Category: Baseball

The 5-11 Colorado Rockies have lost 5 straight but return home tonight for a 3-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Colorado’s issue has been their starting pitching with one exception, lefty Kyle Freeland, and he is expected to get the nod tonight. Freeland has been dealing, with a record of 2-0, a hardly visible ERA of 0.98, and a 0.96 WHIP. The Pirates, who are off to a surprising 9-7 start, will likely send veteran southpaw Rich Hill to the bump. Hill has had a great career but is not what he once was. He is off to a 0-2 start with an elevated 7.20 ERA, a WHIP of 1.33, and the Rockies are 4-1 in their last 5 home games against a left-handed starter. Colorado has won 7 of the last 10 meetings overall with Pittsburgh and 5 of the last 6 against them at Coors Field.
TONIGHT’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES

The Minnesota Twins and the New York Yankees will wrap up their 4-game set this afternoon at the Stadium. Minnesota took the first two games but came crashing down yesterday, striking out 13 times and falling to the Yanks, 6-1. Today’s expected starters are Pablo López for the Twins and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Cole has been as sharp as ever. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 1.40 and a 0.93 WHIP. His counterpart, López, has been delivering as well. He is 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA and a 0.65 WHIP. This could very well be a pitching duel but you have to give the edge to New York. At home, Cole is tough to go against. He has also been a Twins killer in his career, going 4-0 with a 3.21 ERA, and the Yankees’ bats are better.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Atlanta Braves took game 1 of their series with the Kansas City Royals yesterday at the K by pummeling them, 10-3. Today it won’t be as easy but they should still get the job done. Bryce Elder is expected to get the nod for the Braves and he has been electric. Elder is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of only 0.97. Southpaw Kris Bubic should get the start for the Royals. Due to absolutely no run support, he is 0-1 but still has an impressive 1.64 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. Altanta is a World Series contender and KC is not. The Braves are also 6-1 on the road and 4-1 in their last 5 interleague road games against a left-handed starter.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The New York Mets will be on the West Coast tonight to open a 3-game series with the Oakland Athletics. The 7-6 Mets are coming off a home victory on Wednesday over the Padres and had yesterday off so travel will not be a factor. The expected starter for New York is Kodai Senga and he has been brilliant. Senga is 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. On the flip side, Oakland is 3-10 and expected to have James Kaprielian on the hill, who has been awful. In his two starts, Kaprielian was lit up by Cleveland and Tampa, and has a bloated ERA of 11.17 with a 1.97 WHIP. The Mets are by far the better team in this one and should get to the struggling Kaprielian.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The New York Yankees and the Minnesota Twins will open a 4-game set tonight at Yankee Stadium. The expected starters are Joe Ryan for the Twins and Jhony Brito for the Yankees. Both have pitched well thus far. Ryan is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Brito has been just a little bit better. He is also 2-0 with a stingy ERA of only 0.90 and a 0.80 WHIP. New York has literally owned Minnesota over the years, both in Minnesota and the Bronx, and have been smacking the ball as usual, averaging 5.18 runs per game. The Yanks at home with Brito on the hill are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The San Diego Padres will take a 3-game road winning streak into Queens tonight for a matchup with the New York Mets. The expected starters are Yu Darvish for the Padres and Max Scherzer for the Mets. Scherzer is not lights out like he once was and the Padres’ sluggers should get to him. San Diego is 6-2 in the last 8 overall meetings with New York and 5-2 in their last 7 at Citi Field.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers will play the rubber game of their 3-game series today at AFF. The Brewers are off to a roaring start despite yesterday’s 6-0 loss. Freddy Peralta is expected to be on the bump for the Crew and the cagey hurler is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA.
TODAY’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS