Category: Baseball

The two bottom feeders of the NL West, the San Diego Padres and the Colorado Rockies, will open a 4-game set tonight at Petco Park. The Rockies have won 6 of the 9 meetings this year and are expected to turn to Jon Gray to throw strikes. Gray is 1-0 over his last 3 turns, with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.44 WHIP, and when he gets the nod against San Diego, good things happen. Colorado is 5-1 in his last 6 starts against the Padres overall and they are 4-0 in Gray’s last 4 turns at Petco Park. The Padres have lost 10 of their last 12 home games and are expected to have Eric Lauer on the hill. Over his last 3 turns, he has been shaky. Lauer is 1-1, with a bloated ERA of 7.62, a 1.62 WHIP, and he has struggled this year against Colorado. Lauer has faced the Rockies twice this year and was lit up in both turns. Back in May, he was scorched for 8 runs on 8 hits and in June, he yielded 5 runs on 10 hits. In both cases, he failed to make it out of the third inning. Good value on the Rocks.
TONIGHT’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES

The New York Yankees are called the Bronx Bombers for a reason – they smack home runs. Tonight they will go for a series sweep of the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. The Yanks have won 14 straight in Baltimore. They have launched 47 See Ya’s this year against the Orioles and 38 of those have been at Camden Yards. Lefty James Paxton is expected to get the nod for New York. Paxton has not lived up to the Yankees expectations. He is 6-6 with a 4.61 ERA, but if he is going to deliver, it should be tonight against an Oriole team that is just 17-40 at home. Baltimore is expected to counter with John Means. He has pitched well, with a record of 8-6 and a 3.12 ERA. Means will be making his first start since coming off of the IL with a bicep strain, and if he has any rust at all, New York will exploit it. The Yanks are hot. Ride them ’til they’re not.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Boston Red Sox finally snapped their 8-game skid last night by beating the pathetic Kansas City Royals at Fenway, 7-5, in game 1 of a 3-game set. Tonight Andrew Cashner is expected to get the nod for Boston and Jacob Junis for Kansas City. Since Boston acquired Cashner from Baltimore, he has not been at his best but is still 10-6 on the season with a 4.44 ERA. On the flip side, Junis is 6-10, with a 5.03 ERA, and is winless in his last 2 turns, yielding 10 runs on 16 hits in losses to Toronto and Cleveland. The Red Sox have owned the Royals, winning 8 straight and 9 of the last 10 meetings. The Champs get it done.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

Mike Odorizzi will seek his 13th win of the season and the Minnesota Twins will look to polish off the Kansas City Royals for a 3-game sweep in a matinee at Target Field. Odorizzi is 12 -5 with a 3.73 ERA and when he gets the nod at Target Field, good things happen – the Twins win. Minnesota is 14-4 in Odorizzi’s last 18 home starts. The Royals are expected to send Brad Keller to the hill and he sits at 7-10 with a 4.01 ERA. Keller had better be on his game today if he wants success, the way the Twins have been crushing the ball. In the first two games of the series, the Twins put up 22 runs and Minnesota has won 18 of the last 24 against the Royals at home.
TODAY’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

The Oakland Athletics will open a quick 2-game set tonight with the St. Louis Cardinals at RingCentral Coliseum. The A’s swept the Cardinals back in June in St. Louis and are expected to face Dakota Hudson, and it won’t be a cake walk because he has been delivering. Hudson is 10-5, with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Oakland is expected to counter with Mike Fiers and he has also been on his mark. Fiers is 9-3, with a 3.54 ERA, and a 1.14 WHIP. The A’s are 8-2 in Fiers’ last 10 starts and 4-1 in his last 5 turns at home. I like Oakland in this situation.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

With the departure of Zack Greinke, the Arizona Diamondbacks new ace is southpaw Robbie Ray and he will be tapping the rubber tonight when Arizona opens a 3-game set with the Washington Nationals at Chase Field. Ray is 9-7, with a 3.91 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and the Diamondbacks are 4-1 in his last 5 starts. The Nationals are expected to send Joe Ross to the hill. Ross has pitched mainly out of the bullpen and his numbers are not good. He is 0-3, with a 9.85 ERA, a 2.11 WHIP, and he was lit up in his last start, yielding 7 runs on 9 hits to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Washington has had problems with left-handed starters on the road, going just 4-11 in their last 15.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Cleveland Indians are surging and have added two more weapons to their arsenal, Franmil Reyes and Yasiel Puig. The Indians clobbered the Houston Astros yesterday, 10-4, and will go for the series win when the two clubs wrap up a 3-game set tonight at Progressive Field. It won’t be a walk in the park for Cleveland because Houston will have Gerrit Cole on the hill. Cole is 12-5, with a 2.94 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. The Indians will send Danny Salazar to the rubber, who will be making his season debut after recovering from a shoulder injury, and if he is healthy, Salazar can deliver. Cleveland has won 8 of their last 10 at home and will be a big dog tonight. Consider the Tribe.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS