The defending champion Cubs had won three in a row before losing their last game. They are in 2nd place in the NL Central 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. While Chicago has not been lighting up the scoreboard lately their pitching has been solid only giving up a total of five runs in their last four games. Anthony Rizzo leads the Cubs in batting average, HR, and RBI and had his 14-game hitting streak snapped in his last game. In his last 15 games he is hitting .389 with five HR and 17 RBI. The Marlins have won two of their last three games and they have won seven of their last eight home games. They are in 3rd place in the NL East 10 games back of the Washington Nationals. Arrieta has been up and down lately and while the Cubs have lost his last six road starts in his last four road starts they have only given him four runs of support. He will have a decent outing again tonight and for a change on the road he will get run support, as the Cubs’ lineup will chase Locke out early. The Cubs will win the first game of this series and win their 4th game in their last five.

The Indians have won seven of their last eight games and they had won six in a row before losing Game 2 of this series. They are in first place in the AL Central with a 1.5 game lead on the Minnesota Twins. The Cleveland pitching has been solid as of late only giving up a total of 15 runs in their last seven games with six coming in the Game 2 loss in this series. The Orioles have lost three of their last four games and with them slumping the last few weeks they are now tied with the Toronto Blue Jays in the basement of the AL East five games out of first place. Mike Clevinger is being recalled from the minors after a very short stint there and he has not looked good in his last few starts. I expect him to have a decent outing tonight while I cannot say the same about Miley. In his last two starts at home he has given up nine earned runs in only seven innings and work and look for him to struggle again tonight. The Indians will take this game and in the process win the series.

The Tigers have lost four in a row and they are in 4th place in the AL Central 5.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians. They have been outscored 23-9 in their four-game skid. Miguel Cabrera had been on a tear and is batting .300 in June, but is 0 for his last 10. After losing three in a row the Mariners have gotten back on track and have won three straight. They can get to .500 with a win in this game and they are in 3rd place in the AL West 12.5 games back of the Houston Astros. Seattle’s pitching has been solid in the three-game win streak giving up a total of nine runs. Ben Gamel is swinging a red-hot bat, as he is riding a 12-game hitting streak and in that span is hitting a scorching .460. Verlander has been decent in the last few outings, but the Tigers are 0-4 in his last four road starts. That trend will continue even though Paxton is coming off his worst start of the season. He has not been great as of late, but he will have a solid outing tonight and get some support from the Mariners lineup. Seattle will win their 4th in a row, hand the Tigers their 5th straight loss, and go for the sweep in this series tomorrow.

The Blue Jays had won two in a row including winning the first game of this series before losing to the Rangers yesterday. They are in the basement of the AL East 5.5 games back of the Boston Red Sox. Toronto had scored seven runs in each of their two wins before only crossing the plate once yesterday. Kevin Pillar is 0 for 10 in this series and 3 for 32 in his last seven games while Kendrys Morales is riding a six-game hitting streak where he has eight RBI and is 10 for 26. The Rangers had lost two straight giving up 14 runs before taking the 2nd game of this series. They got to .500 in yesterday’s win and they are tied for 2nd place in the AL West with the L.A. Angels 12 games back of the Houston Astros. Biagini had his worst start of the season in his last outing and while he will not be as bad tonight the Rangers will get him for a few runs. Ross had a no hitter entering the 5th inning of his last start before getting yanked after giving up a couple of runs. He will have another good outing tonight and lead the Rangers to another win.

Things just keep getting worse for the San Francisco Giants and with their 7th straight loss in Game 1 of this series they are now 20 games under .500. They have been outscored 56-26 in their seven-game skid and they have the 2nd fewest wins in the Majors. In nine of their last 20 games, where they have 15 losses, they have scored two or fewer runs. The Braves have won three in a row and four of their last five games and they are in 2nd place in the NL East 9.5 games back of the Washington Nationals. In their four wins in their last five games Atlanta has totaled 35 runs. Since the Braves traded for Matt Adams because of the injury to Freddie Freeman he has been on fire and he has 10 HR in 28 games with Atlanta. Moore was shelled in his last outing and he has really struggled on the road this season, which is not good facing a suddenly potent Braves lineup. He will struggle again and ad that to Teheran having another strong home effort the Braves will take this game and win their 4th in a row sending the woeful Giants to their 8th straight loss. 

The Indians are red hot and they are riding a six-game win streak where they have totaled 52 runs. With a recent four-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins the Indians have overtaken them for the season in the AL Central and lead them by 2.5 games. Cleveland’s Jose Ramirez has seven straight multi-hit games where he is 19 for 33. The Orioles have been struggling for a few weeks, but they had won two in a row before losing the first game of this series. They gave up 12 runs in the series opener and it is the 5th time in their last 10 games where they have given up double-digits in runs. Tomlin has not been pitching well, but Tillman has really struggled in his last few starts. Don’t look for a pitching duel in this game. The Indians will get the W, as their lineup will remain hot and they will light up Tillman in this game and notch their 7th straight win.

The Pirates have lost three of their last four games and they are in 4th place in the NL Central six games back of the Brewers. They have had issues all season at the plate only ranking 26th in the Majors in runs scored and in their last four games they have only scored 11 runs. The Brewers have won five of their last six games and they are 2.5 games up on the 2nd place Chicago Cubs in the division. Cole is coming off a great start after really struggling in four straight outings. Facing the solid Brewers lineup he will not have the success that he had facing them in Pittsburgh earlier this season where he held them to one run. Garza has not been pitching well lately giving up 15 earned runs in his last four starts. He will be decent tonight, but the reason the Brewers will get the win is their bats. They will tag Cole up at home and win their 6th game in their last seven and hand the Pirates their 4th loss in five games.

The Nationals had their three-game win streak snapped in their last game and they are in first place in the NL East with a 10.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. Washington has totaled 22 runs in winning three in a row before only scoring one run in their last game. The Nationals have won 12 of their last 15 road games and Bryce Harper is riding an 11-game hitting streak. After winning three in a row the Marlins have lost their last two games and they are 11 games back of the Nats in the NL East. They are back at home after loosing two of three games to the Braves in their last series and they have won their last five home games. Tyler Moore is swinging a hot bat and he has five HR in his last 12 games. Raork was lit up in his last start and I look for him to struggle again. On the other side of the coin Nicolino will have a good outing in his first of the month and lead the Marlins to the win.

This is the runner game in this series, as these teams have split the first two games. The Red Sox have lost two of their last three games after winning three in a row while the Astros have won two of their last three games after losing three straight. The Red Sox are in 2nd place in the AL East only one game back of the New York Yankees, who have lost five in a row. Houston has the best record in the Majors and they are first place in the AL West 11 games up on the Texas Rangers. Boston has only scored three runs in their last three games. Price has been up and down this season and three of his four starts have been on the road. He will have a good outing tonight and the Boston lineup will break out of their slump and get to Musgrove early and often. The Red Sox will win this game, win the series, and Houston will lose their 4th game in their last six.

The Rays had lost the first two games of this series and three straight overall before winning Game 3 yesterday. They are in 3rd place in the AL East 4.5 games back of the New York Yankees. Tampa Bay had given up 25 runs in losing three in a row before only giving up two runs in the win yesterday. The Tigers won the first two games of this series, but they have been slumping lately with only three wins in their last nine games. Detroit is in 3rd place in the AL Central 3.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians. Their lineup put up 18 runs in the first two games of this series before only scoring two in the game 3 loss. Jacob Faria has been great in the first two starts of his career and I look for that to continue. He will tame the Detroit bats and Farmer will have another tough outing. Add those things up and you get a Rays win and they will salvage a split in this series.

The Royals are hot winners of six in a row and with their great play as of late they are now only three games out of first place in the AL Central. In their six-game win streak they have outscored their opponents 45-15. Mike Moustakas is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak and in the month of June he is batting .389 with five HR and 16 RBI. The Angels had won two in a row before losing the first two games of this series and they are in 3rd place in the AL West 11.5 games back of the Houston Astros. In the two games of this series they only have nine hits. Junis has been decent in his three starts this season, but has been backed by solid run support. Don’t look for that to happen in this game. Meyer has a solid home ERA and he will have a good outing and the Halos will finally give him some run support. L.A. will take this game and snap their six-game losing streak against the Royals.

The Mariners have lost two in a row and six of their last nine games. They are in 4th place in the AL West 12.5 games back of the Houston Astros. In losing their last two games Seattle has been outscored 16-6. Texas is hot winners of six of their last seven games and they are in 2nd place in the division 11 games back of the Astros. Their pitching has been the reason they have been winning as of late, as in the six wins in their last seven games they have only given up 13 runs while in the one loss they gave up 13 runs. The home team has dominated this series lately, as while the Mariners have won seven of their last nine games against the Rangers overall they have dropped their last seven games against them in Texas. Look for that last trend to continue in this game. Gallardo has given up more earned runs than innings pitched in his last five starts and the Texas lineup will light him up tonight. Just like Game 1 the Rangers will win and also just like Game 1 it will not be a pitcher’s duel.

The Cardinals have lost three in a row where their lineup was not bad, but their pitching was giving up a total of 21 runs. They are in 3rd place in the NL Central 4.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers, who they lost their last three games to. The Orioles are back at home after an eight-game road trip where they only went 1-7. They are in 4th place in the AL East 6.5 games back of the New York Yankees. After a solid 22-10 starts the Orioles are 10-23. Baltimore has been great at home (21-10) on the season, but terrible on the road (21-10). Martinez is coming off his beat start of the season, but he and the St. Louis lineup has not gotten it done in losing his last two road starts. Gausman was shelled in his last outing and in an interesting trend the Orioles have lost 11 of his last 12 Friday starts and that is a trend that will continue. Baltimore is at home and is 6-3 in interleague play this season while St. Louis is only 2-6, but the Cardinals are still the pick in this game, as Martinez will lead them to a win.

After winning six in a row the Yankees have lost two straight where they only combined to score seven runs. They are in first place in the AL East with a two game lead over the Boston Red Sox, who have won three in a row. The A's have lost six of their last seven games, including their last three, and they are back home after a recent 1-5 road trip. They have given up 24 runs in losing three in a row and they are in the basement of the AL West 17 games back of the Houston Astros. Montgomery has four good starts in a row and after not getting much support from the lineup in the first two the Yankees have scored 15 runs in winning his last two starts. Gray can relate having a good start in his last outing, but not getting much support. The A's have lost three in a row with him getting the start and look for that trend to continue. Montgomery will win this pitching match up and lead the Yankees to a win sending the A's to their 7th loss in their last eight games.

The Rays are hot, as they have won two in a row and six of their last seven games. They sit in 3rd place in the AL East 5.5 games out of first place. Tampa Bay has scored 13 runs and only given up five in winning two in a row. The Blue Jays had a modest two-game win streak before losing to the Rays yesterday and they are in last place in the division eight games back of the Yankees. Toronto’s pitching had been solid in winning two in a row recently only giving up a total of two runs while they were rocked for eight in losing to Tampa Bay in Game 1 of this two-game series. The Rays have lost four of their last five games against the Blue Jays in Toronto with Odorizzi on the hill and look for that trend to continue. Liriano has not been particularly sharp lately, but the Toronto lineup has had his back and they will continue to do so in this game. The Blue Jays will get the W and move within one game of .500.

The Rockies have lost three in a row where they have only totaled nine runs and have only scored two runs in each of the losses in this series. With their recent slide they are now tied with the red-hot L.A. Dodgers, who have won five straight, atop the NL West. Pittsburgh is riding a four-game win streak, which is their longest of the season, and in their last three games they have only given up a total of five runs. While still five games under .500 they are only 3.5 games out of first place in the NL Central. Since former MVP Andrew McCutchen was demoted to 6th in the batting order he has been on fire hitting nearly .400 in 17 games where he has 15 RBI and he went deep twice in yesterday’s game. While the Rockies still lead the Majors in road wins they have lost their last three road games. They will not improve upon their road record tonight. Kuhl will have another solid start, get some run support, and the bullpen will help him out for a change. The Pirates will win their 5th in a row and complete the series sweep.

The Yankees are red-hot winners of six straight games and in their streak they have outscored their opponents 60-12. They are in first place in the AL East four games up on the Boston Red Sox. Aaron Judge is the reigning American League Player of the Week and he has four HR in his last three games going deep in each one and he leads the Majors in HR. The Angels have lost two of their last three games and they have lost four of their last five home games. While they are in 2nd place in the AL West they are still 12-games back of the Houston Astros. Sabathia has been on fire in his last five starts where he is 5-0 with an ERA of only 1.11. he will have another solid start tonight while Ramirez, who has given up twice as many hits as innings pitched (18-9) in his last two starts, will not. The Yankees will take this game and extend their winning streak to seven.

The Diamondbacks have won two in a row and five of their last six games and are in 3rd place in the tough NL West 1.5 games back of the Colorado Rockies. Arizona is in the playoff race mainly because of their work at home. They are 26-9 at home, but four games under .500 on the road and at home they have the highest team batting average in the Majors while on the road they have the lowest. The Tigers snapped their three-game losing streak in their last game and in their three-game skid they gave up 27 runs while only allowing three in their last game. Detroit is in 3rd place in the AL Central three games back of the Minnesota Twins. Detroit’s Justin Upton and 3B Nicholas Castellanos are each riding 10-game hitting streaks. Greinke should be well-rested, as he has not started since June 7th after taking a small paternity leave. Farmer has been solid in his first two starts of the season, but the teams he has faced in the Angels and White Sox do not have a dynamic lineup while Arizona does. Their bats will get to him tonight ending his scoreless inning streak and Grenike will have a good start. The Diamondbacks will get the win in this game snapping their seven game road interleague losing streak.

The Orioles are coming off being swept in a three-game series against the New York Yankees and they have lost four in a row overall. To say their pitching has struggled lately would be an understatement, as they have given up 44 runs in their last four games and 30 in their last two. If Baltimore losses this game they will be .500 for the first time all season. The Orioles are in 4th place in the AL East 6.5 games back of the Yankees. The White Sox have lost nine of their last 11 games and they are in last place in the AL Central seven games out of first place. Wade Miley has been up and down lately and in his last road start he gave up four earned runs in a loss. Look for him to struggle again in this game in the Windy City. On the other side of the coin Pelfry will have another strong outing and finally get some run support. Take the White Sox in this one, as they will get the W and hand the Orioles their 5th loss in a row.

The Rangers are coming off a three-game sweep over the Washington Nationals where their pitching was solid only giving up a total of six runs. Their pitching was not so solid in recently getting swept at home against the Astros in a three-game set where they gave up a total of 20 runs. Texas is in 3rd place in the AL West 13 games back of the Astros. After winning 10 in a row the Astros have lost four of their last five games. They still have the most wins in baseball as well as having the biggest division lead. Yu Darvish was on the hill in one of the games in the recent series where the Rangers were swept by the Astros, but he will get some payback tonight. He has been decent as of late, but not gotten much support and he will have a good outing tonight in Houston. Musgrove will struggle some just off the DL and Texas will win this game for their 4th straight win and get to within one game of .500.