Category: Baseball

The 51-32 Detroit Tigers lost the opener of their 3-game set to the 40-42 Minnesota Twins last night at Comerica Park, 4-1. Detroit is not in the habit of losing two in a row and should even the score this afternoon in front of the home crowd. The best in the AL are expected to hand the ball to Casey Mize. The flamethrower is 7-2 with a 2.88 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and the Tigers are 6-0 in his last 6 home starts against a team with a losing record. Bailey Ober is expected on the hill for the Twins. Ober is 4-5 with an elevated ERA of 4.90, a 1.37 WHIP, and Minnesota is 0-6 in his last 6 starts. Detroit is the side to consider.
TODAY’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The 48-34 New York Mets are back on track, riding a 2-game winning streak, and have reclaimed the top spot in the NL East. Tonight they will travel to PNC Park to open a 3-game set with the 32-50 Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates do not score runs, averaging just 3.3 per game, and that will be a problem once again tonight against the Mets’ expected starter, southpaw David Peterson. Peterson is 5-3 with an excellent ERA of 2.98, a 1.22 WHIP, and New York is 8-1 in his last 9 starts in Game 1 of a series. The Bucs will likely counter with Mitch Keller who is 1-10 with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. The Mets score more than the Pirates, give up less, and are the side to consider.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Los Angeles Dodgers will go for a sweep of the host Colorado Rockies when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Coors Field. The Dodgers, who are tied with the Detroit Tigers for the best record in baseball, should take care of business today against the worst in baseball, the 18-62 Rockies. Two southpaws are expected to oppose each other today: Clayton Kershaw for the Dodgers and Austin Gomber for the Rockies. The future Hall of Famer Kershaw is 3-0 with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and is 27-11 in his career against the Rockies with an ERA of 3.30. The Dodgers, who are first in the league in runs scored, hits, homers, batting average, OBP, and slugging, should feast on Gomber today. Gomber is 0-1 with an 8.38 ERA, a 1.66 WHIP, and was tagged for 12 hits and 9 runs in his last turn against the Arizona D-backs, resulting in a 14-8 loss.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The New York Mets are spiraling out of control. With last night’s 7-4 loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Mets have now lost 3 straight and 10 of their last 11. Tonight they will try to get back on track when they host the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of their 4-game set at Citi Field. Clay Holmes is expected to get the nod for New York. Holmes was not sharp in his last turn against the Braves but still has decent numbers at 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Atlanta is expected to turn to Didier Fuentes to throw strikes and if the Mets are going to have a breakout game it should be against this guy. Fuentes is 0-1 with a bloated ERA of 7.20 and a 1.40 WHIP over just 5 innings of work. Despite their losing ways, the Mets are still 43-34 overall, 27-12 in Queens, and have too much talent for this losing trend to continue.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The New York Yankees will try to even the score with the Cincinnati Reds tonight when they play the middle game of their 3-game set at Great American Ball Park. The Yankees fell 6-1 last night and stranded 12 base runners, which is always a recipe for losing. Tonight New York will face Chase Burns who is making his major league debut for Cincinnati. Burns is the Reds #1 prospect and was lights out in the minors but now he has to face the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, and the list goes on – tough task for a rookie making his big-league debut. New York will counter with southpaw Carlos Rodón and he will keep the Reds hitters in check. Rodón is 9-5 with a 3.11 ERA and a nasty 0.98 WHIP. The Bombers have lost four straight on the road and are due for a win away from River Ave.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The 42-35 San Diego Padres will go for their third straight win when they host the 32-46 Washington Nationals tonight in Game 1 of a 3-game set at Petco Park. The expected starters for tonight are Stephen Kolek for San Diego and Mitchell Parker for Washington. Kolek is 3-2 with a 3.59 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. Parker is 4-8 with a 4.59 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and he was lit up the last time he faced the Friars, yielding 7 hits, 6 runs over 3 innings of work, and San Diego went on to a 12-3 romp. The Padres are 23-13 at home, have won the last 6 meetings with the Nationals and are the better team on the field tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Cincinnati Reds and the St. Louis Cardinals will wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Busch Stadium. The Reds lost the first two games and are on the verge of being swept for the first time this year but the Big Red Machine’s expected starter, Andrew Abbott, will make sure that doesn’t happen. Abbott is 6-1 with a 1.84 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and it doesn’t get much better than that. The Cardinals are expected to counter with Miles Mikolas. He is 4-4 with a 4.36 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The Reds, who are averaging just shy of 5 runs per game, will be able to get to him. Cincinnatti should have won yesterday’s game with a 5-2 lead in the eighth inning but ended up blowing it and lost 6-5 in extras; that won’t happen today. If Terry Francona lets Abbott go deep in the game, the Reds will leave St. Louis with a win.
TODAY’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS