Category: Baseball

The San Diego Padres will host the Atlanta Braves in game 1 of the best of 3 tonight when they kick off the NL Wild Card series. The Braves had to play a doubleheader yesterday with the Mets and then had to hop a flight for San Diego so fatigue could be an issue for them. The Padres are a very dangerous team and should go deep into the playoffs. The Friars are expected to hand the ball to Michael King and he has been in the zone all year. The Yankees are probably wishing they had never let him go. King is 13-9 with a 2.95 ERA, 201 strikeouts, and San Diego is 6-0 in his last 6 starts in game 1 of a series. Atlanta has yet to announce a starter for tonight, but Brian Snitker said Chris Sale will likely not play in this series due to back spasms, which is good news for Padre fans. Let’s just hope he isn’t bluffing. The Padres were hot down the stretch, going 7-3 over the last 10, and were 4-3 this year against the Braves.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The NL Wild Card picture is on the wall today when the New York Mets and the Atlanta Braves play a doubleheader at Truist Park. The scenario is this. If either the Braves or Mets sweep today, they are in and so are the Arizona Diamondbacks. If the Mets and Braves split, they both advance and the Snakes will be sent packing. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Braves are expected to have the front runner for the NL Cy Young on the hill, lefty Chris Sale. The Condor has been throwing flames all year. Sale is 18-3 with a 2.28 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 4 starts, Sale is a perfect 3-0 with an ERA of only 1.13. The Mets will more than likely give the nod to Luis Severino for game 2. He is 11-7 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP, which are good numbers but in his last turn on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves, Sevy was dinged for 4 runs over 4 innings of work and Atlanta went on to an easy 5-1 victory. Going into today’s games, the Braves are 45-34 at home, have won the last 3 meetings with the Mets, and have the best southpaw on the planet on the hill, Chris Sale. Need I say more?
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES – GAME 2

It’s not a good time for the New York Mets to go on a losing streak but they have. With last night’s loss to the Milwaukee Brewers, they have now lost three straight, trail the Braves by one game in the Wild Card hunt, and are tied with the D-backs. Today they will wrap up their series with the Brewers and then tomorrow play a doubleheader with the Braves, so they are still in the thick of things. The Mets will try to get back on the rails today when they send southpaw David Peterson to the hill. Peterson has been delivering, with a record of 9-3, a 3.08 ERA, and a 1.33 WHIP. The expected starter for the Brewers is Colin Rea. He comes in at 12-5 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP but has been shaky going down the stretch, which includes giving up 10 runs on 11 hits over 4 innings of work against the Giants back on September 11^th. The Mets need this one more than the Brewers and I expect they come out swinging today.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Atlanta Braves are hot, winning 4 straight after last night’s 3-0 victory over the visiting Kansas City Royals, and it couldn’t come at a better time. Atlanta is tied with the New York Mets and the Arizona Diamondbacks for a Wild Card spot. Tonight in the second game of their 3-game set, Atlanta is expected to turn to All-Star Reynaldo López to keep it going. López is 8-5 with an ERA of only 2.03 and a 1.15 WHIP. Despite being just 3-8 over their last 11 games, the struggling Royals secured a Wild Card spot due to Minnesota’s 7-2 loss last night to the Baltimore Orioles. Tonight’s expected starter for KC is Seth Lugo. Lugo has been in the zone all year, with a record of 16-9, a 3.03 ERA, and a WHIP of just 1.08. However, the Braves have had the Royals’ number, winning the last 5 meetings, and have more at stake tonight than Kansas City does.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The Detroit Tigers keep rolling and consider them again tonight. They just completed a 3-game sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, have now won 5 straight, and 9 of their last 10. Tonight they welcome in the Chicago White Sox who will go down as one of the worst teams to ever take the field. The 39-120 Sox have won 3 straight but that was against another pathetic team, the Los Angeles Angels. Tonight’s expected starter for Chicago is lefty Garrett Crochet and he can deliver, but it’s hard to win games when you pitch for the Chicago White Sox. Crochet is 6-12 but has a respectable 3.68 ERA and a WHIP of only 1.06. Detroit and Kansas City are still tied for the second and third Wild Card spots. This is a perfect situation for Detroit to pull ahead. Weather permitting, the Royals will wrap up the season against the Braves in Atlanta. The Braves are still alive in the playoff hunt so it will not be an easy series for the Royals. The Tigers have yet to announce a starter for tonight’s game, but whoever it is, it shouldn’t matter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

After last night’s 7-1 victory at home over the Tampa Bay Rays, the surging Detroit Tigers have now won 4 straight, 8 of the last 9, and are tied with Kansas City for the second and third Wild Card spot. In an early one today at Comerica Park, the red hot Tigers will go for a sweep of the Rays and are expected to send Reese Olson to the hill. Olson is 4-8 but has a respectable 3.49 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP. The Rays were officially eliminated from post-season play with last night’s loss and are expected to send Tyler Alexander to the bump. Alexander is 6-5 with an elevated ERA of 5.35 and a 1.26 WHIP. The Tigers are a very dangerous team and have everything to play for, where the Rays don’t.
TODAY’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The 86-71 Atlanta Braves are breathing down both the 87-70 New York Mets and the 87-71 Arizona Diamondbacks necks for a Wild Card spot. The Braves can gain some ground when they host the Mets tonight in the second game of their 3-game set, and they should do it. Last night the Braves knocked off the Mets, 5-1. Tonight they will have the best in the NL on the hill, southpaw Chris Sale. Sale is a shoo-in for the NL Cy Young because not only does he lead the league in wins, with 18, he also has the lowest ERA of 2.38 and the most K’s with 225. New York is expected to give the nod to another lefty, David Peterson, who has good numbers with a record of 9-3 and a 3.08 ERA but in his last turn against the Phillies, Peterson was lit up yielding 5 runs on 8 hits over 3-2/3 innings and Philadelphia routed New York 12-2. The Braves have won 3 straight against the Mets, outscoring them 18-3 over that span. They are 43-33 at Truist Park and have Chris Sale on the hill. Atlanta is the side to consider.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES