Category: Baseball

It was a wild one in Chicago yesterday between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, with the Rangers winning it in 10, 11-9. Today they will play the rubber game of their 3-game set, with Jon Gray getting the nod for Texas and Michael Kopech for Chicago. Even with yesterday’s win, the Rangers are just 1-5 in their last 6 on the south side and 2-7 in the last 9 overall against Chicago, so Gray had better be in the zone. Gray has not pitched well, at 1-3, with an elevated ERA of 5.28 and a 1.30 WHIP. On the flip side, Kopech has been sharp. He is 2-2 with a 1.94 ERA, ,a 0.94 WHIP, and is 1-0 in his career against the Rangers with an ERA of 1.29. Chicago’s bullpen is taxed so they will need Kopech to go deep into the game and if he does that, the White Sox comes out on top.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX

The NL Central leading St. Louis Cardinals snapped their 3-game skid last night with a 2-0 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium. The Reds, who reside in last place in the NL Central have now lost 3 straight and are a dismal 8-21 on the road. The Cards and the Reds will meet again today in a matinee at Busch and the expected starters are Adam Wainwright for the Cardinals and Hunter Greene for the Reds The veteran Wainwright is still getting it done at 5-4 with an ERA of 2.73 and a WHIP of 1.23.The young flamethrower Greene has unlimited potential but is still finding his way in the Bigs. He is 3-7 with an ERA of 5.40 and a WHIP of 1.35.The Reds have lost 3 of 4 to the Cards this year, are 0-6 in Greene’s last 6 road starts and 0-6 in his last 6 starts against a team with a winning record.
TODAY’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The San Diego Padres will open a 4-game set tonight with the bottom-feeding Colorado Rockies at Petco Park. The Padres are coming off series wins over two of the NL’s best, the New York Mets and the Milwaukee Brewers. San Diego sits just two games back of the LA Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West and will have their ace on the bump tonight, Joe Musgrove. He has been stellar. Musgrove is a perfect 6-0 with an ERA of only 1.64 and a 0.92 WHIP. The Rockies are dead last in the NL West and have struggled on the road with a record of 9-16. The Rocks did get a road win yesterday over the San Francisco Giants but rarely put back-to-back wins together, going 1-11 in that situation. Tonight they will send Chad Kuhl to the rubber and he has decent numbers. Kuhl is 4-2 with a 3.17 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP, but Colorado is 1-5 in his last 6 starts. The Friars are better, 1 through 9, and even with the heavy juice are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Oakland Athletics are in a tailspin, to say the least, losing 8 straight and 11 of their last 12. Tonight they will be in Cleveland to open a 4-game set against a hot Cleveland Guardians team. Cleveland has won 7 of their last 9 and have climbed their way back to .500. Tonight’s expected starters are lefty Konnor Pilkington for the Guardians and James Kaprielian for the Athletics. Pilkington is 1-0 with a 2.65 ERA, a 1.59 WHIP, and Kaprielian is 0-3 with a 6.06 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The A’s are batting just .210, which is the worst in the majors, and are 0-4 in their last 4 against a left-handed starter. The Guardians swept the Athletics earlier this year in a 3-game series in Oakland and should come out on top in this one.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND GUARDIANS

After putting a beating on the host Minnesota Twins last night, 10-4, the New York Yankees have now won 7 straight and improved to 40-15 on the season. Tonight, in the middle game of their 3-game set, the Twins had better be clicking on every cylinder because southpaw Nestor Cortés Jr. will be toeing the rubber for New York and his numbers are off the charts. He is 5-1 with a 1.50 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and goes deep into games. The Twins will counter with Chris Archer. Archer’s best days are behind him. He comes into this matchup winless, at 0-2, with a 3.89 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Yankees have won 5 straight against the Twins and simply put, have their number.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Toronto Blue Jays flexed their young muscles last night at Kauffman Stadium, shutting out the host Kansas City Royals, 8-0. Tonight there should be more of the same when they play the middle game of their 3-game set. Over their last 3 games, the Jays have produced 26 runs and should be able to get to the Royals expected starter, Brad Keller. Keller has struggled. He is 1-6 with a 4.15 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts it gets worse. He is 0-3 with a 7.41 ERA and a WHIP of 1.92. The Jays are expected to send the young flamethrower, Alek Manoah, to the hill. In just his second season in the majors, Manoah is quickly becoming one of the league’s elite. He is 6-1 with an ERA of just 1.98 and a 0.91 WHIP. Manoah has faced the Royals once in his career and was lethal as usual, pitching 7 scoreless and yielding only 2 hits, resulting in a 4-0 Toronto win. KC is 9-18 at home, have lost 2 straight, 7 of their last 8, and will have their hands full with the talented Toronto Blue Jays.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

What has happened to the Los Angeles Angels? The Halos have now lost 11 straight after getting swept by the Phillies over the weekend. Tonight they will try to get back on track when they head home to SoCal for a 4-game series with the Boston Red Sox. Tonight’s expected starters are Michael Wacha for the Sox and Noah Syndergaard for the Angels. Wacha has been delivering, with a 3-1 record, a 2.43 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. Syndergaard’s numbers are nothing to write home about, at 4-3, with a 4.02 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP, but at Angels Stadium he has been on his mark, allowing 2 earned runs or fewer. Not only are the Angels struggling as a whole, so is the best player in baseball, Mike Trout. Trout is hitless in his last 26 at the plate but it’s just a matter of time before he finds the barrel. The Angels took 2 out of 3 from Boston at Fenway in early May and are 4-1 in the last 5 meetings overall.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS