Category: Baseball

Two southpaws will face off tonight in Oakland when the Houston Astros send Dallas Keuchel to the mound to face Dillon Overton and the Athletics. Keuchel has found his groove, going 2-0 with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over his last 3 outings. Houston is 5-0 in Keuchel’s last 5 starts and 7-1 in his last 8 against the Athletics. Dillon Overton was just called back up from Triple-A Nashville. In his last outing in the Big Leagues on June 30th, he was drilled by the San Francisco Giants, yielding 8 runs on 8 hits with 3 walks in 3 innings of work. Overton is 1-1 with an inflated ERA of 11.42 and a 2.31 WHIP in his last 3 Major League starts. The Astros can hit lefties, posting a 5-1 record in their last 6 games against them. Oakland, on the other hand, has struggled against southpaws at home, going 0-6 in their last 6 at the Coliseum. I like the Astros in this situation.

Tonight’s pick:

Houston Astros

The New York Yankees will try for 2 wins in a row when they host their American League East rival, the Baltimore Orioles, tonight in the Bronx. The Orioles are sending the 1-6 Kevin Gausman to the mound tonight and Baltimore is just 5-16 in his last 21 road starts. The Yanks counter with the 6-5 Ivan Nova. New York is 5-2 in Nova’s last 7 starts against the Orioles. Baltimore has struggled at the stadium, going 3-8 in their last 11 in New York. I like the Bombers in this one.

Tonight’s pick:

New York Yankees

The best team in baseball, the San Francisco Giants, will try to avoid a sweep against the San Diego Padres when they send Johnny Cueto to the hill today at Petco Park. Cueto has been dominant. He is 13-1 with a 2.47 ERA and WHIP of 1.00. The Giants are 16-2 in Cueto’s last 18 starts and 9-0 in his last 9 road starts. Pomeranz was supposed to get the nod today for the Padres but they offed him to Boston. Why, I don’t know… So Edwin Jackson will start for the Padres. He is 0-1 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.78 WHIP. The Giants are 19-7 in their last 26 meetings with the Padres.

Today’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

Adam Wainwright and the St. Louis Cardinals will try to even up the 3 game set with the Miami Marlins today at Busch Stadium. Wainwright has been solid, going 2-1 with an ERA of 3.32 and a WHIP of 1.37 over his last 3 outings. Tom Koehler takes the hill for the Marlins and he has struggled over his last 3 starts, posting an 0-1 record with an ERA of 7.50 and a WHIP of 2.08. Miami is 0-7 in Koehler’s last 7 starts against a team with a winning record and they are 2-6 in their last 8 meetings with St. Louis. The Cardinals are 9-2 in Wainwright’s last 11 starts against the National League East and they are 5-2 in his last 7 against the Marlins. The Cardinals should get this one.

Today’s pick:

St. Louis Cardinbals

Tim Lincecum and Chris Tillman face off today at Camden Yards and I am leaning towards Orioles. Tillman is 11-2 with an ERA of 3.55 and a WHIP of 1.23. Lincecum is 1-2 with an ERA of 7.50 and a WHIP 2.11. The Orioles are 18-4 in Tillman’s last 22 starts and 9-1 when he has 4 days’ rest.

Today’s pick:

Baltimore Orioles

The Miami Marlins took the first game of a 3 game set yesterday against the Cincinnati Reds and will try to make it 2 when they send the lefty Adam Conley to the mound today at Marlins Park. Conley has been pitching well, going 2-1 with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.98 in his last 3 outings, and Miami is 5-1 in his last 6 starts against the American League Central. The Reds will counter with another southpaw, John Lamb. Lamb has struggled, going 0-1 in his last 3 with a 7.47 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP. Lamb was lit up in his last start, yielding 8 runs on 8 hits in 4-1/3 innings, resulting in a 12-1 trouncing by the Washington Nationals. Cincinnati is awful on the road with a record of 14-30 and they are 1-4 in their last 5 in Miami. The Marlins can hit lefties. They are 8-2 in their last 10 against them and they should get this one.

Tonight’s pick:

Miami Marlins

The Chicago Cubs will try to get back on track when they travel to PNC Park tonight to open a 3 game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jake Arrieta will get the call for the Cubs and he is 12-3 on the season with an ERA of 2.33 and a WHIP of 1.06. Arrieta has been spectacular at PNC Park, going 4-0 with an ERA of just 1.85 in 6 career starts. Chicago has dominated the Pirates, winning their last 7 in Pittsburgh and taking 13 out of the last 16 meetings. The lefty Francisco Liriano takes the hill for Pittsburgh tonight and he has struggled in 2016, going 5-8 with an ERA of 5.34 and a WHIP of 1.65. The Cubs have faced Liriano twice this season and clobbered him, putting up 12 runs in 10-1/3 innings. The Pirates are a dismal 1-6 in Liriano’s last 7 starts and 0-4 in his last 4 home outings. Cubs should snap their 3 game skid tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Chicago Cubs