The face of baseball does it again! Giancarlo Stanton has now hit a home run in 6th straight games and has 44 on the season. He is hitting the ball like no other and I hope he hits 65 plus homers this season. Other than Stanton, the Dodgers are also on fire, still. The Dodgers are now 50, games over 500. You read that correctly, 50 games, they are 84-34 which is absolutely incredible.
We have a full slate of games with some afternoon action so lets get to it.
Low-Scoring Plays
St. Louis Cardinals @ Boston Red Sox- The Red Sox are hot right now, as they mowed down the Cardinals last night. Tonight they have E-Rod on the mound, who was great in his last outing. He didn’t get the win as Reed blew the game for the Red Sox but E-Rod is a great play today. The Cardinals have woken up this season however the Red Sox pitching staff is hot, the Red Sox are hot and they should dominate this game.
Targets: E-Rod, Benintendi
Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago Cubs- The Reds are not a good team so this should be an easy win for the Cubs. John Lackey gets the call for the Cubs and this is a game that he can dominate in. He hasn’t been great this season, but he hasn’t been terrible either. If the Cubs are going to get a shot at repeating they are going to need Lackey to finish strong. This is a game where Lackey can build confidence and get back on track for the rest of the season. Rizzo is playing well right now, but Shwarber is back in another slump so the Cubs shouldn’t score much in this one either.
Targets: Lackey
White Sox @ L.A. Dodgers- The Dodgers new toy, Yu Darvish gets the call in this game. Darvish is 2-0 with the Dodgers and was spectacular in his last outing. Look for him to do the same in this game as the White Sox are not a good team. Darvish should be a lock for your line up as he will get the win easily. The Dodgers are by far the best team in the MLB and I don’t think anyone will be able to beat them in the play offs.
Targets: Darvish, any Dodger batter you can afford
High-Scoring Plays
New York Yankees @ New York Mets- I thought the Mets would stand up in this series but they haven’t been able to do anything. Chapman gave up another home run to a rookie and that is the only highlight for the Mets in this series. Gsellman takes the mound for the Mets who just isn’t a great player. He could be a good bullpen arm but that is about it. Sanchez has been hot since his lunch with A-Rod, so he will be a great play.
Targets: Sanchez, Hicks, Judge
Tampa Rays @ Toronto Blue Jays- Stroman pitches for the Jays as he is having a great year for them and will get some Cy Young votes. I love the Jays in this one, specifically Donaldson. Playing at home with your ace on the mound this game should be locked up for the Jays. However I wouldn’t count the Rays out of this one. Morrison and Longoria will be great plays as well as the Rays will try to claw their way into the play offs.
Targets: Donaldson, Longoria
Under-Value Plays
Garcia-NYY-SP- Garcia isn’t a great pitcher but against the Mets the aren’t a great team. Garcia has potential to have a massive game here. I don’t think the Mets will win this one because Gsellman should get rocked which will give Garcia the confidence to pitch well.
Morrison-TB-1B- Morrison is a great play today as the Rays will need to score runs off of Stroman. Stroman is having a good year but he isn’t having as strong as a year as the Jays would probably like. Regardless I like Morrison as a player and can hit any pitcher in this league.
Nunez-BOS-3B-Nunez has been on fire since coming to Boston. Over Bostons 12-2 run Nunez, Devers, and Benintendi have drove in 44% of the runs. Nunez is seeing the ball well and has hit well in Fenway, a great play that I love.