Category: Baseball

The Seattle Mariners will be a big dog tonight when they head east to open a 3-game set with the red hot Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa has won 4 straight and are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, but hold on a minute. Seattle has had the Rays number. The Mariners swept the Rays at T-Mobile Park earlier this year, outscoring them 23-13 over the 4-game series. Seattle is also 14-5 in their last 19 in St. Pete and 21-8 against Tampa in their last 29 meetings overall. The pitching matchup also favors the Mariners. The expected starters are Michael Wacha for the Rays and Chris Flexen for the Mariners. Wacha is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Flexen is 9-5 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The Mariners are worth a shot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The Philadelphia Phillies are just 4-1/2 games back of the New York Mets for the top spot in the NL East but need to get back on track today and avoid being swept by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Pittsburgh is expected to have Mitch Keller on the hill. How he keeps getting called back up to the Bigs is beyond me. Keller is 3-7 on the season with a 7.04 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. In his last outing on June 10th against the Dodgers, Keller lasted just 2-2/3 innings where he gave up 4 runs and 5 hits. Not good. Philly will counter with Kyle Gibson, who they just acquired from Texas, and he has been delivering all year, with a record of 6-3, an ERA of just 2.87 and a 1.18 WHIP. Consider Philly.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Domingo Germán is the expected starter for the New York Yankees tonight when they play the second game of their 3-game set with the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park. The 54-48 Yankees won the opener, 3-1. They have now won 3 of their last 4 and are 4-0 in their last 4 interleague games. Germán’s numbers are not terrific, at 4-5 with a 4.45 ERA, but when he is on, he is lethal, and that was evident in his last turn against Boston, where he yielded just 1 hit and struck out 10 in 7 innings of work. The 44-59 Marlins are obviously in a rebuilding mode after trading away their entire starting outfield and have yet to name a starter for tonight’s game but whoever it is, he will have his work cut out for him. Not only will he have to face the newly acquired Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, but then there is Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and the list goes on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

With last night’s 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Athletics have now won 6 straight against their AL West rival, outscoring them during that span, 36-14. That’s dominance. Tonight they will play the second game of their 4-game set at Angel Stadium. The A’s are expected to send Chris Bassitt to the hill, who has been dominant all year. He is 10-3 with a 3.46 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and won both his turns this year against the Halos. Bassitt is 5-3 lifetime against Los Angeles with a 3.88 ERA. Lefty Patrick Sandoval is expected to get the nod for LA. He is upside down on the season, at 3-4, with a respectable 3.52 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, but the Athletics have feasted on the road against left-handed starters, going 46-19 in their last 65.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

The San Diego Padres got pummeled last night by the Oakland Athletics, 10-4, before the home crowd but I expect them to bounce back tonight when they host the lowly Colorado Rockies. Last night Colorado fell to the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, which now brings their road record to the league’s worst, 11-38. Lefty Kyle Freeland is expected on the hill for the Rocks and he has struggled, going 1-5 with a 4.85 ERA, a 1.47 WHIP, and in two starts against the Padres this year he is 0-1 with a bloated ERA of 8.31 and a 2.19 WHIP. The Padres are expected to go with hometown boy Joe Musgrove. Musgrove is 6-7 with a 3.13 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and let’s not forget he had a no-no against the Rangers back in April. San Diego is 34-20 at home, 9-2 in their last 11 against Colorado at Petco, and 9-3 in their last 12 home games against a left-handed starter. If the Friars want to keep pace with the Giants and Dodgers, they cannot afford to lose at home to teams like the Rockies.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Milwaukee Brewers pounded the Pittsburgh Pirates yesterday at PNC Park, 9-0, and I expect more of the same tonight when they play the second leg of their 3-game series. The bottom feeding Bucs’ season is over and they know it. Pittsburgh is 38-62 overall and 21-27 at home. The Central-leading Brewers are 59-42 overall and an impressive 30-18 on the road. Adrian Houser is expected to tap the rubber for Milwaukee and he has decent numbers, at 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. The expected starter for Pittsburgh has yet to be determined but whoever it is, it should not matter. The Brewers are 8-2 in their last 10 as a road favorite and 4-1 in their last 5 against the Pirates at PNC Park.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Can the Texas Rangers lose 12 in a row? The answer is yes. They are playing the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park and the ‘Stros have Zack Greinke on the hill. Enough said.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS