Category: Baseball

The Los Angeles Dodgers return home tonight to take on the Philadelphia Phillies. To say the Dodgers have been dominant at Chavez Ravine would be an understatement. Not only are they 10-2 this year at home, they are 41-10 in their last 51. Tonight’s expected starter, lefty Tyler Anderson, should be able to keep Harper and company in check. Anderson is 3-0 with a 2.78 ERA, a 0.97 WHIP, and the Phillies are 1-8 in their last 9 road games against a left-handed starter. With all their talent, Philadelphia has been underachieving. They are upside down with a mark of 14-17 and just 5-8 on the road. Joe Girardi is expected to have Zack Wheeler toeing the rubber. Wheeler is 1-3 with a 4.10 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and Philadelphia is 1-5 in his last 6 starts. The Dodgers at home is always worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Washington Nationals lost another one last night at Nationals Park, falling to the New York Mets, 4-2, and they are now just 3-12 on the season in DC. It won’t get any easier for them tonight when they host the Mets in the middle game of their 3-game set. With last night’s win, New York is 21-10 overall, with the most wins in the National League, and are 12-5 away from Citi Field. Tonight’s expected starters are Tylor Megill for the Mets and Aaron Sanchez for the Nats. Sanchez has been a hitter’s delight. He is 1-2 on the season with a 8.56 ERA, a 1.54 WHIP, and was lit up by the Rockies in his last turn, yielding 7 runs over 4-1/3 resulting in a 9-7 loss. New York’s Tylor Megill has been just the opposite. He is 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.90, and the Mets are 6-1 in his last 7 starts. New York is obviously heavily favored but that’s okay. In this situation, they are 21-8 in their last 29 and 4-1 in their last 5 in Washington.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

It took 16 tries but the Pittsburgh Pirates finally beat the Los Angeles Dodgers last night at PNC Park. Are they going to make it two in a row tonight against the NL West leaders? I doubt it. Los Angeles rarely loses back-to-back games and will have Tony Gonsolin toeing the rubber. Gonsolin has been throwing flames, with a record of 2-0, an ERA of only 1.64 and a 1.09 WHIP. On the flip side, Bryse Wilson will take the bump for the Bucs. Wilson had success in 2020 against the Dodgers in his only outing against them in the NLCS when he was a Brave, but not tonight. Wilson comes in at 0-1, with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Dodgers mustered just 1 run in yesterday’s loss which is a rarity for a team that is averaging over 5 runs per game.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The NL Central leading Milwaukee Brewers will look to snap their 2-game losing streak when they visit Great American Ball Park and the bottom-dwelling Cincinnati Reds. Cincinnati resides dead last in the NL Central with the worst record in baseball, at 5-23. The Reds also possess the worst ERA in the majors among starters, at 8.45, and are expected to give the nod to the best they have, Luis Castillo. Castillo will be making his season debut after being on the IL so I expect he will be on a short leash. He was 8-16 in 2021 with a 3.98 ERA and is 4-8 lifetime against Milwaukee with a 3.23 ERA. The Brewers are expected to send Brandon Woodruff to the hill. Despite a 5.18 ERA, Woodruff is still 3-1 on the season and was sharp in his last outing against the Reds on May 3rd, where he delivered 12 strikeouts and no walks in a 6-3 Brewers win. Milwaukee has already swept Cincinnati this year in a 3-game set, outscoring them 34-12, so why should tonight be any different?
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The San Diego Padres will look to rebound today after an 8-0 beating yesterday by the Miami Marlins when the two clubs wrap up their 4-game set at Petco Park. The Padres do not lick their wounds for very long. After allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game, they are 8-0 in their last 8. They will also turn to their ace and San Diego native, Joe Musgrove, to deliver and that is just what he has been doing. Musgrove is off to a 4-0 start with a nasty 1.97 WHIP and a 1.91 ERA. Miami is expected to turn to lefty Trevor Rogers to throw strikes. He comes in at 1-4 with a 6.14 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Even with last night’s win, the Marlins are still just 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Petco and are a dismal 0-7 in Rogers’ last 7 starts as a road dog.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

Two southpaws are expected to oppose each other when the Houston Astros host the Detroit Tigers today in the third game of their 4-game set at Minute Maid Park. Framber Valdez is expected to get the nod for the Astros and Eduardo Rodríguez for the Tigers. Valdez has decent numbers, at 1-2, with a respectable ERA of 3.42 and a 1.22 WHIP. Rodríguez, on the other hand, not so good. He is 0-2 with a 5.33 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP, and was lit up in his last turn against the Dodgers. Rodríguez is also 1-3 lifetime against Houston with an ERA of 8.53. The Tigers are 2-10 over their last 12 games, 6-13 in their last 19 against the ‘Stros, and are just 3-8 in their last 11 against a left-handed starter. Dusty Baker has his club clicking on every cylinder. Houston has won 5 straight, are 6-0 in their last 6 home games, 6-0 in their last 6 games against southies, and should take care of business today against a Detroit team that is just 3-8 on the road.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Baltimore Orioles are a team to keep an eye on in the coming years. They have a lot of raw young talent and that will be on display tonight when they open a 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards. Baltimore is riding a 2-game winning streak after splitting a 4-game series with a really good Minnesota Twins team. Tonight the expected starters are Jordan Lyles for the Orioles and Carlos Hernández for the Royals. Neither one of these guys is winning the AL Cy Young but the edge in this matchup goes to Baltimore. Lyles is 2-2 with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP, as opposed to Hernández who comes in at 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP. The Royals have lost 5 of their last 6 and have mustered just 13 runs during that span. They are also just 2-6 on the road this season and 4-13 in their last 17 in Baltimore. The Orioles are 7-6 at the Yard and their bats have come alive, launching 7 home runs over their 2-game winning streak. Consider the Birds.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES