Category: Baseball

The Milwaukee Brewers limped into the All-Star break, losing 3 straight, but should right the ship tonight when they open a 4-game set with the Colorado Rockies at American Family Field. The Brewers will send their ace and reigning Cy Young winner, Corbin Burnes, to the hill. Burnes has not slipped an inch from last year’s dominance. He comes in at 7-4 with an ERA of only 2.14, a 0.90 WHIP, and over his last 3, he is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.79 and a WHIP of 0.89 – it doesn’t get any better than that. The Rocks are expected to counter with Antonio Senzatela. He is 3-5 with a 4.96 ERA, a 1.80 WHIP, and has been dealing with shoulder issues which could be a problem. Colorado at home is formidable; on the road, they are not. The Rocks are 15-27 away from Coors Field, 0-5 in their last 5 meetings with the Brew Crew, and 2-7 in their last 9 in Milwaukee.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Two teams that would like to put the first half of the season behind them, the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics, will play a doubleheader today at the Coliseum. The Tigers enter Game 1 on a 4-game losing streak and are expected to turn to Tarik Skubal to get them back on track. Skubal is better than his numbers reflect. He is 6-8 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP over 100.2 innings of work. The Athletics are expected to counter with Zach Logue and he has struggled. Over 29.2 innings of work, Logue is 3-4 with an elevated ERA of 5.16 and a 1.45 WHIP. If the Tigers can’t get to this guy, they need to make some changes quick. Oakland has the worst record in the AL, at 32-61, and are a dismal 11-32 at home.
TODAY’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS – GAME 1

The Houston Astros will go for a series win when they conclude their 3-game set with the Oakland Athletics today at Minute Maid Park. Expected starters for today’s matchup are Jake Odorizzi for the ‘Stros and Adam Oller for the A’s. Odorizzi has solid numbers, at 4-2, with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. Oller is just the opposite, at 0-3, with a 9.00 ERA and a 2.04 WHIP. The Astros have the second best record in the AL, at 59-31, with a homestand of 28-13. Oakland is dead last in the AL, with a dismal record of 31-61 and they are just 11-32 on the road. Houston has won 8 of the last 10 meetings with the A’s, including a 5-0 shoutout in yesterday’s contest. The ‘Stros are 18-4 in their last 22 in Game 3 of a series and 8-1 in Odorizzi’s last 9 home starts.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The St. Louis Cardinals took Game 1 of their 3-game series with the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium yesterday, cruising to a 7-3 victory. Today they will play a matinée and the Cards will have Miles Mikolas toeing the rubber. Mikolas has good stuff. He comes in at 6-7, with a stellar ERA of 2.62 and a WHIP of just 0.98. He will be opposed by southpaw Nick Lodolo. Lodolo is 2-2 with an elevated ERA of 4.44 and a 1.60 WHIP. The Reds will be without Mike Moustakas, who is sidelined with Covid-19. St. Louis has won 5 of the 7 meetings with the Reds this year and are 7-3 in their last 10 home games against a left-handed starter. The Cards are a better team from top to bottom and should come out on top.
TODAY’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Philadelphia Phillies will look to end their 4-game skid when they head to Florida tonight for a 3-game set with the Miami Marlins but it’s not going to come easy. The Marlins will have their All-Star toeing the rubber, Sandy Alcántara. Alcántara has been delivering like the ace he is. The Sandman is 9-3 with an ERA of only 1.73, a 0.91 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 2 turns he has not allowed a run and has 14 K’s with only 1 walk in 15 innings of work. Now that’s dominance. Philadelphia is expected to send the veteran Kyle Gibson to the hill. Gibby is 4-3 with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP, and is 0-2 in his career against Miami with a bloated ERA of 6.50. The Marlins are 7-2 in their last 9 against the NL East and 5-1 in their last 6 at home against the Phillies.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MIAMI MARLINS

The Toronto Blue Jays finally came to their senses and fired skipper Charlie Montoyo, after under-achieving in the first half of the 2022 campaign. The Jays are coming off a 2-game sweep of a really good Phillies team and got interim manager John Schneider his first win yesterday. Tonight they will host the Kansas City Royals at Rogers Centre in Game 1 of a 4-game set. Toronto will have Kevin Gausman on the hill. He is better than his 6-6 record reflects. Gausman has a 2.86 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. KC has played better of late but are just 16-26 on the road and 1-5 in their last 6 against Toronto. The Royals have yet to announce a starter for tonight’s game. Usually when a team fires a manager they go on a run and I expect the Jays to do just that.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The San Diego Padres had their chances to win the game last night against the Colorado Rockies but due to errors and some bad luck they came up short, falling to the Rocks, 5-3. Tonight they will turn to their ace, Joe Musgrove, in the third game of their 4-game set at Coors Field to right the ship. Musgrove is one of the most underrated hurlers in the majors. He is 8-2 with a 2.09 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and has had Colorado’s number. Musgrove is 4-2 in his career against the Rockies with an ERA of just 1.21 and pitched 6 scoreless innings in his last turn against them on June 10th, resulting in a 9-0 blowout. Bud Black will give the nod to Chad Kuhl. He is 6-5 with a 4.02 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and was the starter in the 9-0 blowout on June 10th where he lasted just 4-1/3 innings, yielding 5 runs on 8 hits. Colorado could also be without two of their best, Kris Bryant, who is out on paternity leave, and C.J. Cron, who is dealing with a wrist injury.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES