Category: Baseball

The New York Mets will go for their 4th straight win and a series win of the Miami Marlins today at Citi Field but hold on a minute. Miami will be sending Sandy Alcántara to the hill and if anyone can slow down the Mets he can. The Sandman is 6-2 with a 1.68 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.96, and over his last 3 it gets better. He is 1-0 with a 0.76 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP, and if that’s not dominance I don’t know what is. The Mets will counter with Chris Bassitt. C Bass has been inconsistent this year. He is 5-4 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, he is 1-2 and his ERA has jumped to 5.19 with a WHIP of 1.21. Alcántara will be working on five day’s rest and the Marlins are 4-0 in his last 4 starts in this situation.
TODAY’S PICK: MIAMI MARLINS

With last night’s 1-0 loss to the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards, the Tampa Bay Rays have now lost 4 straight but losing streaks end and so will this one. The Rays and Orioles will play the middle game of their 3-game set today and the expected starters are lefty Jeffrey Springs (3-2, 1.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) for Tampa and Kyle Bradish (1-4, 6.86 ERA,1.67 WHIP) for Baltimore. The last time Springs faced the Orioles on May 21st, he threw a gem. He went 5-2/3 innings, yielding only 1 hit, no runs, and the Rays went on to win, 6-1. His opposition in that game was Kyle Bradish, who was tagged for 5 runs on 5 hits in 5-1/3 innings of work. The Rays are 5-1 in Springs’ last 6 starts and had their way with Bradish the last time they faced him so why should today be any different?
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

Mike Trout smacked a couple of 2-run homers last night and the Los Angeles Angels went on to beat the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park, 4-1. Tonight the series continues and the expected starters are Michael Lorenzen for the Angels and lefty Robbie Ray for the Mariners. Lorenzen is coming off of an impressive outing in his last turn against the Mets, where he allowed just 1 run over 6-1/3 innings, and he is 6-3 on the season with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. The reigning AL Cy Young winner Ray is back to what he really is, a mediocre pitcher at best. Ray is 5-6 with a 4.52 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. If you exclude last year’s performance, Ray’s career has been average to say the least. LA could see the return of Anthony Rendon on the hot corner. The Halos are better then their record reflects and they have two of the best players on the planet, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. The Angels are 4-1 in their last 5 in Seattle and are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS

The San Diego Padres have pounded the lowly Chicago Cubs, outscoring them 35-11 over the first 3 games of their 4-game set on the north side. Today I expect more of the same and a Padres sweep. Matt Swarmer (1-1, 4.24 ERA,1.00 WHIP) is expected on the hill for the Cubs. He was lit up in his last turn against the Yankees, yielding 6 homers over 5 innings of work and the way Voit and company are smacking the ball, that is not good. Arguably the best pitcher in the majors, Joe Musgrove will be toeing the rubber for the Friars. Musgrove remains a perfect 7-0 with a 1.50 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP, and the Friars are 8-0 in his last 8 road starts. If the wind is blowing out at Wrigley today, this could be a long day for the Cubs. Enough said. Consider the Pads.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

Sonny Gray is expected to take the hill for the Minnesota Twins today when they wrap up their 3-game set with the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Gray has been dealing. He is 3-1 with a 2.41 ERA, a 0.98 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 3 starts, he is 3-0 with an ERA of only 1.42 and a WHIP that is barely visible at 0.68. The Mariners are expected to counter with southpaw Marco Gonzales. Gonzales is 3-6 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP, which isn’t bad, but he is a dismal 0-3 in his career against the Twins with an 9.37 ERA. Minnesota lost yesterday’s matchup but they are 5-0 in their last 5 following a loss, 10-4 in their last 14 against a left-handed starter, and 5-0 in Gray’s last 5 starts.
TODAY’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

The San Francisco Giants are on a roll. With yesterday’s win over the Kansas City Royals at Oracle Park, they have now won 4-straight and sit just 3 games back of the LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres for the top spot in the NL West. Tonight they will continue their 3-game series with KC and will have their young gun, Logan Webb, toeing the rubber. Webb is 5-2 with a 3.77 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The Royals have the worst record in baseball, at 20-40, and are just 8-19 on the road. Tonight could be a long night for KC. Southpaw Kris Bubic is expected to get the nod for the Royals and he is winless, at 0-3, with a bloated ERA of 9.13 and a 2.03 WHIP. The Giants just swept the Los Angeles Dodgers, are 6-1 in their last 7 against a left-handed starter, and are not going to get pushed around at home by the bottom-feeding Royals.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

The 25-35 Baltimore Orioles will head north of the border tonight to open a 4-game set with the surging Toronto Blue Jays. The 35-24 Jays have won 13 of their last 17 games and will have their ace on the hill, Alek Manoah. He just keeps on mowing them down. Manoah comes in at 7-1 with a 1.81 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP, and Toronto is 5-0 in his last 5 home starts against a team with a losing record. The Orioles will counter with Kyle Bradish, who is 1-3 with a 6.45 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP – not the kind of numbers you want against a Jays team that can light it up. Baltimore will have some guys on the shelf due to Canada’s Covid-19 restrictions and are 0-6 in their last 6 against Toronto. The Jays won’t come cheap, but with Manoah on the hill and with the way the Jays are playing, take Toronto.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS