The Cubs snapped their three-game losing streak with a win over the Pirates yesterday. They are in the lead in the NL Central with a four game lead over the St. Louis Cardinals and 4.5 games up on the Milwaukee Brewers. Chicago’s lineup has been struggling as of late only totaling five runs in their last four games. The Pirates had won four in a row before the loss to the Cubs last night. They are 9.5 games out of first place in the division and 7.5 games for the 2nd Wild Card. Pittsburgh has only allowed four runs in their last five games. Lester has not been sharp as of late and has really struggled in his last two outings against the Pirates. I think that will continue tonight, as the Pirates lineup will get to him early and often and with Taillon having a good outing Pittsburgh will win this game and take the series.

The Cardinals have won three in a row and five of their last six games. In their last four games their pitching has been solid only giving up a total of eight runs. St. Louis is four games out of first place in the NL Central and three games out of the 2nd NL Wild Card. The Padres had won three in a row before losing the first two games of this series where they have been outscored 10-4. They are well out of the playoff race, but they are four games over .500 at home. Flaherty makes his 2nd Major League start and his first one was not good, but he got 11 runs of support in a Cardinals win. He will not be so lucky in this game, as he will struggle and give up some runs while Lamet will have his 3rd straight good start. He will lead the Padres to a win and snap the Cardinals three-game winning streak.

The Astros are hot and they have won six straight games and have the best record in the AL. They have won the first two games of this series where they only gave up a total of three runs. They have the AL West in the bag with a 13.5 game lead over the 2nd place Angels. The Mariners had won three in a row before dropping the first two games of this series. They are out of their division race, but still in the hunt for the Wild Card three games out of the 2nd spot. Moore has not been effective in his last few appearances and the Astros, who have the highest scoring team in the Majors, will tag him up tonight. On the other side of the coin McCullers Jr. will have a good start in his first one in over a month after being on the DL. Houston will take this game, win their 6th in a row, and complete the series sweep.

The Brewers have lost two of their last three games, but they have won six of their last nine. They are only 3.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and only 1.5 games out of the 2nd NL Wild Card. The Reds had lost two in a row before winning the first game of this series. They had only scored one run in the two losses before putting up five in Game 1 of this series. Cincinnati is in the basement of the NL Central and they are tied with the New York Mets for the 3rd most losses in the NL. Davies has been lights out on the road this season and look for that to continue in this game. Stephenson has pitched well as of late and will have a decent outing tonight, but Davies will have the better one. The Brewers will take this game tonight and go for the series win tomorrow.

The Yankees have won three in a row and four of their last five games and with the Red Sox slumping the New York only trails them by 2.5 games in the AL East. They hold the top AL Wild Card with a three game lead over the Minnesota Twins. After winning seven in a row the Orioles have lost three of their last five games. They are seven games out of first place in the AL East and 1,5 games out of the 2nd Wild Card. Sabathia has been pitching well as of late and has only given up one earned run in each of his last two starts. On the other side of the coin Hellickson was lit up in his last start and his tenure with Baltimore has not been a smooth one with an ERA north of 6.00. The Yankees have totaled 21 runs in winning their last three games and they will get to Hellickson tonight chasing him out early. Sabathia will have another good outing and the Yankees will take this game winning their 4th in a row.

The Rangers have won two of their last three games and in the two wins they have totaled 17 runs while in the loss they only scored four runs. Texas is out of the AL West race, but they are in the Wild Card race three games out of the 2nd spot. The Braves snapped their three-game losing streak with a win in their last game and they are well out of the playoff picture. Atlanta avoided being swept in the four-game series with the Cubs winning their last game only giving up one run while they gave up 14 in the previous game. Cashner has been pitching well in his last several starts and he can level his record at .500 with a win. However, he will not get it, as I think Dickey will have another good outing and Atlanta will win their 8th home game in their last 11 with him on the hill. The Braves will win their 2nd in a row and send the Rangers under .500 on the season with a loss.

The Twins have lost two of their last three games and while they are well out of first place in the AL Central they have the 2nd Wild Card spot 1.5 games up on the Baltimore Orioles and L.A. Angels. The Rays have lost two in a row and they are also well out of their division race, but four games back of the Twins in the Wild Card. Berrios was great in his last outing and has been lights out in two of his last three starts. However, those were at home and the Twins have lost his last seven road starts. Still, I think that trend will end tonight, as he will have a solid outing in Tampa Bay. Cobb will be similar to his last start, as he will be decent, but not great. Berrios will have the better outing and Minnesota will win this game while the Rays will lose their 3rd in a row.

The Red Sox have lost two of the three games of this series and they need a win tonight to salvage a split. They are still in first place in the AL East with a 4.5 game lead over the Yankees. Boston has only totaled seven runs in the three games in this series. The Yankees had lost three in a row before taking two of the first three games of this series they still have some work to do to catch the Red Sox, but they are in the lead in the AL Wild Card with a one game lead over the Minnesota Twins and 2.5 game lead over the L.A. Angels. Great pitching match up tonight, but both struggled in their last games in this big rivalrly. Still, have to go with Sale in this one, as he is coming off a great last outing while Severino is not and he was lit up in the Big Apple the last time facing Boston. The Red Sox will win this game, salvage the series split, and increase their lead in the AL East.

The Angels had their three-game winning streak snapped with their loss to the Rangers yesterday and while they are out of the AL West race they are only 1.5 games out of the Wild Card. The Rangers have won three of their last four games and they are in the same boat as the Angels out of the division race, but still in the Wild Card race three games out of the 2nd spot. Texas has scored double-digits in runs in two of their last four games. Nolasco has been up and down on the season, but he had a solid recent start against the Rangers. I think he will have a decent outing tonight, but the reason the Halos will win is their offense. They have the newly acquired Brandon Phillips and Justin Upton and each should play in this game. L.A. will get to Griffin in this game and just like his last start he will have an early exit. The Angels will take this game tonight and snap the Rangers three-game winning streak.

The Diamondbacks are hot, as they have won seven in a row and are coming off a series sweep of the Dodgers, who have the best record in baseball. Arizona is out of the NL West race, but they are in the lead in the Wild Card with a 3.5 game lead over Colorado. The Rockies have lost two of their last three games and they are still in the Wild Card in the 2nd spot, but only have a 2.5 game lead over the Milwaukee Brewers. Walker has pitched great in his last two starts and I see that continuing tonight. On the other side of the coin Freeland will struggle. He is a lefty and the Diamondbacks have won their last six games facing left handed starters. That trend will continue, as Arizona will win their 8th in a row and Colorado will lose their 3rd game in their last four contests.

The Royals have six of their last seven games and over that span they went 45 innings without scoring a single run. They are in 3rd place in the AL Central 11 games back of the Cleveland Indians and they are 4.5 games out of the Wild Card. The Twins have won four in a row where they have outscored their opponents 29-11. They have won seven in a row at home and if they win this game they will be .500 at home on the season. Minnesota is 6.5 games out of first place in the AL Central and they hold the 2nd Wild Card with a 1.5 game lead over the L.A. Angels. Hammel has not pitched well facing the Twins this season and look for that to continue in this game, which will be his4th start of the season against them. Gee has been up and down for the Twins since coming to them in a trade and at home he will have a pretty good outing and get solid run support. Minnesota will take this game, which will be their 5th win in a row and send the reeling Royals to another loss.

The Nationals are hot winners of four in a row and five of their last six games. They are coming off a three-game sweep over the Miami Marlins and their pitching has been great lately only giving up a total of nine runs in their last four games. The Washington starters have really been getting it done, as in their last 21 games they have an ERA of 2.23. The Nationals have, pretty much, won the NL East where they are 15 games up on the 2nd place Marlins. The Brewers have won three of their last four games and they are 3.5 games out of first place in the NL Central and three games out of the 2nd NL Wild Card. Great pitching match up tonight, as the Nats have won Gonzalez’s last six starts and Davies has been lights out in his last three starts. I have to take the Brewers in this one, as it will be a pitcher’s duel, but Davies will have the better outing. Milwaukee will get the win in this game and snap the Nationals’ four-game winning streak.

After losing four in a row the Red Sox have won three straight coming off a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays north of the border. They outscored Toronto 16-6 in the series and they are in first place in the AL East with a 5.5 game lead over the Yankees. New York has lost three in a row getting swept in a four-game set against the Indians with one game being rained out. While they are 5.5 games out of first in the AL East they are in the lead in the AL Wild Card with a one game lead over the Minnesota Twins and two game lead over the L.A. Angels. Rodriguez is coming off a less than stellar outing, but he had a great one earlier this month in his lone start facing the Red Sox. Sabathia has been lights out against the Red Sox this season and the Yankees have won their last four games against Boston with him on the hill. That trend will continue, as Sabathia will lead the Yankees to a win snapping their three-game losing streak while also ending the Red Sox three-game win streak.

The A's have lost their last two games after winning three in a row and they are in the basement of the AL West and have the 3rd fewest wins in the AL. they had totaled 19 runs in winning three in a row before only scoring three runs combined in their last two losses. The Angels have won two in a row and three of their last four games and while out of the AL West race they are only one game back of the Minnesota Twins for the 2nd Wild Card. L.A. pitching has been solid on the season and they have only given up three runs in the first two games of this series. Oakland has not had much success facing the Angels in La La Land the last couple of seasons and look for that to continue. Graveman will not have a bad outing, but Bidwell will have a better one. He has had a great rookie season and would be in the Rookie of the Year race if Aaron Judge did not have the award in the bag. He will lead the Angels to a win in this game and the Halos will complete the series sweep.

The Mets had won 13 straight against the Reds before losing the first game of this series yesterday. They have lost two in a row and three of their last four games and are well out of the playoff picture. In their three losses in their last four games the Mets have given up 28 runs. The Reds are also out of the playoff picture and they have the 3rd worst record in the NL. They had lost two in a row where they only scored two runs before blowing up for 14 in the first game of this series. Montero was roughed up in less than an inning of relief in his last outing, but has not been bad in his last few starts. I think he will have a decent outing in this one while Bailey will struggle and the Mets will chase him out of the game roughing him up early. The Mets will take the win in this game and go for the series win tomorrow.

The Mariners have lost three in a row where they have been outscored 23-10. They are out of the race in the AL West and with their last game they fell to under .500 on the season. However, they are still in the hunt for the Wild Card two games out of the 2nd spot. The Orioles are hot winners of five in a row and with their win over the Mariners last night they moved ½ game ahead of them in the Wild Card race. It is unlikely Baltimore will win the AL East eight games out of first place. The Orioles have scored 40 runs in their five-game win streak and put up 16 in one of the games. Ramirez has been decent in his five starts for the Mariners, but he will get tagged up by a hot Baltimore lineup tonight. Bundy will keep getting solid run support from his lineup like he has in his last six starts and he will have a decent outing. Baltimore will stay hot winning their 6th in a row handing the Mariners their 4th straight loss.

Both the Braves and the Phillies are well out of the playoff race and each is just playing for pride. The Braves have lost three in a row and in their last two games they have only scored one run. The Phillies have won two in a row and three of their last four games and in the three wins they only gave up a total of five runs while they gave up 17 in the one loss. Philadelphia has the worst record in the Majors, but they had the Braves number this season and have won all eight games facing them at home. Dickey has not been sharp in his last two outings where he has given up four earned runs in each game. However, he has pitched great against the Phillies this season. Leiter Jr. was flirting with a no hitter in his last game and he will have another good outing tonight while the Philadelphia lineup will get to Dickey. The Phillies will beat the Braves at home sending them to their 4th straight loss.

The Red Sox have lost four in a row and are coming off being swept in a three-game series by the Baltimore Orioles. In their four-game slide they have been outscored 38-10. Boston is still in first place in the AL East, but only up 2.5 games on the New York Yankees. The Blue Jays have lost three of their last four games and they have given up 16 runs in their last two games. They are in last place in the AL East and six games out of the 2nd Wild Card. Pomeranz has not given up an earned run in his last two starts and only gave up one in two starts facing the Blue Jays this season. He will have a solid outing again and get the better of the Stroman in what will be a pitcher’s duel. Boston will get the W and snap their four-game skid win their 5th in a row in Toronto, and hand the Blue Jays their 4th loss in their last five games. 

The Indians have won four in a row and they are in first place in the AL Central with a 6.5 game lead over the Minnesota Twins. They are coming off a three-game sweep in their last series where their pitching was lights out with a shutout win in each game. The Cleveland lineup has also been solid in their streak totaling 33 runs and scoring at least 12 runs in two of the four games. The Yankees have won two in a row and four of their last six games and they are now only 2.5 games out of first place in the AL East trailing the Boston Red Sox, who have lost four in a row. Great pitching match up in this AL game, which is why the total is set at a low 7 runs. Both of the starters are in the AL Cy Young talk and while the Indians have won four in a row facing the Yankees with Kluber on the mound that streak will end tonight. Severino will have the better outing and in a low scoring game the Yankees will win their 3rd in a row and snap the Indians four-game win streak.

The Rangers have lost two in a row and four of their last six games and while they rank 5th in the Majors in runs scored they have only totaled four runs in losing the first two games of this series. They are out of the AL West race and are only two games out of the 2nd AL Wild Card. The A’s have won two in a row and three of their last four games. In their last four games they have given up eight runs in the three wins and eight in the one loss. Oakland is in the basement of the AL West and while they have the 3rd worst record in the AL they are over .500 at home and have had the Rangers number at home this season. Griffin had one great outing against the A’s this season and was not so great in the other two. Look for him to struggle in this game while Cotton will have his 2nd straight solid outing and avenge the less than impressive outing in the loss to the Rangers early in the season. The A’s will get the win in this game and complete the series sweep.