Category: Baseball

The Cincinnati Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies will play the third leg of their 4-game set today at Great American Ball Park. Matt Harvey will tap the rubber for the Big Red Machine for probably his last turn before being traded. Harvey has seen better days, with a record of 5-6, a 5.21 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. Over his last 3 outings, he is 1-1 with a 6.91 ERA, and a 1.67 WHIP. Harvey was ripped in his last start by the Pirates, yielding 8 runs and 4 homers in just 3-2/3 innings of work. Not good. Vince Velasquez will take the hill for the National League leading Phillies. Velasquez is 7-8, with a 4.05 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and he has been throwing flames over his last 3 turns, going 1-0, with a 0.60 ERA and a 0.67 WHIP. Philadelphia will have some added offensive power today when the newly acquired Asdrúbal Cabrera takes the field. Philadelphia has won 4 of the last 5 meetings with Cincinnati and should get this one.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Arizona Diamondbacks have lost their last two games but should get back on track tonight because they will be at Petco Park to take on the San Diego Padres. The Padres have obviously thrown the towel in and for good reason. They have lost 8 of their last 10 and 25 of their last 33. Tonight the Friars are expected to send Luis Perdomo to the bump. Perdomo has been awful, at 1-5, with a 6.99 ERA, and San Diego is 0-5 in his last 5 home starts. Arizona has played well on the road, winning 16 of their last 23 games, and will turn to their ace, Zack Greinke, to throw strikes. Greinke has been delivering. He is 11-5, with a 3.05 ERA, and is 6-0 in his last 7 starts with a nasty ERA of only 1.57. Greinke has been a Padre killer in his career, with a record of 10-2 and a 2.14 ERA. The Snakes sit just 1-1/2 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the National League West. In order to keep pace, they have to capitalize on teams like San Diego and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees have been playing mediocre baseball and that is not going to cut it if they want to keep pace with the red hot Boston Red Sox. The Yankees will have a chance to get on a roll when they open a 4-game set tonight against the Kansas City Royals in the Bronx. Sonny Gray is expected to take the hill for New York. Gray has not lived up to the Yankees’ expectations at 7-7, with a 5.34 ERA, and a 1.49 WHIP, but he has pitched well of late, winning his last 2 outings. Gray faced the Royals on May 20th and was spectacular, allowing just 1 run in a Yankee 10-1 win. Jakob Junis is expected to start for Kansas City. Junis is 5-10, with a 5.03 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and has served up 24 homers which is not a good thing when you are facing the Bronx Bombers. The Royals own the second worst record in the Majors at 31-70 and are 16-43 in their last 59 visits to New York.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Los Angeles Angels can’t seem to figure out the Chicago White Sox. The Halos lost Monday’s matchup, 5-3, and fell again to them last night, 4-2. Tonight they will meet again for the third game of a 4-game series at Angel Stadium. The Angels will call on the southpaw, Tyler Skaggs, to throw strikes. Skaggs has pitched well, with a record of 7-6, a very respectable ERA of 2.68, a 1.22 WHIP, and Los Angeles is 5-2 in his last 7 starts. The White Sox are expected to counter with the veteran, James Shields. Shields has been shaky at 4-11, with a 4.26 ERA, a 1.26 WHIP, and Chicago is just 5-21 in his last 26 road starts. The Angels’ superstar, Mike Trout, has been in a bit of a slump but it’s just a matter of time before he erupts and against a guy like Shields, tonight could be that night.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS

With the Pittsburgh Pirates 7-0 shutout of the Cleveland Indians last night, they’ve now extended their winning streak to 10. The two teams meet again tonight at Progressive Field for the second leg of a 3-game set. The Pirates will go with Joe Musgrove and he has been mediocre at best. Musgrove is 3-4, with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. The Tribe will go with their young flamethrower, Shane Bieber. Bieber has been delivering, at 5-1, with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Cleveland will see the return of their slugger, Edwin Encarnación, who has been out the last two games with a hand injury. Pittsburgh’s streak ends tonight.
TONIGHTS PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

The New York Yankees last trip to Tampa was not a favorable one so now it’s payback time for the Bombers when they open a 3-game set tonight against the Rays at Tropicana Field. The Rays will continue with their experiment of using relievers as starters. They will start the rookie Hunter Wood, who will probably see an inning or two of work. Wood is 0-0, with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP in 13-1/3 innings of work. The Yankees will send their ace, Luis Severino, to the rubber. Severino has been mowing everyone down with a record of 14-2, a 2.31 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP, and has dominated Tampa. He is 7-1 in his career against the Rays, with a 2.38 ERA. Yanks get the win tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Colorado Rockies will go for their eighth straight win and the series sweep over the host Arizona Diamondbacks, but not so fast. Colorado will send Antonio Senzatela to the rubber. Senzatela is 3-2, with a 5.34 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and the Rockies are 1-6 in his last 7 road starts. Senzatela has been fighting a blister on his right middle finger and that’s always a season-long hindrance. Arizona will go with the best they have, Zack Greinke. Greinke has been pitching as good as anyone in the Majors. He is 10-5, with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and over his last 3, he is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. The Snakes are 5-1 in Greinke’s last 6 starts and 22-8 in his last 30 turns at Chase Field.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS