Category: Baseball

Madison Bumgarner will get the start tonight for the San Francisco Giants when they travel to Citizens Bank Park to take on Zach Eflin and the Philadelphia Phillies. Despite a lack of run support for the left-hander, Bumgarner is still 10-6 on the season with an ERA of 2.09 and a 0.98 WHIP. The Giants are 5-1 in their last 6 meetings with the Phillies and 7-2 in their last 9 in Philadelphia. The Phillies’ Zach Eflin is 3-4 in 2016, with an ERA of 4.23 and a WHIP of 1.19. The Phillies have struggled against left-handers, going 3-7 in their last 10. Hunter Pence has hit safely in his 2 games since returning to the line-up and is batting .318 in his career against his former team. Pence should help jump start this offense.

Tonight’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

The Arizona Diamondbacks open a 3-game home set tonight against flame thrower Stephen Strasburg and the Washington Nationals. The San Diego native is delivering as usual, with a record of 14-1, an ERA of 2.68 and a WHIP of 0.99. The Nats are 10-1 in Strasburg’s last 11 road starts and 9-3 in their last 12 meetings with Arizona. The Diamondbacks struggle at home, owning a 17-35 record at Chase Field. Archie Bradley gets the nod for Arizona and he is 4-6 on the season, with an ERA of 4.17 and a WHIP of 1.41. The Diamondbacks are just 1-4 in Bradley’s last 5 home starts and 1-4 in their last 5 games against a team with a winning record. I like Harper and company tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Washington Nationals

The New York Mets need to stop the bleeding and Noah Syndergaard might be the answer. Syndergaard is 9-5 on the season, with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of 1.13. The Rocks counter with Chad Bettis who is 9-6, with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Mets are 6-1 in their last 7 on Sundays.

Today’s pick:

New York Mets

Don’t look now but the surging Los Angeles Dodgers are only 1 game back of the league-leading San Francisco Giants in the National League West. They’ll try to inch a little closer tonight when they send the left-hander Scott Kazmir to the mound. Kazmir comes into this game winning his last 7 starts, is 9-3 on the season, with a 4.35 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Dodgers are tough to beat at Chavez Ravine. They’re 23-7 in their last 30 at home. Braden Shipley will make his second start in the Bigs. He was roughed up in his Major League debut against Milwaukee, surrendering 6 runs on 8 hits in 5-1/3 innings. Arizona struggles against LA. They are 17-41 in their last 58 meetings and 6-20 in their last 26 at the Ravine. I like A-Gon and company tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Los Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago White Sox are still scrapping for a Wild Card berth and will try to take game 1 of a 3-game set against the Minnesota Twins tonight at Target Field. Jose Quintana is expected to get the start for Chicago and he has been sharp over his last 3 outings, going 2-0 with a 2.41 ERA, a 1.02 WHIP, and Chicago is 4-0 in Quintana’s last 4 starts. The White Sox have owned Minnesota, winning 8 out of their last 9 meetings and taking the last four at Target Field. Ricky Nolasco should get the start for the Twins and he has struggled over his last 3 starts, with a 1-1 record, an ERA of 6.43 and a WHIP of 1.71. In Nolasco’s last outing, he was drilled by the Red Sox, yielding 6 runs on 6 hits in 2 innings of work. The Twins will be without All-Star shortstop Eduardo Nunez, after they traded him last night to the San Francisco Giants for a left-handed pitching prospect. The White Sox need to win – the Twins don’t. I like Chicago tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Chicago White Sox

Cole Hamels, who has not allowed an earned run in his last 2 outings, gets the home start tonight for the Texas Rangers against Yordano Ventura and the Kansas City Royals. The lefty Hamels is having another stellar year, posting an 11-2 record with an ERA of 2.87 and a WHIP of 1.28. The Rangers are 13-3 in his last 16 home starts and 15-3 in his last 18 outings against a team with a losing record. Hamels last faced the Royals on July 23rd in Kansas City, with the Rangers winning 7-4. Ventura is 6-8 on the season with an ERA of 4.99 and a WHIP of 1.41. The Royals are 0-5 in Ventura’s last 5 starts, 1-5 in his last 6 road starts, and 0-7 in his last 7 outings against a team with a winning record. Kansas City has struggled against lefties, chalking up an 0-4 record over their last 4. I like the home team tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Texas Rangers

The Giants send the lefty Madison Bumgarner to the hill today to try to win the rubber game against Dan Straily and the Cincinnati Reds in this 3-game set. Bumgarner is 10-5 on the season, with a 2.14 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. After losing his last 2 outings, he should be due for a big game. The Giants are 19-7 in their last 26 home games and 12-1 in Bumgarner’s last 13 starts against the National League Central. Dan Straily is 5-6 on the season, with a 4.01 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and the Reds are 3-8 in their last 11 meetings with the Giants. Joey Votto has had success against Bumgarner, going 5-14 with 1 homer but Jay Bruce has struggled against him, going 2-15. Kerwin Danley is calling it today and the Giants are 4-0 in their last 4 with him behind the dish. If Bumgarner keeps it away from Votto, the Giants should win this game.

Today’s pick:

San Francisco Giants