Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres have now lost five straight after getting shut out, 3-0, by the worst team in baseball last night, the Colorado Rockies. If there is a bright side, the Los Angeles Dodgers are also in a tailspin, losing their last four, and the Padres still trail the champs by only two games for the lead in the NL West. Tonight they should right the ship when the two clubs play the middle game of their 3-game set at Coors Field. The Friars lethargic bats should wake up when they face the Rockies expected starter, McCade Brown. He is winless at 0-2 with a bloated ERA of 8.22 and a pathetic 2.09 WHIP. The Padres are the better team, by far, on the field tonight and are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The best team in baseball, the 86-55 Milwaukee Brewers, will open a 3-game set tonight against the red hot 64-77 Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Pittsburgh is coming off a 3-game sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers but will have their hands full tonight. Milwaukee’s bullpen has been dealt a blow with injuries so their expected starter Quinn Priester will have to go deep into the game and his is very capable. Priester is 11-2 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP over 134.1 innings of work, and he has not lost a game since May 13th. The Bucs are expected to counter with Johan Oviedo, who is 2-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP over just 15 innings of work. The Brewers have won the last 5 meetings this year against the Pirates and have the edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average, hits, homers, and so on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Kansas City Royals will try to get back on the rails tonight and avoid being swept at home by the Los Angeles Angels when they wrap up their 3-game set at the K. It will be the veteran, Kyle Hendricks, getting the nod for the Halos and rookie Noah Cameron for the Royals. Hendricks is not the dominant flamethrower he was with the Chicago Cubs. He is 6-9 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Cameron has electric stuff and comes in at 7-6 with an ERA of only 2.92 and a 1.08 WHIP. Kansas City sits just 2.5 games back for the last wild card spot, they cannot afford to lose this one, and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: KANSAS CITY ROYALS

The San Francisco Giants will go for a 3-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies tonight at Coors Field and should get it. Colorado is the worst team on the planet at 39-100 and were outscored by the Giants over the first two games, 15-6. Germán Márquez is expected to be on the hill for the Rockies, and the Giants hot bats should have a field day. Márquez is 3-12 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.68 WHIP. The 70-69 Giants are very much alive in the wild card hunt and will send lefty Robbie Ray to the rubber. Ray has been dealing, with a record of 10-6, a 3.18 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. San Francisco has won 7 of the last 8 meetings with Colorado and are 9-1 over their last 10.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The 78-59 Los Angeles Dodgers will be at PNC Park tonight to open a 3-game set with the 61-77 Pittsburgh Pirates. This is a great opportunity for the NL West-leading Dodgers to put some space between them and the San Diego Padres, who are on their tails just 2.5 games back of them for the lead. Tonight Los Angeles will send future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw to the hill. Most people thought the southpaw’s best days were behind him, but they were all dead wrong. Kershaw is 9-2 with a 3.06 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns he is 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.72. The Bucs are expected to send Carmen Mlodzinski to the hill. He is 3-7 with a decent ERA of 3.86 and a 1.32 WHIP. Los Angeles has won 6 of the last 7 meetings with Pittsburgh and the Pirates score the fewest runs in the league; not good with Kershaw on the hill.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The San Diego Padres and the Baltimore Orioles will open a 3-game set today in SoCal. At 61-76, the O’s will not be making the postseason, that is a given. They enter tonight’s game with just one win in their last seven and are 30-39 on the road. Baltimore is expected to send Kyle Bradish to the hill. He is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP but that is over just six innings of work. The Padres are in a dog fight with the Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West, sitting just two games back of their hated rival. San Diego is expected to give the nod to Dylan Cease. His numbers are nothing to write home about. Cease is 6-11 with a 4.82 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP but keep in mind that is over 142 innings of work. The Friars are tough to beat at Petco, with a record of 43-22. They cannot afford to lose to the lowly Orioles if they want to catch the Dodgers and they know it.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Philadelphia Phillies are on the verge of being swept by the New York Mets, but that won’t happen tonight. The Phillies have played well on the road, at 34-34, and are 6 and 4 over their last 10. We don’t need to discuss starting pitchers because they get pulled after 5 innings anyway. 
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES