, with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The Red Sox are expected to send the rookie, Brayan Bello, to the hill. With a record of 0-3, an ERA of 8.82 and a 2.27 WHIP, he won’t be in the bigs long.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Pittsburgh Pirates are dead last in the NL Central, have lost 7 straight and 12 of their last 14. It won’t get any easier for them tonight when they open a 3-game set at PNC Park with the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Not only are the Brewers hot, winning 7 of their last 9, they will have the reigning NL Cy Young winner, Corbin Burns, on the hill. Burns is 8-4 with a 2.31 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and in his career against the Pirates he is 6-0 with a 2.63 ERA. Bryse Wilson is slated to get the start for Pittsburgh and he has not pitched well. Wilson is 1-6 with a 6.31 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Brewers are 5-0 following a day off and 7-2 in their last 9 trips to Pitt. The Brew Crew can feel the heat from the St. Louis Cardinals, who are just 3 games back, and they cannot afford to lose to a team like the Pittsburgh Pirates.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The New York Mets will take a 6-game winning streak into National Park tonight to open a 3-game set with the Washington Nationals. The Mets are clicking on every cylinder and will have Max Scherzer on the hill. Mad Max is doing what he does every year and that is dominate. He is 6-2 with a 2.09 ERA, a 0.90 WHIP, and was lights out in his last turn against the New York Yankees when he pitched 7 scoreless innings against the potent Bomber offense, resulting in a 3-2 Mets win. The Nat’s season is over and they know it. The sooner they trade Soto the better, then they can start focusing on the future. Tonight they are expected to send lefty Patrick Corbin to the hill. Corbin is 4-14 with an elevated ERA of 6.49, a 1.76 WHIP, and in his 5 starts in July the Nats went 0-5. New York has won 4 straight against Washington, outscoring them 32-6. Tonight should be no different.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies will wrap up their 4-game set in an afternooner today at Coors Field. The Dodgers took the first two games of the series but fell yesterday to the Rocks, 5-3. Today’s expected starters are Tony Gonsolin for the Dodgers and Germán Márquez for the Rockies. Márquez’s numbers are not good, at 6-8, with a 5.25 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. This year against LA, he is 0-2 with a 5.51 ERA. Just the opposite can be said about Gonsolin. He is 11-1 with a 2.26 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and LA is 5-0 in his last 5 road starts. The Dodgers are starting to run away with the NL West, have won 6 of the last 7 meetings this year against Colorado, and should come out on top today against the bottom-dwelling Rockies.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The National League East leading New York Mets have now won 4 straight, after knocking off the Miami Marlins in the first game of their 3-game set last night, 6-4, in South Florida. The Marlins, who are 22-24 at LoanDepot Park, have lost 5 straight at home and will have to face Carlos Carrasco tonight. Carrasco is 10-4 with a 4.07 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He is 3-0 in his career against Miami with a 2.65 ERA and New York is 6-0 in his last 6 starts against the NL East. Miami had Trevor Rogers slated to take the hill but was scratched due to back soreness so a starter has yet to be determined. Whoever Donnie Baseball gives the nod to had better be on his mark. The Mets have scored 23 runs during their 4-game winning streak and Starling Marte has been giving opposing pitchers fits.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

After being swept by the lowly Oakland Athletics, the Houston Astros got back to their winning ways with a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners last night at Minute Maid Park. Tonight they will play the second leg of their 4-game set and Houston is expected to have the future Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander, tapping the rubber. Verlander is a legitimate AL Cy Young candidate because he has been throwing flames. He is 13-3 with a nasty ERA of 1.86, a 0.88 WHIP, and over his last 3 he is 3-0 with an ERA of only 0.95. Seattle is expected to counter with lefty Robbie Ray. He has been mediocre, at 8-7, with an ERA of 3.90, a 1.15 WHIP, and over his last 3 he is 1-1 with a 5.75 ERA. The AL West-leading Astros have an 11 game lead over the second place Mariners and have had their number. Houston has won 4 straight against Seattle and are 4-1 in their last 5 against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

After losing their last two games to their crosstown rival, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees will look to get back on track tonight when they open a 4-game set with the last place Kansas City Royals in the Bronx. The Yankees have had the Royals number. They swept them earlier this year in KC and have won 7 of the last 8 meetings. Tonight’s expected starters are Brady Singer for the Royals and Jameson Taillon for the Yanks. Singer is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and is 0-1 in his career against New York with a bloated 8.59 ERA. Taillon is having a stellar year. He is 10-2 with a 3.93 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and is 1-0 in his career against KC with an ERA of only 0.47. The Yankees will not come cheap but are 7-0 in Taillon’s last 7 home starts when the line is -201 or higher and we could see, ex-Royal, All-Star Andrew Benintendi make his debut tonight for the Bombers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES