Category: Baseball

The Cleveland Indians have now lost two in a row to the lowly Chicago White Sox and will try to get back on track today when the two clubs finish out a 4-game set at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox will have Carlos Rodon on the hill and he will be making just his second start of the season. In his first outing on Saturday against the Red Sox, the rust was evident. Rodon lasted 5 innings and yielded 4 runs on 6 hits. The Indians will go with Mike Clevinger who has been reliable at 4-2, with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Cleveland has won 10 of the last 13 meetings. Carlos Torres will be calling balls and strikes and the Indians are 5-0 in their last 5 games when he is behind the dish.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

Chris Sale is on the hill for the Boston Red Sox and they are facing the worst team in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Colorado Rockies are in a tailspin and it won’t get any easier for them tonight because they will be at Citizens Bank Park to take on Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies. All Nola does is deliver. He is 7-2, with a 2.35 ERA, a stingy WHIP of just 0.96, and Philadelphia is 14-3 in his last 17 home starts. Colorado will counter with Jon Gray and he does not deliver. He is 6-6, with a 5.66 ERA, and a 1.51 WHIP. The Rockies have now lost 4 in a row and 8 of their last 10. Consider Philly in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Madison Bumgarner will be making his second start of the season when the San Francisco Giants pay a visit to Marlins Park for a 4-game set against the Miami Marlins. Despite taking a loss in his season debut, Mad Bum pitched well and I expect that all the kinks will be worked out for tonight’s turn. Miami will counter with Wei-Yin Chen and he has been disappointing at 1-3, with a 5.86 ERA, and a 1.56 WHIP. The Marlins are just 1-6 in their last 7 home games and have struggled with lefties, which does not bode well against a flame throwing southie, like Bumgarner. The Giants are surging, winning 8 of their last 10 games and they are 4-1 in their last 5 games when the Mad Man is on the hill against the National League East. Look out Arizona, the Giants are coming.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The New York Yankees are clicking on every cylinder and will have their ace flame thrower, Luis Severino, on the hill tonight when they go for a sweep against their cross town rival, the New York Mets. The Mets are a disaster, with a record of 27-34, and they have now lost 8 in a row. They do have a glimmer of hope tonight because Seth Lugo will be on the hill. Lugo’s numbers are impressive, with a record of 1-1, a 2.04 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 39-2/3 innings of work. Yankee Luis Severino has been lights out. He is 9-1, with a 2.20 ERA, and a 0.93 WHIP in 86 innings of work. The Bombers’ bats are relentless and they have won the last 6 meetings with the Mets. Tonight it should be 7.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

It is obvious the Boston Red Sox miss their top two sluggers, Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez, after losing last night at Fenway to the lowly Chicago White Sox, 1-0. Martinez, who leads the league with 20 home runs, says he should be in the lineup today for the second game of the 3-game set against Chicago. This should ignite Boston’s sputtering offense. The Red Sox will send the veteran David Price to the rubber. Last year’s season seems to be a distant memory for the flame throwing southpaw, who is a respectable 6-4, with a 4.08 ERA, and a 1.24 WHIP. Price is 2-0 in his last 3 turns, with a 3.18 ERA and a WHIP of 1.18. The White Sox will give the nod to Carlos Rodon. Rodon has been plagued with injuries this year and last. He will be making his season debut today. Last year’s numbers were not great, at 2-5, with a 4.15 ERA. Chicago’s road record is dismal, at 11-21. They are just 1-6 in their last 7 meetings with Boston and 1-5 in their last 6 visits to Fenway. The Red Sox need to get back on track today to keep pace with the Yankees and they know it.
TODAY’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

Two of the American League East bottom feeders will meet again tonight for the second game of a 4-game set when the Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles at Rogers Centre. Baltimore had a 3 run lead last night going into the ninth and found a way to blow it, with Toronto winning in 10. The Jays will send their best hurler, southpaw J.A. Happ, to the mound. Happ has a mark of 7-3, with a 4.08 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and in his last 3 turns, he is 2-0 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Toronto could see the return of Josh Donaldson tonight, which would shore up the hot corner and add a big bat to the offense. Baltimore will send Andrew Cashner to the rubber and he has struggled. Cashner is 2-7, with a 5.02 ERA, a 1.67 WHIP, and in his last 3 starts, he is 1-2 with a 5.62 ERA and a 2.25 WHIP. Baltimore has been awful on the road at 9-24. The Orioles are 3-8 in their last 11 road games against lefties and they are 2-5 in their last 7 meetings with Toronto. The only bright spot for Baltimore has been Manny Machado, who more than likely will be leaving town. Maybe Buck Showalter should do the same. Consider our friends north of the border tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS