Category: Baseball

The San Francisco Giants will visit Citi Field tonight to open a 3-game set against the struggling New York Mets. The Mets have lost 2 in a row and 4 of their last 5. They will turn to Noah Syndergaard to throw strikes. Syndergaard has not been his normal lights out. He is 3-4, with a 4.90 ERA, and a 1.27 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, Syndergaard is 0-1 and his ERA has grown to 5.40. The Giants will counter with Madison Bumgarner. Mad Bum, who sits at 3-5 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP, is starting to find his groove. Over his last 3, he is 1-1 and has lowered his ERA to 3.93. Bumgarner has been a Met killer in his career. He is a perfect 6-0 with a 1.69 ERA and at Citi Field he is 5-0 with a ridiculous ERA of just 0.73. Mad Bum keeps it perfect.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The San Diego Padres will be a home dog tonight when they host the struggling Philadelphia Phillies to open a 3-game set at Petco Park. Philadelphia will try to get back on track by sending their ace to the hill, Aaron Nola. Nola is a perfect 6-0 and over his last 3, he has lowered his ERA to 2.45 and his WHIP to 1.31. The southpaw, Eric Lauer, will be tapping the rubber on his 24th birthday for the Padres and he has been delivering. Over his last 3 turns, he is 2-0 with a nasty ERA of only 1.50 and a 0.83 WHIP. The Phillies have lost 4 straight. They are 1-4 in their last 5 road games against lefties and 1-5 in their last 6 trips to Petco. Happy Birthday, Eric.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Chicago White Sox will go for a series win over the Cleveland Indians when they wrap up a 4-game set in a matinée today at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox will send Lucas Giolito to the rubber and he has been nothing but lethal. This guy has not lost a game since early April and owns a record of 7-1 with a 2.85 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. Chicago is 6-0 in Giolito’s last 6 starts and 5-1 in their last 6 home games. The Indians will send Zach Plesac to the hill and he will be making his second Big League start. Despite looking impressive in his debut against Boston, where he yielded just one run, he still has just 5-1/3 innings under his belt in the Bigs and he’ll need all the help he can get because the Indians are just 4-9 in their last 13 overall. Consider the boys from the south side.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX

Two of the best flame throwers in the league will oppose each other tonight at Chase Field with Zack Greinke taking the hill for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Jacob DeGrom for the New York Mets. Arizona is on a 5-game skid and have not been getting any breaks. Four of their 5 losses have been by one run only. I like the Diamondbacks chances to get back on track tonight. Greinke is 6-2 on the season, with a 2.78 ERA, a 0.88 WHIP, and when he takes the hill at home, good things happen. The Diamondbacks are 5-1 in Greinke’s last 6 starts at Chase and he has dominated the Mets in his career, going 5-1 with a 3.08 ERA. The 2018 National League Cy Young winner, DeGrom, sits at 3-5 on the season with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP. The Mets are 0-4 in his last 4 road starts and 1-5 in his last 6 starts against the NL West. The Snakes get it done.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Miami Marlins will bring their dismal 8-17 road record to Petco Park tonight to open a 3-game set with the San Diego Padres. Two lefties will be tapping the rubber, with Caleb Smith starting for the Marlins and Joey Lucchesi for the Padres. Lucchesi has lowered his ERA over his last 3 starts to 2.84, with a WHIP of just 0.68. He will be working on six days’ rest where the Padres are 5-1 in his last 6 starts and they are 4-1 in his last 5 turns against the National League East. Over Smith’s last 3 starts, his ERA has ballooned to 6.08 with a 1.20 WHIP. San Diego has been smacking lefties at home, going 5-2 in their last 7, and they have won 5 of the last 6 against the Marlins. I like the Friars in this situation.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Milwaukee Brewers will visit PNC Park tonight to open a 4-game set against their division rival, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Joe Musgrove will get the nod for Pittsburgh and he is 3-5 on the season, with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. The Pirates are just 2-5 in his last 7 starts and he has struggled in his last two turns against the Brewers, with a bloated ERA of 6.94. Milwaukee will counter with Chase Anderson, who is 2-0, with a 3.25 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. The Brewers are 6-2 in his last 8 starts. Milwaukee was idle yesterday and after a day off, they are 20-6 in their last 26 and will be facing a Pirates team who has played four games in less than 54 hours, so fatigue will probably be an issue for the Bucs.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The surging Philadelphia Phillies will go for two in a row against the St. Louis Cardinals when the two teams play the second game of a 3-game set at Citizens Bank Park. The Cardinals will need all the luck they can get tonight. They are just 6-17 in their last 23 overall and have called up Genesis Cabrera to take the hill. Cabrera has not been getting it done in Triple-A, with a 6.35 ERA, and that doesn’t bode well when you have to face the Phillies offensive weapons. Philadelphia will send their ace, Aaron Nola, to the hill and he is a perfect 5-0 on the season. The Phillies are 19-10 at home and 3-1 this year against the Cardinals.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES