The Tampa Bay Rays snapped their 5-game skid last night, cruising to an easy 7-1 victory over the host Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays still hold the top spot in the AL East with a 1.5 game lead over the New York Yankees while the Jays sit in the cellar at 11.5 games back. Tonight in the second game of their 4-game set at Rogers Centre the Rays are likely to give the nod to Drew Rasmussen. Rasmussen has decent numbers, at 7-5 with a respectable 3.26 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.95. The Jays are expected to send Kevin Gausman to the hill. Gausman’s numbers are nothing to write home about. He is 4-8 with a 4.33 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and in his career against the Rays he is 8-10 with a 4.26 ERA. The Jays are in a tailspin with just one win in their last six tries and Tampa has dominated Toronto this year, winning six of the seven meetings.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS
Monday MLB Pick
The 57-41 Atlanta Braves will open a 4-game set tonight with the 49-50 San Diego Padres at Truist Park. The Padres swept the Braves in a 3-game set back in June at Petco Park but now the Braves have them on their turf and the outcome will be different. Tonight’s expected starters are Bryce Elder for Atlanta and lefty JP Sears for San Diego. Elder is 5-6 with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Sears comes in at 2-2 with a 5.03 ERA and a WHIP of 1.42. Atlanta can score, averaging 5 runs per game, and should be able to do some damage against the mediocre-at-best Sears. Elder is better than his numbers reflect and after a couple of shaky starts is due for a shutdown game. The Braves boast a 29-19 record at Truist Park and have the edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average, hits, homers, team ERA, and the list goes on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES
Sunday MLB Pick
The Arizona Diamondbacks and the St. Louis Cardinals will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Chase Field and Arizona should come out on top. The Diamondbacks’ expected starter is All-Star Eduardo Rodríguez and he has been in the zone. The southpaw is 8-3 with a 2.28 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In his last turn against the Los Angeles Dodgers’ heavy bats Rodríguez was dealing, yielding just 2 runs over 6 frames and the Diamondbacks went on to a 9-3 win. The Cardinals are expected to counter with Andre Pallante. The right-hander has decent numbers at 10-6 with a 3.96 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP but was roughed up in his last turn by the Milwaukee Brewers where he gave up 6 runs on 8 hits over 5 innings of work and the Cardinals fell 8-4. Consider the Snakes in this one for the simple fact that when Rodríguez gets the nod they win.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS
Saturday MLB Pick
The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies will play the middle game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. The Mets took Game 1, 4-1, but I expect the Phillies bounce back today. Two southpaws are expected to oppose each other with Jesús Luzardo getting the start for Philadelphia and Sean Manaea for New York. Manaea is 2-4 on the season with a 4.56 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and has not fared well against Philadelphia in his career, going 2-3 with an elevated ERA of 5.05. Luzardo comes in at 8-4 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. In his career against New York, Luzardo has delivered going 6-2 with an ERA of 3.16. Philadelphia is 7-0 in Luzardo’s last 7 starts against the NL East and they have the edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average hits and homers.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
Friday MLB Pick
The struggling Athletics will open a 3-game set tonight at their temporary home, Sutter Health Park. The A’s have lost 9 straight and are a dismal 19-28 in Sac. They are expected to send southpaw Gage Jump to the hill, and he is not the answer. Jump is 3-4 with a 3.51 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and over his last three turns he is 0-3 with an ERA that ballooned to 7.42 and a 2.10 WHIP. This could be a problem for the Athletics when they are facing a Nationals team that is first in the league in scoring, averaging 5.3 runs per game, and second in the league in homers with 138. Washington has played well on the road, at 28-18, and is expected to give the nod to Cade Cavalli. Cavalli is 5-4 with a 3.83 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and over his last three starts he is 1-0 with an ERA that dropped to 2.83 and his WHIP to 0.91. Sutter Health Park is a hitters’ ballpark and the way the Nationals light it up they are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Thursday MLB Pick
The Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets will open a 3-game set tonight at Citizen Bank Park. The Mets had a disastrous first half of the season, posting a record of 40-57 and earning them the last place in the NL East. On the flip side the 54-43 Phillies have been just the opposite. After a slow start they have turned it around thanks to Donny Baseball and are just two games back of the Atlanta Braves for the lead in the NL East. Going into the break the Mets lost three straight and are expected to be without third baseman Bo Bichette and second baseman Marcus Semien. The Phillies have owned the Mets this year, winning four of the six meetings and they are by far the better team on the diamond tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
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Will be back on Thursday, July 16th. Good luck with your picks!