Category: Baseball

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Pirates will play the final game of a 4-game set tonight but it won’t be at PNC Park. It will be at Bowman Field in Williamsport, Pennsylvania as part of the Little League World Classic. The Pirates finally snapped their 6-game skid yesterday with a 6-4 victory. They will try to make it two in a row tonight when they send Ivan Nova to the hill. Nova is 10-10, with a 3.77 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and he pitched well in his last outing, surrendering 2 runs, 1 which was earned, but had no run support in a 3-1 loss to Milwaukee. Mike Leake will get the call for the Cardinals. Leake is 7-11, with a 3.88 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and is winless in his last 4 starts, surrendering 19 runs during that span. St. Louis is 2-6 in Leake’s last 8 starts and 0-4 in his last 4 starts on the road. The Pirates’ Starling Marte has been on a tear, going 11-22 with 3 RBIs in his last 5 games. Baseball is a very streaky game and this could be the start of a run for the Bucs.

Tonight’s Pick:

Pittsburgh Pirates

The Washington Nationals’ Stephen Strasburg has been on the shelf for 4 weeks with an elbow ailment but is expected to tap the rubber tonight at Petco Park when the Nationals look to make it 3 straight victories over the host San Diego Padres. The San Diego native is having another sensational year, with a record of 10-3, an ERA of 3.25, and has been a Padre killer. The flamethrower is 6-1 lifetime against the Friars, with an ERA of 2.93, and last faced them on May 27th when he tossed 7 scoreless innings, yielding just 3 hits and fanning 15 batters. Andy Green is expected to send Travis Wood the the hill. The southpaw is 2-4, with an ERA of 6.46, and is 1-1 with an ERA of 5.57 since coming over from Kansas City. Washington is 5-0 in their last 5 games against lefties, 4-1 in their last 5 meetings with the Padres, and 7-2 in their last 9 trips to Petco.

Tonight’s Pick:

Washington Nationals

The Minnesota Twins split a doubleheader yesterday with the Cleveland Indians so fatigue could be a factor tonight when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks at Target Field. Two quality pitchers will oppose each other, with Zack Godley going for Arizona and Ervin Santana for Minnesota. Santana is 12-7, with an ERA of 3.28, and a WHIP of 1.13 but Minnesota is 2-6 in his last 8 home starts and they are 1-5 in their last 6 games against the National League West. On the flip side, Godley is 5-5, with an ERA of 2.95, and a WHIP of 1.04. The Diamondbacks are 4-1 in Godley’s last 5 starts and 6-2 in his last 8 road starts. Arizona has dominated the American League Central, going 6-0 in their last 6 games and they are 8-2 in their last 10 interleague games. Edge Arizona.

Tonight’s Pick:

Arizona Diamondbacks

The New York Yankees have dominated the Mets so far in the Subway Series and will go for the 4-game sweep tonight at Citi Field. Terry Collins is expected to hand the ball to Steven Matz. Matz is not having a banner year, posting a record of 2-6, with an ERA of 5.54, a WHIP of 1.47, and is 0-5 with a bloated ERA of 9.51 in his last 7 turns. Joe Girardi is expected to give the nod to Luis Severino. Severino was on a roll until he was shelled in his last outing by the Red Sox but everybody has a bad day and he should bounce back tonight. Severino comes into tonight’s game with a record of 9-5, an ERA of 3.32, and a WHIP of 1.11. The Bombers are 6-1 in his last 7 starts and 4-0 in his last 4 interleague outings. The Yanks are 4-1 in their last 5 trips to Queens and should be able to light up Matz tonight.

Tonight’s Pick:

New York Yankees

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays will play the third game of a 4-game set tonight at Rogers Centre and I’m leaning Toronto in this one. Jacob Faria will get the call tonight for the Rays. Faria is winless in his last 3 starts, posting an ERA of 5.06, with a WHIP of 1.44, and has issued 10 walks during that span. Toronto’s ace Marcus Stroman will tap the rubber tonight for the Jays. Stroman is 1-1 in his last 3 outings, with a 2.49 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and is 1-0 against the Rays this year with an ERA of 1.98. Toronto is 7-2 in Stroman’s last 9 starts at Rogers Centre and 6-0 in their last 6 games following a loss.

Tonight’s Pick:

Toronto Blue Jays

The Arizona Diamondbacks blanked the Houston Astros last night, 2-0, but that’s understandable since Zack Greinke was on the hill for Arizona. Today they meet again in an early one at Chase Field and the outcome could be different. Brad Peacock gets the start for Houston and he has been spectacular. Peacock is 10-1, with an ERA of 3.07, and has not lost a game since June 9th. Houston is 7-1 in his last 8 starts and 6-1 in his last 7 road starts. Anthony Banda gets the nod for Arizona and he is 1-2, with an ERA of 4.60. Banda lost to the Dodgers in his last outing, 8-6. Houston has won 7 of the last 10 meetings with Arizona. I like the Astros in this situation.

Today’s Pick:

Houston Astros

The Atlanta Braves will travel to Coors Field tonight to face a Colorado Rockies team that they have struggled against. Atlanta is 2-14 in their last 16 meetings with the Rockies and 1-10 in their last 11 trips to Coors Field. The Braves will hand the ball to Julio Teherán who has had issues this year with a 7-10 mark, an ERA of 5.25, and the Braves are 1-4 in his last 5 starts. The Rockies’ Chad Bettis, who had off season cancer surgery, will be making his 2017 debut. In 2016, Bettis was 14-8, with an ERA of 4.79, and Colorado is 10-1 in his last 11 starts against the National League East. The crowd will be fired up for this one. I like the home team here.

Tonight’s Pick:

Colorado Rockies