Category: Baseball

Since Donny Baseball took over as skipper for the Philadelphia Phillies, they have won 6 out of 7 and took 3 out of 4 from the Marlins in Miami over the weekend. Tonight they return home to Citizens Bank Park to open a 3-game set with the Athletics. In their last series, the Athletics lost 2 out of 3 from the visiting Cleveland Guardians and gave up an alarming 23 runs. Tonight they are expected to hand the ball to Louis Severino. He comes in at 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Severino can be erratic at times and if he is not in the zone the Phillies’ heavy hitters will make him pay. Philadelphia is expected to give the nod to southpaw Cristopher Sánchez who comes in at 2-2 with an excellent ERA of 2.90 and a 1.51 WHIP. The Phillies have won 3 straight at Citizens Bank Park and are playing some of their best baseball of the season, not to mention 1-9 they are by far the better squad on the field tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The San Diego Padres snapped their 4-game losing streak with a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox yesterday at Petco Park. Tonight they will try to build off of that when they head north to open a 3-game set with the struggling San Francisco Giants. The 13-21 Giants are last in the NL West, have lost 6 straight, and are expected to turn to Trevor McDonald to right the ship, and he is not the answer. McDonald was just called up from the Giants AAA affiliate, the Sacramento River Cats, where he struggled, posting a 5.40 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The 20-13 Padres are just a half game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West and cannot afford to lose to the lowly Giants. San Diego is expected to turn to Randy Vásquez to throw strikes and he has been dealing. Vásquez is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.94 and a 1.16 WHIP. The Friars bats have been lethargic of late but should wake up tonight against McDonald.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Tampa Bay Rays will go for a sweep of the San Francisco Giants when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at the Trop. Over the first two games, the Rays have outscored the Giants 8-1. The Giants have now lost 5 straight, are a dismal 6-11 on the road, and dead last in the league in scoring, averaging just 3.2 runs per game. Today they are expected to face Steven Matz, who is 4-1 with a 4.31 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Tyler Mahle is expected on the bump for the Giants and the Rays (who are averaging 4.5 runs per game) should be able to put up some runs against the right-hander. Mahle is 1-4 with an elevated ERA of 5.87 and a 1.63 WHIP. Tampa is hot, winning 8 of their last 9. They are 10-4 at home and have won 6 straight in St. Pete, outscoring their opponent 30-7 over that span.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Chicago Cubs and the Arizona Diamondbacks will play the middle game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Wrigley. The Cubs took game one last night, 6-5, and are smoking hot. They have now won 3 straight, 9 in a row on the north side, and 13 of their last 16 overall. Chicago is expected to give the nod to Shota Imanaga and he has great numbers. The southpaw is 2-2 with a 2.88 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.87. Right-hander Ryne Nelson is expected on the hill for the D-backs and he has been getting lit up. Nelson is 1-2 with a 7.71 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP which is not good. The Cubs have the edge in runs scored, runs allowed, run differential, batting average, hits, homers, and are the side to consider.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Philadelphia Phillies fired their manager Rob Thomson and promoted Donny Baseball as the new skipper, and it’s already paying dividends. The Phillies shut out the San Francisco Giants last night, 7-0, in Mattingly’s debut. Tonight in the middle game of their 3-game set at Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia is expected to turn to southpaw Cristopher Sánchez to throw strikes. Sánchez is 2-2 with a 2.94 ERA, a 1.60 WHIP, and the Giants are 0-5 in their last 5 road games against a left-handed starter. The Phillies are loaded with talent and will turn this season around. That is a given. 
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The New York Yankees will be in Texas tonight to take on the Rangers and they will take care of business. Max Fried is expected on the hill for New York and when he gets the nod good things happen. They win. The Yankees’ southpaw is 3-1 with a 2.40 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.77. Enough said.  
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Yankees will take their 6-game winning streak into Daikin Park to face the Houston Astros tonight in the first of a 3-game set. Will Warren is expected on the hill for the Bombers and he has been delivering. Warren is 2-0 with a 2.49 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Yanks are hot. Ride them ’til they are not.  
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES