Category: Baseball

It’s a one and done tonight at Fenway Park when the Boston Red Sox host the New York Yankees. One team will be hitting the links tomorrow and the other heading south to St. Pete. New York will send Gerrit Cole to the hill with Boston giving the nod to Nathan Eovaldi. Numbers are similar on both sides. Cole comes in at 16-8 with a 3.23 ERA and Eovaldi at 11-9 with a 3.75 ERA. These two flamethrowers last faced each other on Sept 24th and it was not a good day for Eovaldi. The Yankees lit him up for 7 runs on 7 hits in just 2-2/3 innings of work and went on to win 8-3. New York has won 6 straight against Boston, which includes a 3-game sweep of the Red Sox just over a week ago in this very stadium. The Yankees have been clicking. They are 9-3 in their last 12, 5-1 in their last 6 road games, 8-0 in their last 8 following a day off, and Cole will not have to face slugger J.D. Martinez who is sidelined with a sprained ankle.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The scenario is simple for the Boston Red Sox today: beat Washington and you host the Wild Card game. The Red Sox will have two things going for them, momentum after last night’s 9th inning heroics and the best lefty on the planet, Chris Sale, toeing the rubber. Sale, who is 5-1 with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, will be opposed by Joan Adon, who will be making his Major League debut, and if that isn’t a pitching mismatch then I don’t know what is. Boston will be heavily favored, obviously, but no worries. The Red Sox are 16-3 in Sales’ last 19 starts when the bar is -201 or higher.
TODAY’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

After falling to the Los Angeles Angels last night, 2-1, the Seattle Mariners are now one game back of Toronto and Boston for the second wild card spot with only two games left. Seattle’s quest for their first postseason berth since 2001 is now on life support but they are still alive. Tonight they will have their ace on the bump, Chris Flexen. Flexen has been their go-to guy all year. He is 14-6 with a 3.67 ERA, is 2-0 this year against the Angels, and the Mariners are 21-9 in his 30 starts. Seattle has won 10 of their last 12 and are 7-3 in their last 10 against the Halos at T-Mobile Park.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

With three games left and a game behind Seattle and Boston for the final spot in the Wild Card race, losing is not an option for the Toronto Blue Jays when the wrap up the regular season in a 3-game set with the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. Toronto is 11-5 this year against Baltimore and will have lefty Steven Matz on the bump. Matz is 13-7 with a 3.88 ERA and last faced Baltimore on September 12th, and the Jays went on to pound the Orioles, 22-7. The Orioles have yet to name a starter for tonight’s game.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Boston Red Sox finally got back on track with a 6-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles yesterday, to stay one game behind New York for the top Wild Card spot, and a half game ahead of Seattle and one over Toronto for the second spot. The Sox will wrap up their 3-game set with the Orioles tonight at Camden Yards before heading to Washington for the final 3 of the regular season with the 65-94 Nationals. The Red Sox can easily run the table here and it starts tonight when Nick Pivetta takes the hill for Boston. Pivetta has pitched well over his last 3, despite not earning a victory, posting an ERA of 3.14 and a WHIP of just 1.05. The O’s are expected to counter with southpaw Alexander Wells, who is 0-1 in his previous 3 starts with a bloated ERA of 8.36 and a 1.50 WHIP. Boston has had the upper hand with Baltimore all season and are 6-1 in their last 7 following a win.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

With their 11th straight victory over the Oakland Athletics, the Seattle Mariners find themselves just a half game back of the Boston Red Sox for the second Wild Card spot in the AL. Oakland, on the other hand, is 3-1/2 back for the second spot with just 4 games left. They are done and they know it. But that’s not to say they would like nothing more than to put the screws to Seattle and tonight they will turn to Frankie Montas to do just that. Montas has pitched well all year, with a record of 13-9, a 3.48 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. Seattle will turn to rookie Logan Gilbert to keep the streak alive. Gilbert has been mediocre, at 6-5, with an ERA on the high side at 4.83, and a 1.19 WHIP. The A’s have played well on the road, at 42-35, and are 5-2 in their last 7 away from T-Mobile Park.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

A trip to Baltimore is just what the Boston Red Sox need to get them back on track after being swept at home by the New York Yankees over the weekend. Boston has won 6 straight against the bottom-dwelling Orioles and the margin of victory has been +2 runs or greater. Chris Sale (5-0, 2.57 ERA) will be getting the start for the Red Sox and he has been an Oriole killer in his career. The southpaw is 10-2 lifetime with an ERA of only 2.58 and is 2-0 this year with a 2.70 ERA against the O’s. Baltimore is expected to counter with Bruce Zimmermann. Zimmermann is 4-4 with an elevated ERA of 4.83 and will be making his first Big League start since June, so rust could definitely be a factor. Consider Boston on the runline.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX -1.5