Category: Baseball

The 19-9 Baltimore Orioles are the real deal and will open a 3-game set tonight with the 7-22 Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The O’s have won 11 of their last 13 and are off to their best start since 1997. Baltimore’s expected starter is Tyler Wells. He is 1-1 with a 2.79 ERA and has the lowest WHIP in the majors, at 0.724. Southpaw Ryan Yarborough is expect to get the nod for the Royals. He is winless at 0-3 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Royals are just 1-12 at “The K” and are a dismal 3-14 in their last 17 overall. Mountcastle and company are 6-1 in their last 7 against a left-handed starter and continue to stay hot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

After getting swept over the weekend by the San Diego Padres in Mexico City, the 11-16 San Francisco Giants will open a 3-game set tonight with the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. San Francisco has lost 3 straight and they are just 1-6 in their last 7 road games. The Giants expected starter, Ross Stripling, will try to get them back on the rails but his numbers are not good. Stripling is 0-1 with a 6.89 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. The Astros are expected to counter with Luis García. His numbers are a mediocre 2-2 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP but over his last two starts he has been lights out. García pitched 6 scoreless innings against the Rays with the Astros cruising to a 5-0 win and 7 scoreless against the Jays, resulting in a 8-1 Houston victory. Despite all their injuries, the Champs are still 15-13 and will be catching a Giants team that had to travel from Mexico City yesterday so fatigue could be an issue.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The 16-12 Minnesota Twins and the 7-21 Kansas City Royals will wrap up their 4-game series this afternoon at Target Field. The AL Central leading Twins are expected to send their ace, Sonny Gray, to the hill and he has been outstanding. Gray is a perfect 3-0 with an ERA of only 0.62, a 1.07 WHIP, and has owned the Royals in his career. He is 8-2 with a 1.54 ERA and last faced KC on April 1st, allowing just 3 hits over 5 scoreless innings resulting in a 2-0 Minnesota win. The Twins’ bats should get to the Royals expected starter, Brady Singer. He is 2-2 with an elevated ERA of 6.67 and a 1.37 WHIP. Minnesota is 5-0 in Gray’s last 5 home starts and against a Royals team that is averaging just 3.3 runs per game, the Twins are the side to consider here.
TODAY’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

The Oakland Athletics won for just the fifth time this season, knocking off the Los Angeles Angels, 11-10, in a wild one last night at Angel Stadium. Tonight the Angels should even the score when they play the second game of their 4-game set. Two young hurlers will oppose each other with Griffin Canning expected to get the nod for the Halos and Mason Miller for the A’s. Canning is 0-0 with a 3.48 ERA, a 1.16 WHIP, and had a decent outing in his last turn, holding the Yankees to just 2 runs on 4 hits over 5-1/3 innings. Miller, who will be making his second Big League start, is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. He will be put to the test tonight when he has to face two of the best in the business for the first time, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, and let’s not forget about Anthony Rendon. The Angels are 14-6 in their last 20 in Anaheim and I expect the Angels heavy hitters to light it up tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS

The Baltimore Orioles will have their 6-game winning streak on the line tonight when they open a 3-game set with the Boston Red Sox at Camden Yards. The Orioles are expected to send Dean Kremer to the hill. Kremer is 1-0 but has an ERA of 6.16 and he has not fared well against Boston, going 0-4 in his career with a bloated ERA of 7.76. The Red Sox are expected to counter with southpaw Chris Sale. The future Hall of Famer got off to a slow start due to injury but it appears he is back and when he is healthy there is no one better. Sale is 1-1 with an ERA of 8.00 but was lights out in his last turn against the Twins when he pitched 6 innings, yielding just 3 hits, 1 run, and striking out 11. The Red Sox took 2 of 3 from the O’s earlier this year and are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings overall. Boston has also been hot, winning 3 of their last 4, and are coming off a 12-5 shellacking on the road against a really good Milwaukee Brewers team.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The 14-8 New York Mets will go for a series win when they wrap up their 4-game set with the 7-13 San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park. Today’s probable starters are Ross Stripling for San Francisco and Tyler Megill for New York. Stripling is 0-1 with an elevated 7.30 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. Megill has pitched well. He comes in at 3-1 with a respectable ERA of 3.00 and a 1.43 WHIP. Despite yesterday’s win, San Francisco has not played well. They are just 3-7 in their last 10, 3-6 at home, and following a win they are 0-8 in their last 8. The Mets are a legitimate World Series contender and the Giants are not. Tyler Megil will keep San Francisco’s offense in check and New York’s potent bats should get to Stripling today.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The 14-7 Pittsburgh Pirates will look to stay hot when they host the 7-13 Cincinnati Reds tonight in the third game of their 4-game series. The Bucs won again last night, downing the Reds 4-2, and have now won 5 straight and 6 of their last 7. Veteran southpaw Rich Hill is expected on the bump for Pittsburgh and he is 1-2 with a 5.57 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. Cincinnati is expected to give the nod to Luis Cessa. His start to the 2023 campaign has not been good. Cessa is 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA and a 2.75 WHIP. In his last outing against the Phillies, Cessa yielded 9 runs in the first inning alone, resulting in a 14-3 loss. The Reds are just 1-7 on the road, 2-10 in their last 12 overall against the Pirates, and 0-5 in their last 5 at PNC Park.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES