Category: Baseball

Two very hot teams, the 76-64 New York Mets and the 68-73 Cincinnati Reds, will open a 3-game set tonight at Citi Field in Queens. The Mets are smoking hot, winning 7 straight and outscoring their opponents 34-12 over that span. The Reds have won 4 straight and are expected to have Fernado Cruz tapping the rubber. Cruz’s numbers are nothing to write home about, with a record of 3-8, a 4.99 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP. New York is expected to hand the ball to Sean Manaea and he has been in the zone. The lefty is 11-5 with an ERA of 3.35, a 1.12 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 3 turns he is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.53. New York is deadlocked with Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot in the NL. They need to take care of business at home this weekend and they will. The Mets took 2 out of 3 from the Reds back in April, in Cincinnati, and have the edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average, hits, and homers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The best in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies, will head south tonight to open a 4-game set with the worst in the NL East, the Miami Marlins. The 83-56 Phillies are heating up, winning 4 straight and 8 of their last 10. Philadelphia is expected to have southpaw Ranger Suárez on the bump. Suárez is 11-6 with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 128.1 innings of work but has been a little shaky over his last few turns, however when he is on there is no one better and I expect he will be in the zone tonight. The 52-87 Marlins, who are a dismal 26-45 at LoanDepot Park, are expected to give the nod to Adam Oller. He is 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 16.1 innings of work. Philly could be without superstar Bryce Harper, who was hit by a pitch in the elbow yesterday, but even without the slugger they have plenty more weapons to pull up the slack. The Phillies have the edge in runs scored, batting average, hits, homers, etc., etc.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Arizona Diamondbacks almost blew a 7-2 late lead to the San Franciso Giants last night at Oracle Park but held on to win game 1 of their 3-game set, 8-7. Tonight the D-backs are expected to send their ace, Zack Gallen, to the hill. Gallen has not been as sharp as he usually is, but the flamethrower is still 10-6 with a 3.87 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and is due for a dominant outing. On the flip side, the Giants are expected to have Hayden Birdsong tapping the rubber. Birdsong is at 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Edge Snakes. Arizona is in a dog fight with San Diego for a Wild Card spot and winning the division is not out of the equation, sitting 6 back of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. San Francisco on the other hand is done for the season and they know it. The Giants have nothing to play for except pride. The D-backs have won 5 of the 8 meetings with the Giants this year and are #1 in the majors in runs scored, averaging over 5.4 per game.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox will play the middle game of their 3-game set tonight at Citi Field. With last night’s 4-1 victory over the Red Sox, the Mets have now won 5 straight, outscoring their opponents 19-7 over that span, and are just a half game back of the Atlanta Braves for the final NL Wild Card spot. Lefty David Peterson will get the start for New York. Peterson is 8-1 with a 2.83 ERA and will be working on 4 days’ rest but that’s fine. The Mets are 8-0 in his last 8 starts with the short rest. Boston has lost 3 straight and have mustered just 3 runs over the 3 games. Their expected starter is Kutter Crawford who is 8-12 with a 4.12 ERA. Crawford has faced the Mets once in his career and the result was a loss. The Mets are 5-0 in their last 5 interleague games and are hot. Ride them ’til they are not.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Kansas City Royals have lost 5 straight but after a long road trip they return home to The K today to open a 3-game set with their AL Central rival, the Cleveland Guardians. The Royals are just 3½ back of the Guardians for the AL Central lead so this is their opportunity to gain some ground on Cleveland, and they will. The Royals have been tough to beat at home, with an impressive 41-28 record, and just last week took 3 out of 4 from the Guardians in Cleveland. Today’s expected starters favor Kansas City. Cleveland in all likelihood will send Gavin Williams to the hill and his numbers are not good. Williams is 2-7 with a 4.99 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Kansas City is expected to give the nod to Michael Wacha. He is 11-6 with a 3.50 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and the Royals are 5-1 in his last 6 starts.
TODAY’S PICK: KANSAS CITY ROYALS

The New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at the Stadium. The AL East leading Yanks are 79-57 overall and 37-30 in the Bronx. The Cards sit at 68-68 overall and 32-36 on the road. The Bombers, who are averaging over 5 runs per game and lead the league in home runs with 209, should get to the Cardinals’ expected starter, Miles Mikolas. He is 8-10 with an elevated ERA of 5.23 and a 1.26 WHIP. The Yankees are expected to counter with southpaw Nestor Cortez, who has been dealing. Over his last 3 starts, Nasty Nestor is 3-0 with a nasty ERA of only 0.44 and a 0.58 WHIP, which doesn’t bode well for a Cardinals team that is just 1-6 in their last 7 games against a left-handed starter.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Atlanta Braves last night, 7-2, but I expect they rebound tonight when they play the third game of their 4-game set at Citizens Bank Park. Southpaw Max Fried is expected to get the start for Atlanta. Fried is 8-7 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. Phillies ace, Zack Wheeler, is slated to get the nod and he is 12-6 with an ERA of only 2.74 and a 1.00 WHIP. Despite last night’s loss, the Phillies are still an impressive 45-24 at home and are 6-0 in their last 6 games against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES