Category: Baseball

The best player in baseball, Mike Trout, will be playing in his 1,000th game tonight when the Los Angeles Angels open a 4-game set at home against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels will give the nod to the southpaw, Tyler Skaggs, and he has been on his game. Skaggs is 6-4, with an 2.81 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he has been lethal. During that span, he is 3-0, with a nasty ERA of 0.45, and a 1.05 WHIP. The Jays will send Aaron Sanchez to the hill. The Barstow California native is 3-5, with a 4.35 ERA, and a 1.49 WHIP. Toronto had to travel across the country yesterday after their game with Atlanta and that is always difficult. The Jays have lost 8 of their last 9 road games and are 0-7 in their last 7 on the road against lefties. The Angels Mike Trout has been on fire. He is riding an 8-game hitting streak where he has gone an amazing 16 for 23 with 4 home runs. The Jays dropped 2 of 3 to the Angels in May at Rogers Centre and are 2-5 in the last 7 meetings. I like the Angels in this situation.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS

The Boston Red Sox will go for their 50th win of the season when they face the Minnesota Twins tonight at Target Field. Southpaw David Price will get the nod for Boston. Price has been on his mark, with a record of 8-4, a 3.76 ERA, and a 1.20 WHIP. Boston is 7-0 in Price’s last 7 starts and 4-0 in his last 4 turns on the road. Minnesota will call on Lance Lynn to deliver and he has been mediocre at best. Lynn is 4-5, with a 4.98 ERA, and a 1.60 WHIP. The Twins have struggled against the American League East, going 5-16 in their last 21 and they are just 2-6 in their last 8 games against lefties. Consider the Red Sox in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Washington Nationals offense has gone dormant but that could change tonight because the Baltimore Orioles will be in town. Jefry Rodríguez will be making his first Big League start for the Nationals but did have one relief appearance against the Atlanta Braves and was impressive, throwing 4-2/3 innings of scoreless ball. The Orioles have one of the worst pitching staffs in all of baseball, with a combined ERA of 4.87, and tonight they will have David Hess on the hill. Hess is 2-3, with a 4.13 ERA, and was lit up in his last turn, surrendering 5 runs on 5 hits with 4 walks in just 3-1/3 innings against Boston. Baltimore is 0-5 in their last 5 meetings with Washington. It’s just a matter of time for the struggling Bryce Harper to get hot and tonight could be that night.
TONIGHT’S PICK: WASHINGTON NATIONALS

The St. Louis Cardinals finally got back on track yesterday by blanking the Chicago Cubs, 5-0. Tonight they will head to Citizens Bank Park for the first game of a 3-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cardinals will have Miles Mikolas tapping the rubber and he has been delivering. Mikolas is 7-2, with a 2.43 ERA, a 0.96 WHIP, and St. Louis is 5-1 in his last 6 road starts. The Phillies will turn to Nick Pivetta to throw strikes and he hasn’t been doing that. He is 4-6, with a 4.25 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and Philadelphia is 0-4 in his last 4 starts. The Cardinals have dominated the Phillies, winning 17 of the last 23 meetings.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Pittsburgh Pirates will go for a 3-game sweep today at PNC Park over a really bad Cincinnati Reds team. Joe Musgrove will get the nod for the Bucs and he has pitched well. Musgrove is 2-1, with a 2.16 ERA, and a 1.12 WHIP. Anthony DeSclafani will get the call for the Reds and he has not been impressive. He has a mark of 1-1, with a 5.40 ERA, and a 1.90 WHIP. The Reds are 14-22 on the road and just 1-7 in their last 8 in Pittsburgh. The numbers indicate a Pirates win.
TODAY’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

When a team’s rotation is so bad you have to start a reliever you have issues and that is what the Tampa Bay Rays will do today when they face the New York Yankees in an early one in the Bronx. Ryne Stanek will get the nod for the Rays and he has worked just 16-1/3 innings, with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The Bombers will counter with their ace, Luis Severino, and all he does is deliver. Severino is 9-2, with a 2.27 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP in 91 innings of work. New York has owned Tampa, winning 21 of the last 27 meetings in New York and the Yanks are 21-5 in Severino’s last 26 starts at the Stadium. Good luck Tampa, you are gonna need it.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

All Corey Kluber does is win and that’s who the Cleveland Indians will have on the hill tonight when they host the Minnesota Twins. Kluber is 10-2 on the season, with a stingy 1.99 ERA, a 0.83 WHIP, and he has yielded a mere 7 runs in his last 41-1/3 frames. Now that’s impressive. Minnesota is just 2-8 in their last 10 road games and will turn to Kyle Gibson to throw strikes. Gibson has pitched better than his 1-4 record indicates. His ERA is respectable at 3.45 and he has a 1.19 WHIP however, he has struggled against Cleveland, with a career record of 2-6 and an ERA of 5.60. When Kluber is on the bump against the American League Central, the Indians are 22-6 in his last 28 starts. Cleveland should get this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS