Category: Baseball

What has happened to the New York Mets? The Mets have lost 7 straight, 11 of their last 12, and now trail the Philadelphia Phillies by 6 games for the lead in the NL East. They are also hanging by a thread for the last NL wild card spot. Tonight they will try to get back on track when they host the 51-67 Atlanta Braves in the opener of a 3-game set. The Braves have won 3 straight, 4 of their last 5, and have Spencer Strider slated to take the hill tonight. He is 5-9 with a 4.04 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Over his last three turns, Strider is 1-2 and his ERA has soared to 6.14 with a 1.98 WHIP. New York is expected to hand the ball to Clay Holmes. Holmes has been steady at 9-6 with a 3.35 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and the Mets are 4-1 in his last 5 home starts against team with a losing record. Despite their losing ways, New York is still 63-55 overall and 38-21 in Queens. With all the Mets talent, this spiral should not be happening and if it continues, management has to change.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The best in the majors, the Milwaukee Brewers, have won 9 straight, 12 of their last 13, and will look to remain hot when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates tonight in Game 1 of their 3-game set at American Family Field. Two southpaws are expected to oppose each other, with Andrew Heaney getting the nod for the Bucs and José Quintana for the Brewers. Quintana has good numbers, at 9-4 with a 3.57 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and in his career against Pittsburgh he is 5-2 with a 3.23 ERA. Heaney is upside down at 5-9 with a 4.77 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and is 1-3 in his career against Milwaukee with a bloated ERA of 6.56. At 51-68, the Pirates are not going to the postseason and that is a given. They are also a dismal 17-39 on the road and dead last in the league in scoring. The Brewers have the edge in runs scored, run differential, hits, homers, etc., etc., etc.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The surging Cleveland Guardians will go for their sixth straight win and a 3-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox this afternoon on the south side. Cleveland is now just a half game back of the struggling New York Yankees for the last American League wild card spot and five games back of the Detroit Tigers for the lead in the American League Central. The worst team in the AL, Chicago, has lost 6 straight and are a dismal 42-75 on the season. The 61-55 Guardians are hot; ride them ’til they are not.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The Kansas City Royals lost the opener of their 3-game set with the Minnesota Twins last night, 9-4, at Target Field but will bounce back tonight. Both the Royals and Twins are very much alive in the wild card hunt, with Kansas City 4 games back for the last spot and Minnesota 5.5 back. The Twins have been on a roll, winning 3 straight, but the Royals’ expected starter Noah Cameron should put an end to that. Cameron is 5-5 but the important numbers (ERAs and WHIPs) are excellent, at 2.68 and 1.00. Bailey Ober should get the nod for the Twins. Ober is 4-6 with a 5.38 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and Minnesota is 0-8 in his last 8 starts.
TONIGHT’S PICK: KANSAS CITY ROYALS

Two surging teams, the Boston Red Sox and the San Diego Padres, will open a 3-game set tonight at Petco Park. The 64-51 Padres have won 2 straight, 8 of their last 10 and are just 2 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. The 64-52 Red Sox have also won 8 of their last 10 and sit 4 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the top spot in the AL East. These teams match up well, but the edge goes to the Padres tonight. Walker Buehler is expected to toe the rubber for the Red Sox. Buehler is 6-6 with a 5.74 ERA, a 1.60 WHIP, and Boston is 1-5 in his last 6 road starts. The Friars are expected to send Nick Pivetta to the hill and he has been throwing flames. Pivetta is 11-3 with a 2.73 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.93, and the Padres are a stout 36-19 at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves will open a 5-game set tonight at Truist Park with a doubleheader slated for Saturday. The 56-57 Marlins were a pushover early in the season but that has changed. The Marlins have won 10 of their last 14, are 6 back of the final wild card spot, and the rest of the NL had better start taking notice. The 47-66 Braves are doing just the opposite, losing 11 of their last 14, and their expected starter for tonight, Carlos Carrasco, is not the answer. Carrasco is 2-2 with an elevated ERA of 5.68 and a 1.53 WHIP. Miami will counter with Eury Pérez, who has been in the zone. Pérez is 4-3 with a 2.70 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.94, and over his last 6 starts, Pérez is 4-1 with a 1.06 ERA. It doesn’t get better than that. The Marlins have won 3 of the last 4 meetings this year with the Braves, play well on the road at 28-26, and are 5-1 in their last 6 road games against a team with a losing record.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MIAMI MARLINS

The Pittsburgh Pirates and the San Francisco Giants will play the rubber game of their 3-game set in an early one today at PNC Park. The Giants evened the score, cruising to an 8-1 victory last night, and will turn to southpaw Robbie Ray today to wrap up the series. Ray is 9-5 with an ERA of just 2.85 and a 1.12 WHIP. In his last turn against the Mets he was delivering, allowing only 1 run and 4 hits over 7 innings of work, and the Giants went on to a 4-3 victory. Ray will be opposed by another lefty, Andrew Heaney. Heaney, who is 5-9 with a 4.89 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP, was shaky in his last start against the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits over just 3-1/3 innings and the Rockies went on to a 17-16 win. At 57-57, the Giants still have a wild card shot but they have to beat teams like the 49-65 Bucs if they want to get in, and they know it. Ray should keep the Pirates’ bats in check, who are dead last in the league in scoring.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS