Category: Baseball

The San Francisco Giants will send Johnny Cueto to the bump tonight to face Patrick Corbin and the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of a 4-game set at Chase Field. Cueto had a great Spring, posting an ERA of 1.50 in 3 outings, and San Francisco is 4-1 in his last 5 starts. Corbin was 2-1 in Spring training, with an ERA of 3.44, and is 4-5 in 14 career starts against San Francisco. Hunter Pence has owned Corbin, going 12-25 with 4 homers, and the Giants are 13-3 in the last 16 meetings with Arizona.

Tonight’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

The Boston Red Sox will open the season with an interleague matchup today at Fenway against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Rick Porcello will take the hill for the Red Sox. Porcello was lights out in 2016, with a record of 22-4, an ERA of 3.15, a WHIP of 1.09 and was 13-1 at Fenway with an ERA of 2.97. Gerrit Cole gets the nod for the Pirates. Cole was 7-10 in 2016, with an ERA of 3.88, a WHIP of 1.44 and the Bucs are 1-4 in his last 5 interleague starts. With the current Pirates hitting a combined .130 against Porcello, the edge goes to Boston in this one.

Today’s pick:

Boston Red Sox

The New York Yankees had a great Spring in Tampa and will kick off their 2017 campaign with a trip to Tropicana Field to take on the Tampa Bay Rays. Masahiro Tanaka gets the nod for the Bombers and the Yankees are 8-0 in his last 8 starts against the Rays. Tampa Bay will counter with Chris Archer. The Rays are 0-6 in Archer’s last 6 outings against New York and 2-10 in his last 12 home starts. Last year Archer was 9-19, with an ERA of 4.02, and a WHIP of 1.24, as opposed to Tanaka, who was 14-4, with an ERA of 3.07, and a WHIP of 1.08.

Today’s pick:

New York Yankees

The Chicago Cubs did it. They forced a Game 7 and will try to keep the momentum going tonight when they send Kyle Hendricks to the hill. Hendricks is 17-9, with an ERA of 2.05 and a WHIP of just 0.98. The Cubs are 5-0 in Hendricks’ last 5 road starts and 5-0 in their last 5 when he has 4 days’ rest. The Cleveland Indians will send their ace, Corey Kluber, to the hill tonight and he’s also had a stellar year, going 22-10, with an ERA of 2.86 and a WHIP of 1.05. The Indians are 5-0 in Kluber’s last 5 home starts against a team with a winning record and 6-1 in his last 7 against the NL Central. Flip a coin on this one but I’m sticking with the Cubs.

Tonight’s pick:

Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs will try to force a Game 7 when they send Jake Arrieta to the hill tonight at Progressive Field. Arrieta is 19-9 on the season, with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In Arrieta’s last outing in Cleveland, he looked sharp in a 5-1 Cubbies win. The Cubs are 4-1 in Arrieta’s last 5 starts when he has 5 days’ rest and are 4-1 in his last 5 starts against the AL Central. Josh Tomlin gets the nod for Cleveland and he is 15-9, with a 4.18 ERA, a WHIP of 1.16 and Tomlin is going on only 3 days’ rest. Joe West is behind the dish tonight and the Cubs are 6-1 in their last 7 when he’s calling it. I like the Cubs’ chances tonight.

Today’s pick:

Chicago Cubs

The World Series will not end tonight because Jon Lester is taking the hill for the Cubs. The hard-throwing southpaw is 21-6, with an ERA of 2.35 and a WHIP of 1.01. The Cubs are 6-1 in their last 7 when Lester has 4 days rest. Cleveland will counter with Trevor Bauer and he is 12-9, with a 4.30 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. The Indians are 2-6 in their last 8 road games against left-handers and 1-4 in their last 5 interleague road games against southies. The Cubbies take this back to Cleveland.

Today’s pick:

Chicago Cubs

Look for Lackey’s post-season experience to pay off in Game 4.

Today’s pick:

Chicago Cubs