Category: Baseball

The Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers will kick off the NLDS tonight at Citizens Bank Park. Tonight’s expected starters are Christopher Sánchez for the Phillies and Shohei Ohtani for the Dodgers. Ohtani is 1-1 with a 2.87 ERA, a 1.04 WHIP, and will be on a short leash as always. (He never goes past 5.) Sánchez has been in the zone all season with a record of 13-5, a 2.50 ERA, a WHIP of 1.06, and was a perfect 2-0 in September with an ERA of only 1.65. The Phillies are well rested, at home where they dominate with a record of 55-26 and took 4 out of 6 from the Dodgers this year.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

It’s do or die for the Cleveland Guardians today when they host the Detroit Tigers in the second game of the best of 3 AL Wild Card game. The good news for Cleveland is they won’t have to face Tarik Skubal who pitched a gem yesterday in Cleveland’s 2-1 loss. As well as Skubal pitched, the Guardians were in that game and without some costly mistakes in the field and bad base running, they could easily be up 1-0. Cleveland has come too far to be swept at home and will turn to Tanner Bibee to make sure that doesn’t happen. Bibee has owned the Tigers this year with a record of 3-0 and an ERA of only 0.95. Cleveland is also 4-0 in his last 4 starts and the Guardians are 7-0 in their last 7, in Game 2 of a series.
TODAY’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The New York Yankees will host their archrival, the Boston Red Sox, in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card tonight in the Bronx. The Yankees enter the series red hot, winning 8 straight, and will turn to southpaw Max Fried to keep it going. Fried has had another Cy Young type season with a record of 19-5, a 2.86 ERA, a 1.10 WHIP, and the Yankees are 6-0 in his last 6 starts. He will be opposed by another lefty, Garrett Crochet, and like Fried he has been dealing all year. Crochet is 18-5 with a 2.59 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Boston has had trouble against left-handed starters, going 1-4 over their last 5. The Yankees are tough to beat on River Ave. with a record of 50-31, they have scored 46 runs over their last 8 games, and let’s not forget to mention the bleacher creatures who will be in rare form for this one. It won’t be a walk in the park for the Bombers but they should come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Yankees got hot just at the right time, winning 7 straight, and will go for a sweep of the Baltimore Orioles when the regular season concludes this afternoon in the Bronx. The Yankees are tied with the Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the AL East, with Toronto holding the tiebreaker so the Yankees must win their game and hope that the Tampa Bay Rays take it to the Jays. New York will send Luis Gil to the bump. Gil is 4-1 with a 3.29 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP over 52 innings of work. Kyle Bradish is slated to get the start for the O’s, and he has good stuff. Bradish is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA and a WHIP of 1.00 but that is over just 28 innings of work. Even with Bradish on the hill, the Yankees’ bats are on fire and should be able to get to him. New York has won 7 of the last 8 meetings with Baltimore, and as long as Aaron Boone doesn’t monkey with the starting lineup (which he has a tendency to do), the Bombers will come out on top.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Cleveland Guardians fell at home last night to the Texas Rangers, 7-3, but are still tied with the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the AL Central. The Guardians were 15.5 games back of Detroit in July and hold the tie breaker should the two clubs be even after Sunday. Tonight in the second game of their 3-game set two lefties are expected to oppose each other, with Joey Cantillo getting the nod for Cleveland and Jacob Latz for Texas. Both hurlers have good numbers. Latz is 2-0 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP, while Cantillo is 5-3 with a 3.21 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Rangers have been eliminated from playoff contention and have nothing to play for except to be a spoiler. If the Guardians win the final two games, they will complete one of the biggest turn arounds in baseball history and win the AL Central.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

The Toronto Blue Jays will wrap up the regular season with a 3-game set at home against the Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto and New York are tied for the top spot in the AL East, with the Jays owning the tie breaker should they be even after Sunday. So, it’s simple for Toronto: Sweep the Rays and you win the AL East, and they are capable of doing that. Tonight’s expected starters are Shane Bieber for the Jays and Adrian Houser for the Rays. These guys have similar numbers, with Houser coming in at 8-4 with a 3.18 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Bieber is 3-2 with a 3.57 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.96. Toronto has dominated at Rogers Centre all year, boasting a record of 51-27, and they have the edge in runs per game, run differential, batting average, hits, and homers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Cincinnati Reds are on the verge of being swept at home by the last placed Pittsburgh Pirates and are one game back of the New York Mets for the final NL wild card spot with just four games remaining. The Reds will get a pass for last night’s loss because they had to face the best pitcher on the planet, Paul Skenes. Today is a must-win for the Big Red Machine and they know it. Cincinnati will finish the season against the best team in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers, in Milwaukee and that won’t be easy. Today’s expected starters are lefty Nick Lodolo for the Reds and rookie Braxton Ashcraft for the Pirates. Lodolo is 8-8 with a 3.44 ERA and an excellent WHIP of 1.08. He last faced the Pirates back in May, allowing just one run over six innings of work and Cincinnati went on to an easy 7-1 win. Ashcraft has pitched well, with a record of 4-3, a 2.62 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Cincinnati has not been swept at Great American Ball Park all year; don’t make this the first.
TODAY’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS