Category: Baseball

After being swept by the lowly Oakland Athletics, the Houston Astros got back to their winning ways with a 4-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners last night at Minute Maid Park. Tonight they will play the second leg of their 4-game set and Houston is expected to have the future Hall of Famer, Justin Verlander, tapping the rubber. Verlander is a legitimate AL Cy Young candidate because he has been throwing flames. He is 13-3 with a nasty ERA of 1.86, a 0.88 WHIP, and over his last 3 he is 3-0 with an ERA of only 0.95. Seattle is expected to counter with lefty Robbie Ray. He has been mediocre, at 8-7, with an ERA of 3.90, a 1.15 WHIP, and over his last 3 he is 1-1 with a 5.75 ERA. The AL West-leading Astros have an 11 game lead over the second place Mariners and have had their number. Houston has won 4 straight against Seattle and are 4-1 in their last 5 against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

After losing their last two games to their crosstown rival, the New York Mets, the New York Yankees will look to get back on track tonight when they open a 4-game set with the last place Kansas City Royals in the Bronx. The Yankees have had the Royals number. They swept them earlier this year in KC and have won 7 of the last 8 meetings. Tonight’s expected starters are Brady Singer for the Royals and Jameson Taillon for the Yanks. Singer is 4-3 with a 3.82 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and is 0-1 in his career against New York with a bloated 8.59 ERA. Taillon is having a stellar year. He is 10-2 with a 3.93 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and is 1-0 in his career against KC with an ERA of only 0.47. The Yankees will not come cheap but are 7-0 in Taillon’s last 7 home starts when the line is -201 or higher and we could see, ex-Royal, All-Star Andrew Benintendi make his debut tonight for the Bombers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The bottom-dwelling 34-65 Washington Nationals will go for a 3-game series sweep of the Los Angeles Dodgers today in a matinée at Dodger Stadium, but not so fast. LA has been in a bit of a funk but they are still the best in the NL, at 64-32, and are 34-15 at Chavez Ravine. The Dodgers are expected to send lefty Andrew Heaney to the hill. Heaney has been on the IL but before the shoulder issue was lights out, going 1-0 with a 0.59 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. Patrick Corbin is expected to get the nod for the Nats. Corbin’s season has been a disaster. The once dominant southpaw is 4-13 with a 6.02 ERA, a 1.70 WHIP, and Washington is 1-10 in his last 11 starts against a team with a winning record. The Dodgers are 7-1 in their last 8, after allowing 5 runs or more in the previous game, and 40-16 in their last 56 against left-handed starters.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Tampa Bay Rays will look to end their 3-game slide and even the series with the Baltimore Orioles at a game apiece tonight at Camden Yards. The injuries are starting to pile up for Tampa but they will have their ace and the best pitcher in the Majors on the hill tonight, lefty Shane McClanahan. His numbers are impressive. McClanahan is 10-3 with an ERA of only 1.71 and a WHIP barely visible at 0.80. Baltimore is expected to counter with Spenser Watkins, who has decent numbers at 3-1 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, but in his career against Tampa he has not fared well, going 1-3 with an ERA of 7.71. The Rays have won 7 of the 13 meetings this year with the O’s and if they are going to get back on track, McClanahan is the guy you want on the bump.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The best in the NL, the Los Angeles Dodgers, should have a walk in the park tonight when they host the worst in the NL, the Washington Nationals. LA is 64-30, 34-13 at Chavez Ravine and will have one of the best tapping the rubber, Tony Gonsolin. He is a perfect 11-0 with a 2.02 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.84. The Nats, who are 32-65 and 17-29 on the road, will send Paolo Espino to the hill. He is winless, at 0-3 with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. If the Dodgers don’t take this one for granted, it should be a slam dunk.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The San Diego Padres will go for a 3-game sweep of the New York Mets today in Queens and can they do it? Yes. The Pads will have their ace, Joe Musgrove, on the hill and he throws flames. Musgrove is 8-2 with a 2.42 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.97 in 104 innings of work. The Metropolitans will counter with Carlos Carrasco. The ex-Indian is 10-4 with a 4.27 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP over 99 innings of work. Edge Padres. The Mets are 0-4 in their last 4 home games against a team with a winning record and 0-4 in their last 4 against the NL West. Depending on where you shop, the Friars are around +115 and worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The New York Yankees have the Baltimore Orioles’ number and that’s just the way it is. Tonight in the middle game of their 3-game set, Gerrit Cole will take the bump for the Bombers. Cole is 9-2 with a 3.02 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and the Yanks are 6-0 in his last 6 road starts against a team with a losing record. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES