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The Mets have been struggling and have only won three of their last ten games. After yesterday’s 10-5 loss, they have dropped three straight to the Phillies. The Philadelphia Phillies have gone 8-2 in their last ten games. The Mets are going with Jose Quintana on the mound. He has not pitched well this season, as he has allowed 18 runs over 20.1 innings in his last four starts. Taijuan Walker has allowed just four runs in 12.1 innings over his last two starts. The Phillies are 3-0 with Walker taking the mound. The Phillies are also 15-7. The Phillies have the advantage on the mound and at the plate.

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It looked like the Marlins were going to pull victory from the jaws of defeat with a two-run homer in the top of the eighth to break a 3-3 tie. It wasn’t meant to be as Detroit scored 3 in the bottom of the eighth on their own two-run homer. The Marlins have lost six of their last seven on the road. They have not won a road series all season. They have struggled at the plate away from home and have scored three runs or less in four of their last six contests. Detroit has not been scoring a ton of runs either but have a huge advantage on the mound. Detroit ranks fifth in ERA while Florida comes in at 29th. In Weathers last three starts (16 innings), he has posted a 6.75 ERA. Reese Olson has been victim of the Tigers lack of scoring. He and the Tigers have lost his last five starts but gave up just five total earned runs over those five games. He has posted a 2.52 ERA this season. The Tigers were able to come back last night and they will ride the momentum into this game.

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The Atlanta Braves host the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Both teams are 5-5 in their last ten. Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs. he has been dominant to start the season, posting a 5-0 record with a  1.08 ERA  and a 0.82 WHIP in seven starts and has 43 strikeouts with only five walks in 41.2 innings pitched. He has given up two runs or less in every start this season. Reynaldo Lopez has gotten off to a great start this season. He is 2-1 with a 1.53 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in four starts. He has struck out 36 batters and walked 14 in 35.1 innings. The Braves are 13-4 at home this season while the Cubs are 11-11 on the road. The Braves also have a slightly better bullpen. Atlanta has won four of their last five and their last three in a row against the Cubs.

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The Tampa Bay Rays have struggled out of the gate and are fourth in the AL East with a 20-21 record. Zacj Eflin will get the start for the rays. He is 2-4 this season with a 3.75 ERA. The Boston Red Sox are third place in the AL East with a 21-19 record. They will go with Kutter Crawford on the mound. He is 2-1 this season with a 1.75 ERA. The Rays are putting up 4.07 runs per game while the Red Sox put up 4.3 runs per game. Boston has the pitching advantage in this one. Eflin is 0-3 with a 4.76 ERA and a .287 opposing batting average in four road starts while Crawford is 1-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a .207 batting average against in four starts at Fenway Park. The Red Sox are fifth in baseball with a 3.19 reliever ERA while the Rays are 27th in the sport with a 4.83 bullpen ERA. The offenses are pretty even so will take the better pitching.

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The Colorado Rockies take on the Texas Rangers on Saturday. They look to build on their 4-2 win over the Rangers yesterday.  head to head matchups. The win snapped a four game losing streak to the Rangers. Andrew Heaney gets the call for the rangers. He has won two of his last three starts against the Rockies. In his last start against them he went six innings giving up one run on six hits. Heaney is 0-4 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts. Texas is third in runs scored at 5.1 runs per game. Colorado has won two in a row and will look to make it three with Ryan Feltner on the mound. He is 1-3 in seven starts with a 5.54 ERA. Colorado is 24th in runs scored at 3.73 runs per game. The Rockies are inconsistent at the plate and strike out way too much. Texas has hit better on the road this season. Texas has won five of its last six overall and four of the last five played on the road and  won four of its last five versus Colorado. The Rockies have lost four of the last five played at home and Colorado is 2-9 in its last 11 overall. Texas will be facing a Colorado pitching staff that has a 5.54 ERA, which is last in baseball. Heaney has allowed two runs over his last 13 innings while Ryan Feltner allowed 18 runs in  23 innings.

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The Philadelphia Phillies took  Game 1 of their series with the Miami Marlins after having their seven-game winning streak stopped the game before. They have been red-hot going 12-2 in their last 14 games. The Marlins on the other hand have lost four in a row and six of their last seven games. Taijuan Walker will get the start in Game 2 for the Phillies.. He is 2-0 this season but has a bloated 6.39 ERA to go with a 1.26 WHIP.  This is only his third start of the season and has given up eight runs in 12 2/3 innings of work. The Marlins have been dealing with injuries to two starters who are out for the season and their young arms have not delivered. Miami was a surprising Wild Card team last season but they are tied with the fewest wins in the Majors. Philly has been winning with pitching and hitting as they rank fourth in MLB in both team ERA and runs scored. No pitcher has been listed for Miami so play action.

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The Arizona Diamondbacks and Baltimore Orioles continue their interleague series with the D’backs looking to bounce back with a win after yesterday’s loss. Arizona will send Ryne Nelson to the mound. He is 2-2 this season with a  5.23 ERA.  The Orioles will counter with John Means, who is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. The Diamondbacks had their four-game winning streak snapped with their game one loss. They had scored 26 total runs in those four wins but managed just two yesterday. Arizona’s pitching staff has a 4.30 team ERA  ranking 12th in the National League. The Orioles were 4-1 on their recent road trip, scoring  23 runs over those five games. They put up four yesterday in their home win over Arizona.  Baltimore has a 3.30 team ERA which is fifth best in the AL. In Means first start of the season he went seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing just three hits. Baltimore took two of the three between the two teams last season. Arizona is 9-1 on the road this season. Baltimore is 12-7 at home. Nelson has struggled on the mound, giving up 13 runs in five starts. Arizona has the seventh-worst bullpen in baseball so they will find it difficult to keep the Orioles off the board. Means looked great in his first start and if he can’t go deep the Orioles have the 10th best bullpen. All signs point to Baltimore.

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The Twins Simeon Woods Richardson is 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA and a .250 opposing batting average in two road starts. Kevin Gausman has posted a 4.60 ERA and teams are hitting .292 against him when he pitches at home. Minnesota won 16 of its last 18. Neither team has been hitting the ball well but the Twins just find ways to win. The Twins starters and bullpen have a combined 3.51 ERA and 1.20 WHIP. I am going with the more consistent team in this one.

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The New York Yankees open a three-game series with AL East rivals the Tampa Bay Rays. Both teams are coming off losses.  The Yankees are second in the AL East with a 25-14 record and will send Clarke Schmidt to the mound. The Rays are fourth in the AL East with a 19-19 record and will counter with Taj Bradley. Clarke Schmidt is 3-1 with a 3.50 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP in 36.0 innings in seven starts. Taj Bradley will be making his 2024 debut. He made 23 appearances (21 starts) last season as a rookie, posting a 5.59 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 104.2 innings. Clarke Schmidt has not allowed more than three runs in a game this year and the Yankees lead baseball with a 2.25 reliever ERA while the Rays are 27th with a 4.80 bullpen ERA. With Bradley making his first appearance of the season, you can’t expect him to go deep  into the game and the Yankees should be able to take advantage of a weak Ray’s bullpen. 

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The Chicago White Sox are just 9-28 this season and will take on division leader the Cleveland Guardians. The Guardians are 24-13 this season. This is the first game of a four-game series in Chicago. Cleveland will send Ben Lively to the mound. He is 1-1, with a 2.08 ERA. The White Sox will counter with Erick Fedde on the mound. He is  2-0, with a 3.46 ERA this season. Lively has posted a 2.08 ERA and their bullpen ranks among the league's best in saves, strikeouts, and overall effectiveness.Erick Fedde has been the White Sox best starter, but their bullpen hasn’t been great.   Lively has held every team to under three runs  this season and Chicago struggles to score three runs. Chicago picked up a win yesterday so they don’t need another  for awhile.  Take Cleveland to win this one on the road.

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The Chicago Cubs will look to even their series with the San Diego Padres after losing game one yesterday. Joe Musgrove was expected to start Tuesday against the Cubs but will now be sidelined for at least the next couple of weeks with right elbow inflammation  Randy Vasquez is expected to get the call for tonight's start. Vasquez allowed five earned runs in 7.2 innings  in his two outings with Padres. The Cubs will start Shota Imanaga in tonight’s game. He has posted a 0.78 ERA in 34.2 innings with 35 strikeouts. He has allowed zero earned runs in four of his six appearances, and the most he's given up is two earned runs. This is all about the pitching matchup with Imanaga being lights out so far this season against a pitcher that has been recalled from the minors. The Wheels will come off at some point for Imanaga but until the do I will ride him until he fails.

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The Detroit Tigers dropped the first game of a three-game series with the Cleveland Guardians. Detroit will go with Kenta Maeda on the mound. He is 1-1, in six starts, with a 5.02 ERA. Cleveland counters with Logan Allen, who is 3-2, in seven starts, with a 5.11 ERA. The Tigers have now lost four in a row. Maeda made one start against the Guardians last season, allowing six runs on seven hits in just four innings. The Guardians have won three in a row.He went 0-1 with  3.00 ERA in one start against the Tigers last year. The Tigers are hitting just .238 vs. lefties this season. Maeda has struggled setting people down with just 22 strikeouts in 28.2 innings. The Guardians have done a great job at working the count this season and making contact. The Tigers have scored 23 total runs in their last seven games while the Guardians have scored 27 runs in that span. Both pitchers give up the long ball and Cleveland has more power.

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The Detroit Tigers take on the Cleveland Guardians in an American League Central battle. Jack Flaherty gets the call for the Tigers. He is  0-1 this season with a  4.00 ERA. The Indians will counter with Triston McKenzie on the mound. He is 2-2 this season with a 4.38 ERA. Detroit is 7-3 in its last 10 games against Cleveland. Detroit is on a three game losing streak and is putting up 3.97 runs per game. Detroit is giving up 3.18 runs per game. Cleveland is in first place in the AL Central standings, and will look to put distance between themselves and Detroit and KC. Cleveland is putting up 4.97 runs a  game and are giving up 3.52 runs per game. The Guardians have won two straight games and three of their last four home games. They have 17 runs in their last four home games. Flaherty has given up eight runs in his last three starts. He gave up nine runs in his last three road starts. The Tigers have lost four straight road games and four of their last six games overall. They have scored just six runs in their last three road games. McKenzie has given up five runs in his last three starts. Cleveland has the second bets bullpen in baseball.

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The Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals finish off a three game series. The Rangers will send Jon Gray to the mound while the Royals counter with Daniel Lynch. Texas lost the opener but came back with a 15-4 win yesterday. The Rangers are putting up 4.42 runs per game. Texas has posted a 3.74 team ERA over 33 games, with a 1.19 WHIP. Gray is 1-1, 2.48 ERA. He has allowed just four earned runs and struck out 33 batters over 29 innings. Lynch will be making his first start of the season for the Royals. Last season he was 3.4 with  4.64 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Gray went eight innings last time out for his first win of the season and in two career starts versus the Royals he is 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA. The rangers put up 15 yesterday and should be able to tee off on Lynch in this one.

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The Los Angeles Angels take on the Cleveland Guardians in the final game of a three-game set. They have split the first two games of the series. The Angels will send Griffin Canning to the mound. He is 1-3, with a 7.45 ERA in six starts. He is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and 1.88 WHIP in one career start versus the Guardians. Carlos Carrasco will get the start for Cleveland. He is 1-2, with a 6.59 ERA in six starts. The Angels' offense has excelled this week, scoring five runs or more in five of their previous six games. The Guardians have lost four of their last six games. 

The Angels have won nine of their last 11 games played with the Guardians at Progressive Field. The Guardians are the better team both offensively and defensively, ranking above them in most batting and pitching categories. Carrasco has a 3.42 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP in 55.1 innings pitched against the Angels in his career. I am taking the better team in this one.

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The Cubs blew another one yesterday or should I say Albert Alzolay blew another one. He has blown four saves this season and when not closing he is still losing games for the Cubs. The Cubs took a one-run lead into the eighth and Alzolay allowed three runs on four hits, getting just one out. The Cubs will look to bounce back today with James Taillon on the mound. Taillon has pitched well this season and should be able to go deep in this game. Hopefully, he can go a complete nine and not put it in the hands of the pen. Myers was hit hard last time out and I Like the Cubs offense to get right in this one. Play on Chicago. This is a 3% play

The Pittsburgh Pirates will host the Colorado Rockies in a three-game series. The Rockies have lost four in a row and to make matters worse. They have scored a combined 13 runs over those losses. On the season, they have put up 3.77 runs per game. As a team, they have posted a 5.92 ERA. Cal Quantrill will make the start for Colorado. He is 0-3 with a 5.34 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP this season and is  0-1 with a 3.60 ERA in four career appearances against the Pirates. The Pirates are also on a four-game losing streak and have gone 3-13 since mid-April after starting the season 11-5. They have scored a combined five runs in their current losing streak, and put up 3.69 runs per game. The Pirates have a team ERA of 3.80 this season. Marin Perez has given up a run or less in three starts.  He has posted a 1-1 record with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Against the Rockies, he is 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA over six starts. The Pirates have the better pitching and the Rockies are just 2-13 on the road this season. Seven of the last nine losses by the Rockies have come by two or more runs. The Pirates are 5-2 in their last seven games against Colorado, with all wins coming by two runs or more.

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The Milwaukee Brewers take on their NL Central rivals the Chicago Cubs with the NL Central  up for grabs. The Brewers were off on Thursday while the Cubs lost on the road in 11 innings to the New York Mets. The Brewers will open the three game series with Joe Ross on the mound while the Cubs will go with Hayden Wesneski. Joe Ross is 1-3 this season with a  5.40 ERA. In last start, he went five innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits. The Cubs’ Hayden Wesneski is 2-0, with a 0.87 ERA so far this season. In his last start, he went four innings and allowed two runs on five hits . Ross is pitching to a 5.40 ERA and a .286 opposing batting average while Wesneski has a 0.87 ERA with a .158 batting average against. The Cubs are 10-3 at home this season and despite their injuries to their pitching staff and everyday players, they find themselves right behind the Brewers in the Central. Take the Cubs to win at home.

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The Boston Red Sox and the San Francisco Giants meet in the final game of their three-game set. Boston will be looking for the sweep and have outscored the Giants 10-2 over the first two games. The Red Sox have won four straight while San Francisco has lost four of their last six games. The Giants will send Kyle Harrison to the mound for his seventh start. This season, he has posted a  2-1 record with a 4.09 ERA. The Giants are 4-2 when Harrison has started this season. Boston will counter with Josh Winckowski on the mound. He has gone back and forth from starter to bullpen. He has made two starts and seven relief appearances this season. He is 1-1 this season with a 3.50 ERA. The Red Sox have been a bit of a surprise this season and it is mostly due to pitching. Their bullpen and starting pitching have been solid and their offense has scored the ninth most runs. The Giants have struggled to score runs this season and have scored the ninth fewest runs.  The Red Sox have the best ERA in the majors with a 2.59 ERA ..  Winckowski has started the past two bullpen games, and even though he lasted just three innings in each, the Red Sox won both games easily. The Giants have scored three or fewer runs in five straight games and will struggle to score against the best bullpen in baseball.

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The Los Angeles Dodgers are on the road to close out a three-game series with the Arizona Diamondbacks Wednesday night. Arizona came from behind to take game two to even the series. The Dodgers will send Yoshinobu Yamamoto to the mound. He is 2-1, in six starts,  with a 3.54 ERA, a 1.071 WHIP. He has six walks and 37 strikeouts in 28 innings. He went 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, three walks and 22 strikeouts in 17 innings over his last three starts.

Arizona lost four of their last six. Zac Gallen is expected to make his seventh start of the season. He is 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA, a 1.219 WHIP,  with nine walks and 35 strikeouts in  32 innings. Over his last three starts, he is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, with four walks and 16 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. Gallen has struggled in his last few starts. Yamamoto looked terrible in his first start but has put it together over his last few starts. The Dodgers have an explosive offense and will get the better of Gallen in this one.

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The Chicago Cubs look to bounce back against the New York Mets after dropping game two of their four game set. The Cubs will send Shota Imanaga to the mound. He is 4-0 with a 0.98 and a 0.80 WHIP. He has allowed zero or one run in all but one start this season. In 27.2 innings he has 28 strikeouts and just three walks. Chicago is putting up 5.07 runs per game, and allowing 4.12 ERA. The Mets will send Jose Butto to the mound for his fifth start. He is 0-1 with a 2.86 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. New York is putting up 4.42 runs and allowing 3.54 ERA. The Chicago Cubs have won five of their last eight bouts. The Cubs have the better pitcher and even though they have key injuries on their offense, they have still have found ways to score runs. Take the the Cubs in this one.

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The Philadelphia Phillies look to even their series with the Los Angeles Angels after dropping game one 6-5. The Phillies will go with Spencer Turnbull on the mound. He is 2-0 this season with a 1.33 ERA. The Angels will counter with Tyler Anderson on the mound. He is 2-3 with a 1.78 ERA this season. Philadelphia is putting up 4.66 runs a game. Philadelphia’s pitching is giving up 3.34 runs per game. The Angels have lost three straight series. Los Angeles is putting up 4.25 runs per game and are giving up 4.93 runs per game. The Phillies have won four of their last six road games. They are playing well offensively, scoring 22 runs in their last three games. Expect them to play well offensively in this game because they have crushed left-handed pitching and Anderson struggled on the mound in recent starts, giving up seven runs in his last three starts. He gave up 11 runs in his last two starts against the Phillies and will have a hard time slowing them down in this game. The Angels have lost five of their last six home games. Turnbull has given up four runs in his five starts. He gave up one run in two road starts. 

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The Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox continue their series after the Twins tool game 1 3-2. The Twins will go with Simeon Woods Richardson on the mound. He is 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in his two outings this season. The Cubs will counter with Michael Soroka. He is 0-3 with a 6.83 ERA and 1.69 WHIP in six starts.Minnesota has won eight in a row. Woods Richardson faced the Sox last time out and went five innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits with six strikeouts. Chicago had won three in a row before last night’s loss. In his last appearance against the twins he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in five innings.  Minnesota scored 32 runs in its three-game set versus the Angels and averaged 8.1 runs during its eight-game winning streak.  TheTwins have the better starter and a more reliable bullpen. The Sox have struggled at the plate all season and I will take the better pitching staff in this one.

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The Chicago Cubs stole game one of their series against the NY Mets and will look to carry that to the mound for his sixth start of the season. He is 2-0 with a 2.00 ERA, with 26 strikeouts and nine walks. The Mets will counter with Sean Manae, who is making his sixth start of the season. He is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA with 27 strikeouts and 14 walks. .Chicago found a way to win yesterday after being held hitless for seven innings. The Cubs offense is 7th in runs scored and 13th in batting average, while the Mets are 16th in runs scored and 17th in batting average. The Cubs just keep finding ways to win despite their injuries. I will take the hotter team in this one.

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The Kansas City Royals look to even their series with the Toronto Blue Jays after losing game 1 7-6. Kansas City will look to snap a three game losing streak by sending Cole Ragans to the mound. He is 1-2 with a 3.90 ERA in 30.0 innings. The Blue Jays will look to extend a two-game winning streak with Jose Berrios taking the mound. He is 4-1 with a 1.23 ERA in 36.2 innings pitched. Berrios is coming into this game with a 0.60 ERA in his last five games and the Blue Jays have won seven of the last ten games against the Royals. Ragans has given up 33 hits in 30 innings. I look for the Jays to score off of Ragans and Berrios should be able to shut down the Royals bats.

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The Chicago Cubs head to the Big Apple to take on the New York Mets. Chicago lost two of three to Boston and now have four games against the Mets before heading home. Jameson Taillon will get the start for the Cubs in this one. He is 2-0 in two starts, with a 1.69 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. The Mets have been struggling, going 2-5 over their last seven. Luis Severino will make his sixth start for the Mets. He is 2-2 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. tion. The Mets have been inconsistent this season, they started the year 0-5, then won 12 of 15 and have now lost five of their last seven six games. The Cubs have been dealing with injuries to the starting pitching and position players and are still finding ways to score runs and wins. I like the Cubs in this one as I trust their offense more in what should be a good pitching matchup.

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The Marlins and Nationals close out a four-game set with the Nationals going for a sweep. Washington will send Jake Irvin to the mound. He is 1-2 with a 4.55 ERA. Miami will look to avoid the sweep by sending Trevor Rogers to the mound. He is 0-3 with a 4.10 ERA. Miami is just  2-13 at home this season and have not won two games in a row this season. Irvin has pitched well on the road this season, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.12 ERA in three starts. Miami got their offense going yesterday putting up 9 runs but still lost. The Marlins are reeling at the moment and just can't back them in this spot.

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The Washington Nationals face the Miami Marlins in the second game of their four game series.  The Nationals will send Mitchell Parker to the mound. He is  2-0 this season with a  1.50 ERA, the Marlins will go with Edward Cabrera on the mound. He is 1-0 this season with a 3.27 ERA.

Miami is 8-2 in its last 10 games against Washington. The Marlins have won two straight games Parker has started. Washington is averaging 3.50 runs per game. Marlins have not won a series this season. Miami is putting up 3.38 runs per game. The Nationals have won three of their last five road games and have scored 16 runs in their last four road games. Cabrera gave up five runs in his last two starts against the Nationals. Miami has the seventh-worst bullpen in the league. The Marlins have lost four of their last five games and three of their last four home games. The nats have the better pitcher, bullpen and even though their offense is not great, they have the edge there also. Take the nats at + money.

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The Boston Red Sox play host to the Chicago Cubs on Saturday at Fenway Park. Chicago will likely go with Ben Brown in this game while Boston will counter with Josh Winckowski on the mound. Chicago took game one and has won four in a row.  They are getting it done at the plate and on the mound. Brown has appeared in six games and made two starts this season. He has posted a 3.72 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 19.1 innings. He has given up two runs with 17 Ks over his last 17.2 IP.  Boston has lost two in a row and like the Cubs they are dealing with injuries. Winckowski served as an opener in his last start going 3.1 innings. If that is the case today, he will turn it over to a bullpen that has a 3.40 ERA and 1.26 WHIP with 101 strikeouts. The Cubs . are just 7-6 on the road this season but have won five of their last six away games. The Red Sox are just 3-7 at home this season. The Cubs are the better team right now and Boston starter has allowed 14 runs on 18 hits in just 11.0 combined innings over his last six appearances. The Cubs just find ways to get it done at the plate.

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Neither the Washington Nationals or the Miami Marlins can be confused with good baseball teams. Both teams are coming off series where they were swept. The Nationals had won two in a row before losing their last three games. They are 4-6 in their last 10 games. They will send Trevor Williams to the mound. He has been a bright spot for the Nationa;s, posting a 2-0 record with a 2.91 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. The Marlins have lost three in a row and four of their last five games. They have the worst record in the NL and will look to turn things around with Jesus Luzardo taking the mound. This season, he is 0-2 with a 6.58 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. The Nationals rank 28th in runs scored. Their pitching is not that much better as the rank 23rd in team ERA. The Marlins rank 26th in both runs scored and team ERA.  The Nationals are four games below .500 while the Marlins are 14 games below .500 and have the fewest wins in the NL. Washington is a .500 team on the road while the Marlins have the worst home record in baseball. Washington has won three of the four games Williams has started while the Marlins have lost four of Luzardo’s five starts. The Marlins have lost five of the last seven and 15 of the last 20 when facing a team from the National League. Washington has the better pitcher and their offense will do just enough to pull out the win.

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The Chicago Cubs despite all their injuries are 16-9 this season. Boston comes into this interleague series at 14-12. The Cubs are coming off a sweep of the Astros. They rank seventh in team OPS and are putting up 5.32 runs per game. The Chicago Cubs will send Shota Imanaga to the mound for his fifth start. He is 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP in 21.1 innings. The BoSox will send Kutter Crawford for his sixth start. He is 1-0 with a 0.66 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 27.1 innings. With both pitchers having great seasons I will have to look at the better offense. The Cubs are fifth in run production while the Red Sox are 15th. The Cubs have been dealing with injuries to key offensive players but are still finding ways to produce runs and win games. Their bullpen is a little shaky but I still like them to get a road win here.

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The Kansas City Royals take on AL Central rivals the Detroit Tigers in afternoon baseball. The Royals are coming off a sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. They will look to keep the momentum going by sending Seth Lugo to the mound. He is 3-1 this season with a 2.03 ERA. In his last outing, he allowed four runs on nine hits in 5.1 innings. The Tigers took two of three against the Rays but lost the last time out. They will look to get a win by sending Reece Olson to the mound.  He is 0-3 despite posting a respectable 3.80 ERA. The Detroit Tigers have been putting up 4.04 runs per game. The Kansas City Royals put up 4.68 runs a game. Lugo has been able to avoid big innings despite giving up almost a hit an inning. The Tigers haven’t hit well all season so Lugo should be able to limit the Tigers scoring opportunities. Olson has not won this season and has posted a WHIP of 1.45.   The Royals have the better starter and offense in this one.

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The Houston Astros finish off their three-game set with the Chicago Cubs at the Friendly Confines. The Astros have struggled out of the gate and have been dealing with injuries to their starting rotation. They will look to avoid a sweep by sending Justin Verlander to the mound. He is 1-0 on the season with a 3 ERA and a .67 WHIP. Chicago has gotten off to a nice start this season and will look to sweep the Astros. They will send Javier Assad to the mound for his 5th start of the season. He is 2-0 on the season with a 2.11 ERA and 1.03 WHIP. Chicago has won 7 of their last 10. As good as Verlander is, I doubt he can go nine innings and the Astros bullpen has been awful, posting an ERA over 6. The Cubs are 9-3 at home and I like them to win this one.

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The Philadelphia Phillies look to finish off a four-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds have won the last two. The Phillies are putting up 4.32 runs per game. The Phillies will be going with Zack Wheeler on the mound. He is 1-3 with a 2.30 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP in 31.1 innings. In his last outing, he went 7.1 shutout innings with one hit, one hit by pitch, two walks, and eight strikeouts. The Reds are putting up 5.29 runs per game. Nick Martinez will look to extend the Reds two-game winning streak. He is 0-0 with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP in 17.0 innings. Earlier this season, Wheeler went six innings and allowed three runs (one earned) with 10 strikeouts against the Reds. Martinez has a 5.54 ERA in 13.0 innings over three games (two starts) in his home park. Martinez has a 7.20 ERA and 1.600 WHIP as a starting pitcher this season. Philly has the better starter and a better pen. I look for them to get a split in the series. Play on Philadelphia. This is a 3% play.

The Milwaukee Brewers close out a four-game series with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Brewers will go with Freddy Peralta on the mound. He is 2-0 with a 1.90 ERA. Last time out, he went six  shutout innings. He has pitched well on the road, going 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA this season. The Pirates will go Mitch Keller on the mound. He is 2-2 with a 4.80 ERA. Last time out, he gave up four runs in six innings. He is 1-1 at home with a 4.50 ERA over 12 innings. Peralta has pitched well so far this season and should be able to find success against a struggling Pirates offense.  Keller struggled last time out and will be facing a Brewers offense that can do damage. The Brewers have Christian Yelich back in the lineup and other key players have come off the IL. I like Peralta and the Brewers at this price.

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The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs continue their three-game series with the Cubs taking game 1. Houston will go with Spencer Arrighetti on the mound. He is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA this season. The Cubs will go with Jameson Taillon on the mound. He is 1-0, with a 0.60 ERA this season. The Astros are just  7-16 this season and have lost four of their last five games. Arrighetti has gone just seven innings in two starts, allowing eleven hits and five runs. The Chicago Cubs are 13-9 and have won three of their last five games. Jameson Taillon will be making his second start of the season after being injured to start the season. In his first start, he went five innings and allowed three hits and one run. The Astros are struggling right now and it is hard to back them at this point. Taillon was solid in his first start of the season. Arrighetti has not been able to get to the fifth inning this season. The Astros have the third worst bullpen ERA in the league at 5.36. 

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The Detroit Tigers take on the Tampa Bay Rays to finish off a three game set. The Tigers will be going for a sweep by sending  Jack Flaherty to the mound while the Rays will counter with Shawn Armstrong. Jack Flaherty is 0-1 this season with a 4.44 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in 24.1 innings. He has walked four and struck out 30 batters this season. Shawn Armstrong has pitched in eight games, with two starts. He is 0-1 with a 4.09 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP and one save in 11.0 innings of work. This will be a bullpen game for the Rays and that may not be a good thing. Detroit has the best bullpen in baseball with a 1.83 reliever ERA while Tampa Bay is 28th with a 5.38 bullpen ERA. Jack Flaherty has a 2.25 road ERA and a .178 opposing batting average in his two road games. Neither team has been strong at the plate but Detroit has been more consistent. In a game that should be close late,  am going with the better bullpen.

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The Philadelphia Phillies finish their series with the Cincinnati Reds. Philadelphia is 15-9 this season while Cincinnati is 13-10. The Phillies had their seven-game winning streak snapped yesterday in their 8-1 loss to the Reds. Spencer Turnbull gets the start for the Phillies. He is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four appearances.  The Reds have won four of their last five games. The Reds will go with Nick Lodolo on the mound. He is  2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two appearances this season. Spencer Turnbull is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA with 21 strikeouts in 3 appearances against the Reds in his career. Spencer Turnbull has allowed zero runs in three of his four starts this season. The Phillies have won in all four of his starts. 

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The Cleveland Guardians will open a series at home against the Boston Red Sox. The Guardians have won four of the last five against the Red Sox. Boston is coming off a three game sweep of Pittsburgh. Tanner Houck will be making his fifth start for Boston. He is 3-1 with a 1.35 ERA. In his last three starts against Cleveland, he is 2-1. He has never allowed over three hits over his last three matchups. Boston is putting up 4.48 runs per game. Cleveland will go with Ben Lively on the round. It will be his second start of the season. He is 0-1 record with a 3.60 ERA.  He has lost two straight to Boston. Cleveland is putting up 5.64 runs per game. Houck pitched a shut-out against Cleveland the last time he faced them. The Guardians have won seven of their last eight but I am going with Hauck in this one.

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Kansas City has a lot of things going for them. They have a 9-3 record at home and Seth Lugo has been awesome this season.  Cole Irvin hasn't pitched well this season. Cole Irvin is  0-1 with a 6.75 ERA in 14.2 innings pitched. Seth Lugo is 3-0 with a 1,05 ERA in 25.2 innings.The Royals have won three of their last four games and nine of their last 10 home games. They have scored 14 runs in their last three games. The Orioles have won four of their last five games and have scored 19 runs in their last three games. I am going with the more dominant pitcher in this one.

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The Oakland A's and Cleveland Guardians play game 2 of their three game set. Cleveland took the first game 10-2. The A’s will look to slow the Guardians down by sending Alex Wood to the mound. He is 0-2 with an 8.10 ERA and a 2.10 WHIP this season. Cleveland counters with Logan Allen. Allen is 2-0 this season with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Oakland has won seven of their last eleven while Cleveland has won four of five. Cleveland took three of four games against the A's in the  opening weekend series, outscoring them 29 to 11. Cleveland hasn’t been great at home but they have the better offense and better pitcher in this one. I am taking the home team in this one.

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The Miami Marlins are on the road for the second game of a four-game set against the Chicago Cubs. This will be the first game of a doubleheader. The Cubs won the first game of the series yesterday. Miami made the playoffs last season but has struggled so far this season. Jesus Luzardo is expected to make the start. He is 0-2 with a 7.25 ERA with a 1.55 WHIP this season. The Cubs will send Javier Assad to the mound for game 1. It will be his fourth start of the season, he is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA, and a 0.96 WHIP, with 18 strikeouts over 16.2 innings. Offensively,  Miami has struggled to put runs on the board and their pitching has also struggled to keep teams from scoring. Assad has been solid in his first three starts of the season and the Cubs have been solid at the plate. 

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The Baltimore Orioles are on the road to take on the Kansas City Royals in the opening game of a three-game set. Both teams are second in their respective divisions. Baltimore will go with Dean Kremer on the mound in the opening game. He is 0-1 with a 4.96 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP with 14 strikeouts in 16.1 innings. He already faced the Royals once this season and allowed three runs in 5.1 innings. Alec Marsh gets the start for the Royals tonight. He is 2-0 this season  with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. Baltimore took two of three over KC earlier this month and will be looking to do the same. The Orioles have scored six or more runs in six of their last nine games. They're averaging 6.0 runs per game in their last ten overall. KC has scored two or fewer runs in four of their last six games. Baltimore has the better offense and I feel these pitchers are pretty even despite the records. Take the Orioles to open their season with a win. 

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The Miami Marlins take on the Chicago Cubs in game one of a four-game series. The Cubs have won three of their last four games. The Marlins are losers of three of their last four games. The Miami Marlins are off to a terrible start this season after making the playoffs last season. The Marlins will send  AJ Puk to the mound. He is 0-3 this season with a 5.91 ERA  in 10.2 innings pitched. He has walked 14 batters and struck out eight in 10,2 innings. The Cubs are expected to send Jameson Taillon to the mound for his first start of  the season. Taillon pitched well at the end of last season but did not get a lot of run support. He started the season this year injured but is ready to go. The Cubs are 5-1 at home this season. The Cubs are putting up almost six runs a game and should have a better record but have blown a few games with a shaky pen. The Marlins have struggled at the plate and on the mound. I would like to take the Cubs on the run-line but their pen makes me nervous.

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The Chicago White Sox host the Kansas City Royals in an AL Central battle.  Chicago is 2-13 this season and have lost four in a row. The Royals are 10-6 this season. Kansas City took the first game of the series 2-0. Brady Singer is 2-0 this season and has given up just two runs in 18.1 innings. Hw has posted a 0.98 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP, and 18 strikeouts in three starts. Jonathan Cannon will make his MLB debut. The Royals have won six in a row and and eight of their last ten against the White Sox going back to last year. The White Sox have struggled at the plate and until they get some of their injured players they are not a team I want to back.

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The Chicago Cubs take on the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second game of a three game set. The Cubs took the opener 3-2. The Chicago Cubs are in fourth place in the NL Central, but are only 1.5 games back of first. They will be without Seiya Suzuki, who was just sent to the 10-day IL. Kyle Hendricks gets the start for the Cubs. It will be his fourth start of the season but has struggled so far. He has posted a 12.08 ERA, and has given up at least five earned runs in each start. The Diamondbacks have won four of their last five and are second in the NL West. Tommy Henry will be making his fourth start. He is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA. He has given up at least two earned runs in each of his starts this season. Kyle Hendricks has not made it more than five innings this season and has given up at least eight hits in each game.  Arizona is tied for 10th in the majors in home runs, and are 6th in runs scored. This could be a make or break start for Hendricks. I don’t trust Hendricks to get the job done against the Arizona offense.

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The San Francisco Giants and the Miami Marlins have both struggled this season. The Giants took game one of the series 4-3. Jordan Hicks gets the start in game two for the Giants. He is 2-0 this season with a 1.00 ERAin 18 innings. The Marlins will counter with Ryan Weathers, who is 1-1, with 2.57 ERA. The Giants have split their last four games. They have scored 16 runs in their last three road games. The Giants have hit well against left-handers and Weathers has given up six runs in three starts. Miami has the third worst bullpen in baseball and I expect the Giants to be able to put up some runs. The Marlins have lost nine of their last 10 home games. Hicks has given up just three runs in his three starts. I like the Giants in this one,

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The Minnesota Twins take on the Baltimore Orioles in the second game of their three game set. The Orioles took game one yesterday. Minnesota will send Chris Paddack to the mound while Baltimore will counter with Grayson Rodriguez. The Twins have been underperforming this season, especially at the plate. They are putting up 3.53 runs per game. Chris Paddack is 0-0 with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.85 WHIP in 8.2 innings of work this season. Baltimore has gotten off to a good start this season, especially at the plate.  Their offense is ninth in OPS and is scoring 5.56 runs per game. Grayson Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 2.50 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 18.0 innings of work. Paddack is pitching to a .343 batting average against while Rodriguez has a .232 opposing batting average. The Twins are inconsistent at the plate and have not hit for power. Baltimore is second in home runs so far this season Baltimore has an edge on the mound and at the plate. I am taking the home team in this one. 

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The Kansas City Royals will be taking on the Chicago White Sox in the first game of a three-game series. The Royals will go with Seth Lugo on the mound. He is 2-0 with a 1.45 ERA, Chicago will counter with rookie Nick Nastrini. The Royals are 10-6 this season and are putting up 5.31 runs per game. Seth Lugo went six innings with two runs on seven hits last time out. It is a good thing Chicago has two baseball teams because the White Sox are bad. They are 2-13 to start the season. The offense has been dreadful, scoring just 2.27 runs per game. Nick Nastrini will be making his MLB debut. In Triple A he is 0-1 with a 7.71 ERA in two starts. There is no doubt the Royals are the better team in this game. Nastrini is making his first MLB start and has not been spectacular in Triple A. I look for the Royals offense to put up some runs and Chicago hasn’t been scoring much this season.

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The Kansas City Royals has gotten off to a 10-5 start to the season as they close out their interleague series with the 6-8 NY Mets. They split the first two games with the Royals winning yesterday. The Royals will look to win the series by sending Cole Ragans to the mound while the Mets counter with Jose Butto. KC is putting up 5.6 runs per game. Cole Ragans has posted a 2.60 ERA in 17.1 innings of work. The New York Mets are putting up 4.79 runs per game. Jose Butto went six innings and allowed one run on three hits last time out. Kansas City was able to force the Mets to use four different relievers yesterday. KC should be able to get some runs off of Butto, while Ragans should be able to shut down a Mets offense that has struggled to hit with runners in scoring position. 

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The Chicago White Sox will look to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds took the first two games by the scores of 11-1 and 5-0. The Reds will go for the sweep by sending Graham Ashcraft to take the mound. He is 1-1 this season, with a 5.40 ERA. He gave up six runs in 5.2 innings last time out. Cincinnati is putting up 5.69 runs a game. The White Sox have lost seven of their last eight and are just  1-5 at home this season. They have scored 1 run in two games this series. The Sox will go with Michael Soroka on the mound. He is 0-1 this season, with a 6.14 ERA. Chicago has struggled to score runs this season, averaging just 2.31 runs per game. The Reds have power, potential, and pitching — the White Sox have injuries to key offensive players and ineffective pitchers. I like Ashcraft to have a big game on the mound as he averages a strikeout an inning and that could get even better against this White Sox offense.

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The Seattle Mariners have won two in a row while the Chicago Cubs have lost two straight and four of six. The Mariners took the first game of the series. The Cubs are 7-6 and are in a tie for third place in the NL Central. The Cubs rank seventh in the Majors in runs scored but have scored just two runs in both of their last two losses.Pitching has been a problem as they rank 24th in team ERA. Chicago is 2-5 on the road so far this season. Shota Imanaga gets the start for the Cubs. He is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.40 WHIP. This will be his third start. Seattle is 6-8 and tied for third in the AL West. The Mariners rank 26th in runs scored and 19th in team ERA. Seattle is 4-4 at home to start the season. They will hand the ball to Emerson Hancock for today’s start. He is 1-1 with a bloated 11.42 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. Chicago has scored two runs in each of their last two games and has averaged three runs over their last six. They should be able to score off of Hancock and his over 11 ERA,  Imanaga has not given up a run in his first two starts this season. I like the Cubs in this one as they have the better pitcher and more capable offense when on. 

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The San Francisco Giants will take on the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle game of a three-game interleague series. The Rays took the first game 2-1. Logan Webb gets the call for the Giants against the Rays Ryan Pepiot. The San Francisco Giants are 5-9 and have been struggling on offense so far. They are 24th in OPS while scoring 3.86 runs per game. Logan Webb is 0-1, with a 4.86 ERA. The Tampa Bay Rays have started the season at 8-6. They are putting up 4.07 runs per game.  Ryan Pepiot is 1-1 this season with a 4.63 ERA. Both bullpens have left a lot to be desired this season.  San Francisco has a 5.32 bullpen ERA and a .242 opposing batting average while Tampa Bay has a 5.83 reliever ERA and a .250 batting average against. The Giants should have probably won last night's game and they will have the better pitcher on the mound. I  like the Giants to bounce back and get the win. 

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This is the first game of a doubleheader between the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers. The Tigers  took the first game of this four game series on Friday, 8-2. The Twins have gotten off to a rough start and are just 4-7. The Twins have lost five of their last six and will look to turn things around by sending Joe Ryan to the mound. He is 0-1 in two starts with a 3.18 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. The Tigers are 8-4 to start the season. Kenta Maeda gets the start for the Tigers against his former team. He has struggled with the Tigers, going 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and 1.56 WHIP. The Twins and Tigers will be playing four games into three days. Ryan has been, by far, the better pitcher, posting a 3.18 ERA over two starts. Maeda has been hit hard in his two starts and has posted a 9.00 ERA. I am going with the better pitcher in this one as both will be expected to go far in this game.

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The Cincinnati Reds take on the Chicago White Sox in an inter-league series. The Reds will go with Andrew Abbott for tonight's start. He is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA in ten innings pitched this season. The Chicago White Sox will counter with Chris Flexen to the mound. He is 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched. The Reds have scored 63 runs compared to the White Sox' 29 runs. The Chicago White Sox are 2-10 this season and have been hit hard by the injury bug. They have lost Eloy Jimenez, Louis Robert Jr., and Mancada but are expecting Jimenez back on Sunday. The Reds are extremely talented that can get hot quickly.. The White Sox are still trying to figure it out. what the hell they are doing? Chris Flexen has given up a ton of runs in his first two starts so the Reds offense should have plenty of opportunities to put up some runs. Flexen is 1-4 against the Reds. 

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Baltimore will look to sweep Boston in their three game series after coming back from 5 down in the sixth to win 7-5. It is the second straight game that Baltimore put up 7 runs. Baltimore is 7-4 this season and finds themselves 2.5 games behind the Yankees in the AL East. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for Baltimore in this one. He is 2-0 record this season with a 2.19 ERA in 12.1 innings with 16 strikeouts. The O’s pitchers have allowed just 3.3 runs per game against them with a 2.01 ERA in the pen. The Boston Red Sox have started the season playing better than expected. They are 7-5 this season, just behind New York and Baltimore. The BoSox are putting up 5 runs per game while allowing close to 3. Garret Whitlock will make the start for Boston. This will be his third start this season. So far he has posted a 1-0 record with a .96 ERA. Boston has gotten off to a great start after a terrible season last year. At this point of the season, these teams are pretty evenly matched on the mound. The Orioles have he more talented lineup and I like them to get the sweep in this one.

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The Tampa Bay Rays and Los Angeles Angels wrap up a three-game series. The Rays will send  Zack Littell to the mound while the Angels will go with Jose Soriano. These teams split the first two games with the Rays winning last night. Zack Littell will be making his third start for the Rays. He is 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. In his start, he allowed one run on five hits in five innings. The Angels are 6-5 and tied with the Rangers in first place in the AL West..Los Angeles will send Jose Soriano for his first start of the season, he has made two other appearances. He is 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.17 WHIP in 6.0 innings of work. In his last appearance, he allowed three earned runs. The Rays have a huge edge in starting pitching.  Jose Soriano is making his first career start. He did not fare well lastime out and I don’t see him going deep into this one. That will give the Rays a chance to hit against an LA bullpen that is not too overpowering. 

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The Detroit Tigers finish off a two game set with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Pirates took the first game of the series. Detroit is 6-4 overall after winning their first five games. Pittsburgh is 9-2 this season, they did this last season but could not sustain it. The Pirates have won three straight games. Casey Mize gets the start for Detroit while Pittsburgh counters with Martin Perez. Casey Mize has started one game this season, going 4.1 innings, and allowing three earned runs and five hits. The Tigers offense has scored the fourth fewest amount of runs. Pittsburgh is looking to extend their three game winning streak. Perez is 1-0 so far this season. He went 6.2 innings, giving up two earned runs and six hits and striking out six in the win. The Pirates are second in runs scored. I  am going with the better offense in this one. Detroit just isn’t hitting enough to trust after their 5-0 start.

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The Colorado Rockies are at home to open a three-game series against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks will send Zac Gallen to the mound to make his third start. He is 2-0 this season with a 0.82 ERA. Arizona is putting up 6.56 runs per game. Colorado will go with Kyle Freeland on the mound to face the D'Backs. Freeland has made two starts but has lasted just 5.2 innings, and has posted a 27.00 ERA. In his last start, he went 3.1 innings where he allowed seven runs on nine hits. Colorado is putting up 4.44 runs per game. This looks like a perfect matchup for Arizona. Gallen has been excellent in his first two starts and is facing a team that struggles at the plate. Freeland has been hammered in two starts. He is not a huge strikeout pitcher which plays right in the D’backs hands.

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The Miami Marlins picked up their first win yesterday, snapping a nine game losing streak. They will take on the New York Yankees who have gotten off to a nice 8-2 start to the season. This will be the first game of a three game set. The Marlins will look to pick up their second win this season by sending Jesus Luzardo to the mound. He is 0-1, with a 4.35 ERA, in his last start, he went 5.1 innings with 3 runs on four hits.  The Yankees will go with Nestor Cortes. Cortes is 0-1 with a 6.30 ERA. In his last start, he went five innings, allowing three runs on weight hits.  Miami and New York split their last 10 meetings Miami is putting up 3.33 runs per game but are giving up 5.56 runs per game. New Y and are giving up  3.22 runs per game.The Yankees have won seven of their last nine games. They have scored five runs in three of their last four games. Luzardo is 0-2 in two starts against the Yankees, giving up 10 runs in those starts. 

The Marlins have scored only 11 runs in their previous four games. The Yankees also have a far better bullpen. Take the Yankees is this one.

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The St. Louis Cardinals will look to sweep the Miami Marlins and keep them winless this season. The Marlins will be looking for their first win by sending Max Meyer to the mound. In his first start he went five innings allowing two runs on two hits. He did not pitch last season due to an injury. Miami is putting up 3.63 runs per game. The Cards will send Kyle Gibson to the mound for today’s start. Gibson went seven innings in his first start of the season. In that game, he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four. Last season, he pitched for Baltimore, where he posted a 4.73 ERA and struck out 7.36 batters per nine innings. St. Louis is putting up 4.38 runs per game. Meyer is the big unknown as you don’t know what to expect from someone that is making their second start after sitting out a year. The Cardinals are starting to hit the ball and are even better offensively at home. St. Louis is the better team and Gibson pitched well in his opener. Miami will have to win a game soon but I don’t think they have enough to win this one.

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The New York Mets came into this season with low expectations and they are living up to them. They have started the season 2-6. The Cincinnati Reds are young, talented and hungry and are 5-3 so far this season. The Mets need to get their offense going as they have put up just over three runs a game this season. Their pitching needs to get better also as they have given up 37 runs in eight games. Sean Manaea was excellent in his first start this season, allowing one hit over 6 innings while striking out eight. The Reds offense has been doing well this season as they have plated 45 runs in their eight games. Their pitching has been decent, ranking 14th in ERA. Andrew Abbott will be making his second start of the season. He went 5.1 innings in his first start allowing just two earned runs. These two teams have split their last 10 games. This should be a close game but the Reds offense is deeper and more talented. The Reds made a huge comeback yesterday and will have the momentum going into this one.

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The Philadelphia Phillies woll look for the sweep of the Washington Nationals by sending Christopher Sanchez to the mound. The Nationals will counter by sending MacKenzie Gore to the mound. The  Phillies started the season losing three of their first four but won three of their next four including two in a row to even their record at 4-4. Sanchez will be making his second start of the season. In his first start, he went 5.0 innings and allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while notching eight strikeouts. Last season he went 3-5 with a 3.44 ERA and 1.05 WHIP. The Nationals have gotten off to a rough start this season  2024, but they’ve gotten out to a rough start, dropping six of their first eight games. Mackenzie Gore will also be making his second start of the season. In his first start, he went 5.1-inning and allowed three earned runs on five hits and two walks, while striking out six. Last season he went 7-10 with a 4.42 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in 27 starts. Both pitchers are not great but the Phllies have a far better offense. In a game that could be high scoring, I will take the better offense.

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have had a great start to the season winning their first five games and are now 6-2 after yesterday’s loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The Baltimore Orioles are off to a 5-2 start to the season. Baltimore will look for their second win in the series by sending Tyler Wells to the mound. Last season, he went 7-6, with a  3.64 ERA. In his first start. he went six innings, allowing three runs on five hits with seven strikeouts. Pittsburgh will counter with  Bailey Falter. Last season, he went 2-9, with a 5.36 ERA. In his first start, he went four innings, allowing six runs. Baltimore has the better pitcher in this one and their bats are starting to come alive. Wells will keep them in this one until they get to Falter. Take Baltimore to win two in a tow over Pittsburgh

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The Miami Marlins are still looking for a win eight games into the season. The Cards come into this game at an even 4-4. The Cardinals took the first game of the series 8-5 yesterday. The Miami offense has struggled this season as they are averaging just 3.63 runs per game. Trevor Rogers gets the start for Miami. In his first start this season, he allowed four runs on seven hits with four walks and six strikeouts. The St. Louis Cardinals have been better on offense, putting up 4.38 runs per game. Steven Matz gets the start for the Cards. His first start this season was against the Dodgers and he did fairly well. He allowed two runs on five hits with a hit by pitch, two walks and three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Last season, he had a 3.19 ERA in 13 home games (eight starts). Miami made the playoffs last season but so far this season they have not been able to hit consistently enough. Matz is a good pitcher and Rogers can be hit. Rogers comes in with a 2.20 WHIP. I like the Cardinals in this one as you can’t back the Marlins until they show you they can win.

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The New York Mets finally got a win, but it was a lot of hard work. They scored in the ninth of the second game of a double header against Detroit and won it in extra innings. Over the last few innings of game one and late into game two the Mets went 13 hitless innings. They will take on the Cincinnati Reds. The Reds are coming off a 4-1 win over Philadelphia. The Mets will look for two in a row by sending Jose Quintana to the mound. He is 0-1 this season with a 3.86 ERA. The Mets need to get their offense going as they rank near the bottom in batting average OPS and slugging and are averaging just two runs a game. Their pitching has been good with their 8th ranked ERA and 19th ranked WHIP. The Reds have won three of their last four and will send Hunter Greene to the mound. He is  0-0 this season with a 3.86 ERA. Cincinnati is putting up 5.67 runs per game. They are 11th in batting average, 16th in OPS and 4th in slugging. Their staff is 15th in both ERA and WHIP.  Greene is 0-2 in three starts against the Mets but the Mets have been struggling at the plate this season. Quintana, who is 2-0 in his last five starts against the Reds but the Reds have been scoring runs this season. I am going with the Reds in this one as they are the better team and the Mets were lucky to get their first win.

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The Baltimore Orioles take on the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of a three game set. The Baltimore Orioles have won three of their last five games and are coming off a win against Kansas City last time out. The Pittsburgh Pirates have won four of their last five games. They are coming off a win against Washington. The Orioles will send Gayson Rodriguez  to the mound for his second start. In his first start, he allowed one run in six innings with nine strikeouts. The Orioles pitchers have a 3.33 ERA. The Orioles are putting up 6.4 runs a game. The Pittsburgh Pirates started the season 5-0 and have split their last two games. The Pirates will send Jared Jones to the mound. In his first start this season, he went 5.2 innings with three runs on just three hits and he struck out an impressive 10 batters. The Pirates have an ERA of 3.79  and are putting up 6.5 runs per game. this game. The Pirates did not open the season against top-notch competition, as they took down what is still now a winless Miami team and then Washington. Baltimore has a few things going for them in this one. The better pitcher, a more talented team and also an extra day of rest. Jones looked good in his first start for the Pirates but this Baltimore offense is vastly better than the one he faced in Miami. Now we will see how good the Pirates are and I like Baltimore to take them down in this one.

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The Tampa Bay Rays open a three-game interleague series with the Colorado Rockies in Colorado. The Rays are just 3-4 to start the season but are playing the right team to start stacking wins as the Rockies are just 1-6 this season. They are coming off a 4-1 loss to texas and will look to get back into the win column by sending Zack Littell to the mound. In his first start this season, he went six shutout innings giving up four hits with two walks and six strikeouts. The Colorado Rockies got down big early to the Cubs, tied the game up at 8, only to lose 9-8. Austin Gomber will get the start for Colorado. In his first start, he went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Austin Gomber had a 7.57 ERA in April last season. The Rockies bullpen has the worst team ERA in the majors. The Rays are the better team with the better pitcher.

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The St. Louis Cardinals open up at home by taking on the Miami Marlins. Miami has not won a game this season, losing seven in a row. St. Louis comes in at 3-4 after losing 3-2 at San Diego on Wednesday. Miami has struggled at the plate this season, scoring 24 runs in seven games. The Marlins pitching has been woeful so far, posting a 6.04 ERA and 1.72 WHIP through seven games. The Marlins will look to turn things around with Ryan Weathers taking the mound.  He is 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA this season. Weathers has two career appearances against the Cards, one start, giving up two runs, four hits, and a walk, in five innings. The Cards have scored 27 runs in seven games Through their first seven games, they have scored 27 runs but have gotten solid pitching. The St. Louis pitching staff has posted a 4.50 ERA and 1.38 WHIP. The Cardinals’ bullpen has gone 1-1 with a save, striking out 31 batters over 23 innings. The Cardinals will counter with Lance Lynn Lynn is 0-0 with an 0.00 ERA this season. Lifetime versus Miami, Lynn is 4-3 with a 5.48 ERA in ten appearances, eight of them starts. Lynn pitched well in his opener and what was more impressive is that it was against the Dodgers. He is 40-20 with a 2.85 ERA lifetime at Busch Stadium. The Cards have an advantage on the mound, in the pen, and slightly at the plate. The Marlins are hungry for a win but will have to wait for another day as I like the Cards in their home opener.

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The Minnesota Twins open a three-game series against the hot Cleveland Guardians. Cleveland took two of three from Seattle. Cleveland will send Tanner Bibee to the mound. In his first start he went four innings, allowing three runs, while striking out four but also walking five. His ERA in 2023 ERA was under three but it was a career high. Cleveland is putting up 6.33 runs per game which is 6th and 7th in batting average. Minnesota will send Pablo Lopez to the mound to face the Indians. In his opener, Lopez allowed one run in seven innings with seven strikeouts in his first start of the season. Lopez posted a 3.66 ERA last season. Minnesota has struggled at the plate, putting up just 2.75 runs per game, which ranks 26th in the league and is near the bottom in batting average. Lopez has been a solid starter for Minnesota but his high strikeout rate allows him to have outstanding starts when on. You can look at the bright side on Bibee’s first start, he only gave but three runs. The fact is he was hit hard and if the twins can find their awnings, they should find success. Cleveland is playing really well to start the season but I am looking for Cleveland to keep them in check long enough for the Twins bats to get going.

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The San Diego Padres will host the Saint Louis Cardinals in the final game of a 3-game set on Wednesday. The Cardinals will be going for a sweep of the series by sending  Zack Thompson to the mound. He made his first start against the Dodgers, going 5.1 innings and allowing 5 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4 in a loss. Last season, he was 9-5 with a 4.48 era and 72 strikeouts in 66.1 innings pitched. The Padres will look to avoid the sweep by sending Joe Musgrove to the mound. Musgrove has struggled this season, posting a 9.72 ERA in two starts.The Padres are hitting the ball well but are just not producing runs. Thompson is great against Left-Handers but the Padres will counter with their right handed power hitters Bogaerts, Machado, Tatis Jr., H.S. Kim, and Luis Campusano. Both teams should score in this one but I like the Padres to get the win.

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The Kansas City Royals will take on the Baltimore Orioles in the final game of their three-game series. They have split the first two games.Cole Ragans will head to  the mound for Kansas City to face off against Corbin Burnes for Baltimore. Cole Ragans lost on Opening Day, going six innings and giving up two runs on five hits with three walks and nine strikeouts. The Baltimore Orioles are looking to bounce back after a loss yesterday. Corbin Burnes opened the season by going six innings and allowing one run on one hit with 11 strikeouts. The Baltimore Orioles are the better team and have a bid advantage on the mound. Both starters pitched well in their first starts so this could come down to the bullpens. Baltimore is 12th in bullpen ERA at 2.70 while the Royals are 25th with a 6.75 bullpen ERA, Burnes has a better chance of duplicating his opening day start.

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The Kansas City Royals continue their series with the Baltimore Orioles after dropping the first game 6-4. Alec Marsh goes for the Royals while the Orioles counter with Cole Irvin. Alex Marsh has struggled in his MLB career. He has pitched in 17 games, with eight of them being starts. He has posted a 3-9 record with a 5.69 ERA in 74.1 innings. He has struck out 89 batters in his 74.1 innings. Cole Irvin made 12 starts last season in 24 appearances going 1-4 with a 4.42 ERA with 68 strikeouts in 77.1 innings of work. As a starter, he had a 4.81 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. Baltimore’s offense has been hitting the ball well and should find success against Marsh, who went 3-9 last season with a 5.69 ERA. Take the Orioles in this one as they are just better in every aspect. Play on Baltimore. This is a 3% play

The Kansas City Royals go on the road to take on the Baltimore Orioles. Kansas City found their offense and avoided a sweep at the hands of Minnesota. Michael Wacha gets the start for the Royals. Last year with San Diego, he was 14-4 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 24 starts. He was 4-1 with a 4.07 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in ten road starts. Baltimore failed to get the sweep on Sunday. They will look to get back into the win column by sending Dean Kremer to the mound. He went 13-5 last season with a 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP in 32 starts. He was 8-2 with a 4.38 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in 19 home starts. Kansas City won only 56 games in 2023. Baltimore broke the 100-win barrier for the first time since 1980.  After scoring just two runs in their first two games, KC scored 11 in the series finale. Kremer was 11-3 with a 3.70 ERA in 22 night games. Baltimore put up 24 runs in their first 2 games but just one Sunday. I have more confidence in Baltimore's offense bouncing back than KC”s offense sustaining their Sunday output.

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The Detroit Tigers will be going for a sweep against their Central division rivals the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers came from behind to win 7-6 in extra innings yesterday. Detroit will send Jack Flaherty to the mound to face Erick Fedde. Both pitchers will be making their first starts for new teams. Jack Flaherty struggled last season, posting an 8-9 record with a 4.99 ERA in 144.1 innings of work. Erick Fedde comes over from the Nationals. He did not pitch last season but he was awful in 2022 posting a 6-13 record with a 5.81 ERA in 127.0 innings. The Detroit Tigers are the better team and have all the momentum after yesterday's comeback. Tigers’ bullpen has proven to be better so far. The White Sox moved on from all of their starting pitchers from last year and traded away several critical pieces of their bullpen. Take the Tigers for the sweep.

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The LA Angels and Baltimore Orioles wrap up their three-game series with the Orioles going for the sweep. The Orioles will send Tyler Wells to the mound while the Angels counter with Reid Detmers.  Wells went 7-6, with a 3.64 ERA. Detmers went 4-10, with a  4.48 ERA. The Angels need more from their pitching as they have given up 24 runs in their first two games. Their bullpen has been rocked so, posting a 12.54 ERA and a 1.71 WHIP over 9.1 innings. Offense has not been a problem for the Orioles as they have scored 24 runs in two games. Baltimore has been dominant so far, but their bullpen has been a bit shaky.  Detmers had a 4.48 ERA last season, and I look for the Orioles to put up more runs against Detmers and the bullpen. The Angels already seem to be in disarray after two games. Take Baltimore for the sweep.

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The AL Central is the worst division in baseball so every team has hope. Two AL Central rivals face off with the Minnesota Twins taking on the Kansas City Royals. The Twins took the opener of the series 4-1. Joe Ryan is set to make the start for the Twins. Last season he posted a career high 4.51 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP, both numbers he will need to improve on. Kansas City has a lot of young talent but can they put it all together and win games is the question. Seth Lugo gets the start for the Royals. He came over from the Padres in the offseason. The Twins are still the team to beat in the AL Central and even though KC has a lot to like, they have to show me that they can win games. The Twins are 6-4 in the last ten games against the Royals. Ryan is 5-0 in six starts against the Royals. He gave up only six runs in those starts. If this game is close late, the Twins have the better and more trusted bullpen.

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The Baltimore Orioles will play host to the LA Angels. Baltimore opened the year with an 11-3 win over the Angels. Baltimore’s Grayson Rodriguez will face the Angel’s Griffin Canning. In the opener, outside of a Mike Trout home run in the first inning, the offense was nowhere to be found. The Angels had just two hits and struck out 14 times. The Angels will go with Griffin Canning on the mound. Last season, he was 7-8 with a 4.32 ERA. He has an ERA of 4.04 during road games. The Orioles will go with Grayson Rodriguez on the mound. He went 6-4 last season with a 4.35 ERA. He had a 4.59 ERA in 12 home starts. Rodriguez pitched well down the stretch last season, going 2-1 with a 2.64 ERA in August and 3-1 with a 2.17 ERA in September. Canning has been up and down in his career and I think Baltimore will get to him in this one. Baltimore is the better team and LA needs to show that they can hit consistently. The run-line is teasing me but will take the money line. Play on Baltimore. This is a 3% play

The Cleveland Guardians opened the season with a win over Oakland. They will look to keep things going by sending Logan Allen to the mound while the A’s will counter with Ros Stripling. Allen went 7-8 with a 3.81 ERA last season. Ross Stripling was 0-5 with a 5.36 ERA last season. Cleveland is 8-2 in its last 10 games against Oakland. Cleveland averaged 4.09 runs per game last season. The Athletics lost 112 games last season and are on their way to doing it again. Oakland averaged 3.61 runs per game last season. The Athletics had one of the worst offenses in the league and didn’t make any changes in the off-season to fix it. Allen faced the A’s last season and allowed two hits and no runs. Stripling didn’t look good on the mound last season. He gave up four runs in four innings in his last start against the Guardians. Play on Cleveland. This is a 3% play.

The Atlanta Braves take on the Philadelphia Phillies in an early battle in the NL East. The Braves will send Spencer Strider to the mound. The Phillies will counter with Zack Wheeler. The Braves Spencer Strider went 4-0 with a 2.42 ERA in four starts against the Phillies. In his career, he has posted 483 strikeouts in just 320.2 innings of work. In eight career appearances against the Phillies, he is 8-0 record with a 1.90 ERA. The Phillies Zach Wheeler likes to face the Braves and last season he went 2-0 with a 3.32 ERA. Struder owns the Phillies with an 8-0 record in eight starts against Philadelphia. He has also posted a 1.90 ERA. The Braves were 8-5 against the Phillies last season. I will take the pitcher that has dominated this series during the regular season. Play on Atlanta. This is a 3% play.

The Washington Nationals will visit Cincinnati to take on the Reds. The Nats will send Josiah Gray to the mound and the Reds will counter with Frankie Montas. Gray finished last season with an 8-13 record and a 3.91 ERA, with a 1.46 WHIP in 30 starts. Frankie Montas made just one appearance last season with the Yankees due to a shoulder injury. Washington has been in rebuilding mode and has a young core of players. Gray pitched well on the road last season, posting a 2.97 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 18 starts. The Reds are also a young team that has their eyes on the playoffs. Montas was only able to make one appearance on the mound last season. The Reds just missed the playoffs last season and want to get off to a good start this season. The Reds have a young exciting lineup that should find success against Gray. Montas is a question mark but this is a good team to face after a long layoff as the Nats lineup is not that scary.

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The Minnesota Twins open the season on the road versus the Kansas City Royals. The Twins will open the season with Pablo Lopez on the mound. He was 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA last season. The Royals will go with Cole Ragans on the mound. He was 7-5 with a 3.47 ERA last season. Minnesota is 6-4 in its last 10 games against Kansas City. The Twins won the AL Central title last season, but that is not saying a lot as it was the worst division in baseball. The Twins lost key players from their rotation with Sonny Gray and Kenta Maeda leaving in the offseason. Minnesota’s pitching was one of the best in the league last season and they will need to produce again this season. The Royals matched a franchise record with 106 losses and was one of two teams in the division with over 100 losses.Kansas City’s pitching was among the worst in the league last season. Lopez was 3-0 in three starts against the twins last season, giving up just six runs. Minnesota has the better lineup on paper and if things hold to form they have a huge advantage in the pen based on last season. Take the twins to open the season on the road with a win.

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The Detroit Tigers open the season against Central Division rivals the Chicago White Sox. The Tigers went 78-84 last season while the White Sox were 61-101 and as one of four teams to lose 100 games. The Tigers send Tarik Skubal to the mound to face Garrett Crochet. Skubal pitched well last season, allowing 28 runs in 80.1 innings pitched while striking out 102 batters. They did not do a lot in the off-season and are hoping their young players can step up. White Sox starter Garrett Crochet has battled injuries the past two seasons, missing all of 2022 and pitching only 12.2 innings last season. The Tigers have a lineup with great potential and are facing a pitcher with more questions than answers. The Sox still have some pop in their lineup but I think they will struggle against Skubal. Play on Detroit. This is a 2% play

 The LA Dodgers and the San Diego Padres wrap up their South Korea series early Thursday morning. The Dodgers took the opener 5-2 yesterday. The Padres will send Joe Musgrove to the mound and the Dodgers will counter with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, making his major league debut. The Padres couldn’t get much done at the plate scoring two runs on four hits but were still winning until a fluke play cost them a big inning. The Padres used eight pitchers in the game. Musgrove went 10-3 last year in just 17 starts as he was limited due to injury. He posted a 3.05 ERA  and a 1.14 WHIP. He struck out 97 batters 97 innings. This spring, he has thrown six innings with an ERA of 13.50 and a 1.83 WHIP. He has not fared well against LA, posting an 0-7 record and a 3.92 ERA. The Dodgers got lucky yesterday with a fluke play in the eighth on a routine double play ball that they turned into a four run inning and a win and a cover on the run-line. The Dodgers offense didn't really do a lot despite getting seven hits and nine walks.  Yamamoto will make his first-ever MLB start after coming over from Japan. This spring, he has an ERA of 8.38 and a WHIP of 1.96 while striking out 14 batters in 9.2 innings pitched. Musgrove is 0-7 in his career against the Dodgers. The Padres’ offense looked a lot like last years offense will have to try and get their offense going against an unknown pitcher. The Dodgers also struggled to score but not for a lack of trying as they produced seven hits and nine walks. If yesterday was any indication, I don’t see Musgrove going long as the Padres used eight pitchers yesterday and I expect the same format today.

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The Diamondbacks could easily be up 2-0 in this series but will look to take a 2-1 lead, after evening the series with a 9-1 win in Game Two. Texas will send Max Scherzer to the mound. He is 0-1, with a  9.45 ERA in the postseason. Arizona will counter with Brandon Pfaadt. He has pitched well in the postseason posting a 0-0 record with a 2.70 ERA. Scherzer struggled in the ALCS,  allowing seven runs, nine hits, and three walks over six innings. Pfaadt struck out 16 Phillies in his two starts of the NLCS and has 22 Ks over 16.2 innings in the postseason. Arizona has now taken four of the last five meetings between these two. The Rangers have tied an MLB postseason record with eight straight road wins. Arizona is 3-1 at home in the postseason. Arizona has won Pfaadt's last five starts and six out of seven. I like Arizona at home in this one.

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The Texas Rangers won the first two games in Houston but have dropped three straight. Losing Game 5 wouldn't be so bad but it was how they lost it that could be back-breaking.  Texas had won seven straight in the playoffs. The Rangers will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound to keep their season alive. He has been great in the playoffs, posting a 3-0 record and a 2.29 ERA. The Astros will look to punch their ticket to the World Series with Framber Valdez on the bump. He is 0-2, with a bloated 11.57 ERA.  Valdez has been effective at home this season, with a 3.35 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP in 16 regular season starts. He is 4-3 with a 2.66 ERA in nine regular-season home starts against the Rangers in his career. The Houston pitching staff has limited the Rangers to four runs or less in four of the five games played in the series so far. Houston won nine of 13 regular season games played against the Rangers in 2023, going 3-3 at home. With Evoldi on the mound against Valdez, the Rangers have an edge. With the way the Rangers lost Game 5 and the way the Astros seem to take advantage of every break I am taking the Astros to finish off the series.

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The Houston Astros have won two in a row on the road against Texas.  Justin Verlander will take the mound for Houston. He is 1-1, with a 1.42 ERA in the postseason. The Rangers will go with Jordan Montgomery on the mound. He is 2-0, with a 2.08 in the postseason.  Houston won nine of 13 regular season games played against the Rangers and won six of seven played at Globe Life Field. Verlander has produced a 2-1 record with a 1.02 ERA and 1.13 WHIP in his prior three starts. Texas pitching has struggled recently, allowing 12 runs in their previous three games. Montgomery is 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in his prior three games. In his career against Texas, Verlander is 21-8 with a 2.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 35 starts. He has won 11 of his 15 games with a 3.14 ERA and 1.06 WHIP at Globe Life,. Houston has pitched and hit better on the road this season and won 63 percent of their road games. They have scored 18 runs in the last two games GLobe Life. The Astro bats have come alive and I, like them t win again.

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Houston picked up a much-needed win in Game 3 and will look to even the series with Urquidy on the mound. he has dominated the Rangers over his career, going undefeated in seven career starts against them. He is 5-0 with a 2.82 ERA and 0.76 WHIP in 44.2 innings. He has made three starts at Globe Life and has posted a 2.84 ERA and 0.79 WHIP. The Astros won 63% of their games away from their home stadium and have a better road ERA than home ERA. The Astros won six straight and seven of the last eight games away to Texas. Andrew Heaney looks to get the start for the Rangers. Houston's bats came alive in Game 3 and that could be trouble for Texas. Both teams have plenty of bullpen arms and I can see both teams going to the pens early as this is a pivotal game for both sides. 

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The Phillies love the long ball and are up 2-0 in the NLCS after a 10-0 win in Game 2. The Phillies are 7-1 in the postseason and will look to go up 3-0 by sending  Ranger Suarez to the mound. He is 1-0 this postseason with a  1.04 ERA. The Diamondbacks will look to get back in the series by countering with Brandon Pfaadt. He is 0-0 with a 3.86 ERA  3.86 in the postseason. The Phillies have hit 15 home runs in the last four games and in a four-game series at Chase Field back in June, they hit five home runs and put up eight runs per game. The Phillies have only played two road games in the postseason, going 1-1. Saurez is not as dominant as the first two starters for the Phillies and in his first start against the D'Backs he allowed five runs in five innings, He has a career 5.09 ERA and a 1-3 record. The Phillies are punding the ball and I think they will get to Pfaadt at some point in this game. I don't have a lot of faith in Saurez but I do have more than I have in Pfaadt.

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In his career, Javier has pitched well against the Rangers posting a 5-1 record with a 3.84 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in 14 starts. The Astros won five straight and six of seven games in the Rangers home park this season.  Houston compiled a 7-2 record against Texas on the road in 2022. The Astros won 63% of their games away from their home stadium this season and they won seven of their last eight road series. Houston has averaged more runs a game and has a lower ERA on the road than at home this season. Scherzer has been a dominant pitcher in his career but is coming off a month's layoff and has been hit hard by the Astros this season. I don't see the Astros getting swept and with the success they have had against Texas as the away team, I will take them in this ne.

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It is a pitching duel between Zac and Zack and Zac Gallen goes for the D'backs and Zack Wheeler gets the start for the Phillies. Gallen had one start against the Phillies back in May with a no-decision. Wheeler went 1-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 strikeouts against the D'backs. The Phillies took the regular season matchups 4-2. Arizona has won all five playoff games and doing so against division winners. Zac Gallen has given up just two runs spanning 11.1 innings in this postseason. I am taking Gallen and the D'backs to take Game 1 in what should be a good series.

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Houston could not take advantage of a great outing from Verlander as they could not scratch a run against Jordon Montgomery and the Rangers pitching as they dropped Game 1 of the ALCS 2-0.  Framber Valdez will look to even the series when he takes the mound for the Astros. He has pitched well at home, posting a 3.35 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP.  He is 4-3 with a 2.66 ERA over nine home starts against the Rangers in his career. The Astros' pitching staff has a 3-0 record with a 3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP in the last three games before last night. The Rangers have won six straight games, Nathan Eovaldi is 2-0 in the playoffs, but he has a 4.42 ERA and 1.40 WHIP in his 10 career starts at Minute Maid Park and he has given up 14 home runs in 53 innings to Houston batters. The Rangers pitching staff had struggled versus Houston this season prior to their Sunday matchup, producing a 4-9 record with a 7.16 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP. I expect the Astro's bats to get going in this one and for the Astros to even the series.

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This series as well as this game will come down to pitching. Verlander pretty much owned the Rangers during his career, posting a 21-8 record with a 2.60 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 35 starts. That dominance continued this season when in his only appearance, he allowed one earned run on four hits in seven innings. In their last three games against Texas, the Astros pitching staff has gone 3-0 record with a 3.00 ERA and 1.15 WHIP and averaged 7.33 strikeouts per nine innings. The Astros have won seven of their last eight games. The Rangers pitching staff has found things difficult against the Astros. They are 4-9 record with a 7.16 ERA with a 1.58 WHIP. Houston has averaged 10 hits over nine innings against the Rangers. During the regular season, Texas' bullpen ranked 24th in ERA in baseball. Houston finished the regular season with the league's sixth-best bullpen ERA. I am riding with Verlander and the better bullpen.

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The Baltimore Orioles need a win to keep their season alive as they dropped the first two games at home. It won't be easy as the Rangers send Nathon Eovaldi to the mound. He is 12-5 this season with a 3.63 ERA. The Orioles will go with Dean Kremer. On the season he posted a 13-5 record with a 4.12 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Orioles and the Rangers split the six games they played during the regular season. The Orioles have won seven of the last nine at Globe Life Field over the past several seasons. The Orioles have a 2.42 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP at Globe Life this season. The Rangers' pitching staff struggled at home, finishing with a  4.54 home ERA. Baltimore pitchers ranked seventh in away ERA. Baltimore won 14 of their last 20 games on the road. This is a must-win for the Orioles and they have not been swept in a series since May of 2022.

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The Twins finally won a playoff game and then took the series. They were playing with confidence at home but now must go on the road and face an experienced Houston Astros team. Houston has been dealing with injuries to their bullpen but the addition of Verlander helped sure things up down the stretch. The Twins rely on the long ball but that also results in strikeouts. Verlander didn't give up a homer in his last three starts after surrendering seven in his first three outings of September. Minnesota only scored five total runs at home against Toronto. Minnesota had a 4-2 record head-to-head this season against Houston, but the Astros played much better in the second half of the season. The Astros have won eight of the last 12 overall against the Twins and Houston has won four of the last six played at home against Minnesota. I am taking Verlander and the playoff-experienced Astros in this one.

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The Phillies took game one as they remained hot at the plate and got a good outing from Wheeler on the mound. They will look to the series by sending Aaron Nola to the mound. marlins starter Garrett has faced the Phillies twice this season with the Phillies bats getting the best of Garret both times. Miami has struggled to score runs with runners on base. Nola will keep the Phillies in this one early and the Phillies bats will take care of business as the Phillies close out the series and advance.

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Arizona took game one 6-3, but it was 4-3 going into the ninth and the Brewers stranded a ton of runners throughout the night. Arizona's Zac Gallen struggled down the stretch, giving up 13 runs in his last four starts.  On the road, he was 5-6 with a 4.42 ERA. Before yesterday's six run, they had scored only seven runs in their last three games.  The Brewer's Peralta gave up 10 runs in his last five starts and two or fewer runs in eight of his last ten starts.  Against the D'backs, he is 3-0 in three starts, giving up only one run in those games. The Brewers need this game to survive another day and with the second-best bullpen in baseball, they will get the job done.

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Minnesota finally got the monkey off their back yesterday, ending years of futility in the playoffs with the win. They will have the advantage on the mound as they look to take the series from the Blue Jays. Sonny Gray went 8-8 during the regular season with a 2.79 ERA. Gray was great down the stretch, allowing three earned runs in his last 21 innings. Gray has been one of the game's best starters in 2023, holding 21 of his 32 opponents to two or fewer runs. Toronto’s Jose Berrios was 11-12 with a 3.65 ERA during the regular season. In his last two starts, he allowed eight runs in 11 ⅔ innings in his last two starts and four-plus runs in five of his last ten outings.

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The Rays need a win against the Rangers to keep their season alive. The Rays were the best home team in baseball this season with a 52-28 record. The Rays committed four errors yesterday leading to the four runs and I don't expect that to happen again today. The Rangers starter, Nathon Eovaldi is 4-5 with a 5.00 ERA in 13 games at Tropicana Field. Eflin pitched well in the postseason with the Phillies. Eovaldi has struggled since returning from the IR. In his six starts since returning, he went 1-2 with a 9.30 ERA in 20.1. Take Tampa Bay to even the series.

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The Marlins won the season series 7-6 over the Phillies but the Phillies won four of the last seven games. The Marlins ty Luzardo was 2-0 on the season against the Phillies. He has pitched better at home than on the road this season. The Phillies Wheeler finished strong, going 3-0 in his last five starts. Wheeler has been here before, posting a 2.78 ERA in the 2022 postseason, so the moment will not be too big for him. The Phillies have the playoff experience and the home crowd behind them and I look for them to take game one in what promises to be a tight series.

Play on Philadelphia. This is a 3% play