Category: Baseball

The Boston Red Sox will go for the series sweep over the visiting Texas Rangers and their ninth straight win, and the chances of that happening look very promising because Chris Sale will take the mound for Boston. Sale has been off the charts, going 3-0 in his last 3 turns, with a ridiculous ERA of only 0.45, and a WHIP of just 0.65. Texas will counter with 45 year old Bartolo Colón. Colón has surprised everyone and is having a pretty good year at 5-6, with a 4.65 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and in his last 3 starts he is 1-2, with a 3.60 ERA, and a 1.10 WHIP. Not bad for a guy that was pretty much written off last year. The Red Sox have won the last 5 meetings overall with the Rangers and the last 6 meetings at Fenway. Boston has too many weapons for Texas and with Sale on the hill, the Red Sox should get the win.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Milwaukee Brewers and the Miami Marlins went to extra innings last night with the host team Miami coming out on top, 4-3. The Brewers, who have won 6 of their last 10, will try to even the score tonight when the two teams hook up again for the second game of a 3-game set at Marlins Park. Jhoulys Chacín will get the nod for the Brewers. Chacín is having a productive year at 7-3, with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in 104 innings of work. Miami is expected to counter with Pablo López, who will be making his third Big league start. López is 1-0, with a 5.73 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP over 11 innings of work. He did not look good in his last outing when he was spotted a 9 run lead against the Washington Nationals and gave up 5 runs over 5 innings, with the Nationals rallying for a 14-12 win. The Brewers are 11-4 in Chacín’s last 15 starts, 4-0 in his last 4 turns against the National League East and the Brewers have won 5 of the last 6 meetings with the Marlins.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees will play a doubleheader today at Camden Yards. The first game will have New York sending southpaw C.C. Sabathia to the rubber and Baltimore is expected to go with Jimmy Yacabonis. Yacabonis was once again called up from Triple A Norfolk. In his Big League appearances, he is 0-0, with a 8.53 ERA, and a 2.37 WHIP. Sabathia is 6-3, with a 3.02 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP. The Yanks are 11-5 in their last 16 meetings with the Orioles and 4-1 in their last 5 trips to Camden Yards. Baltimore owns the worst record in baseball, a dismal 12-29 at home, and have now lost 6 in a row. I like the Bombers in the first one.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Arizona Diamondbacks bats erupted yesterday, crushing the San Diego Padres, 20-5. Today the two teams will conclude a 4-game set at Chase Field. Arizona’s Zack Greinke got off to a slow start to begin the season but has turned it around in a big way. Greinke sits at 9-5, with a 3.36 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP, and has been virtually unhittable in his last 3 starts, going 3-0 with a 0.92 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. Clayton Richards will get the call for San Diego. Richards has been trudging along at 7-8, with a 4.46 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and is 1-2 in his last 3 turns, with a 5.21 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. The Diamondbacks are 22-7 in Greinke’s last 29 home starts. The Friars are 5-16 in their last 21 overall and 1-5 in their last 6 road games. A consideration on Arizona is warranted here.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees fell to the Toronto Blue Jays last night at Rogers Centre, 6-2, and Sonny Gray lost again. Today the Yanks will send a legitimate Cy Young contender to the hill, Luis Severino. Severino leads the majors in wins with 13 and has been a hitter’s nightmare. He has a 1.98 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. It is a known fact that the Yankees are interested in Toronto’s lefty, J.A. Happ, and don’t be surprised if he is wearing pinstripes before too long. Happ will take the hill today for the Jays. He is the one bright spot in Toronto’s rotation, with a record of 10-4, a 4.03 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP, but was tagged by Detroit in his last turn, yielding 7 runs on 10 hits in a 9-1 Toronto loss. The Bombers feast on lefties, going 22-6 in their last 28, and they are 4-1 in their last 5 meetings with Toronto. Yanks even the score.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

There will be a pitching mismatch tonight at “The K” when the Kansas City Royals play host to the Boston Red Sox. The American League East leaders will send their ace southpaw, Chris Sale, to the hill. Sale has been hurling flames, with a record of 8-4, a 2.41 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he has been off the charts, going 2-0, with a 0.86 ERA and a 0.52 WHIP. In his last start on Saturday against the New York Yankees, Sale pitched 7 scoreless innings, striking out 11 in a 11-0 Boston rout. Now that is domination. The Royals are expected to counter with Jason Hammel. Hammel is 2-10, with a 5.56 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and he has been hammered in his last 3 turns, going 0-3, with a 9.19 ERA and a 2.36 WHIP. With numbers like that, it could be a long night for Hammel. Boston is 31-17 on the road. They are ranked first in Runs Per Game at 5.19 and second in Team Batting Average at .266. The Royals are 11-32 at home and are ranked 30th in Runs Per Game at 3.45 and 23rd in Team Batting Average at .237. All the numbers indicate a Red Sox victory here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The San Francisco Giants will be glad to get back home after losing their last three games to the Colorado Rockies. Tonight they will open a 4-game set at AT&T Park against the St. Louis Cardinals. The Giants are expected to send Johnny Cueto to the hill, who missed all of May and June due to an elbow issue. Prior to going on the DL, Cueto was delivering, with a record of 3-0, a nasty 0.84 ERA, and a WHIP of just 0.69. The Cardinals are expected to counter with Luke Weaver. Weaver has been awful. He is 4-7, with a 5.16 ERA, and a 1.45 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, Weaver is 1-1, with a bloated 8.22 ERA, a 1.89 WHIP, and he was throttled in his last turn on Saturday by Atlanta, allowing 8 runs on 10 hits in just 4-2/3 innings of work. San Francisco is tough at home, with a record of 26-14, and they are 7-1 at AT&T in their last 8 games against a team with a winning record. The Giants bats have been silent but they should be able to get to Weaver tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS