Not many stories coming out of the league last night. The Dodgers completed the sweep against the Mets as they continue their historic season. The Red Sox swept the White Sox and now have won 6 in a row. Nunez is playing out of his mind for Boston. The Mariners beat the Royals so now they are half a game out of the 2nd wild card spot. To add some firepower the Mariners just picked up Oakland A’s All-Star Alonso.
Tonight we have a very small slate of games with 7. Instead of going high-scoring plays and low-scoring I’ll break down every game.
Detroit Tigers @ Pittsburgh Pirates – This game could go either way, which makes me hate the matchup. Neither pitcher looks to be a dominant pick and each lineup is streaky. The Pirates can score some runs but it doesn’t happen often. The Tigers pose a threat with Miggy in the lineup but still he hasn’t been that great this year where I say lock it in. The Pirates at home would be the team that I would side with, McCutchen is the best player on the field.
Targets: McCutchen
Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals – Max Scherzer gets the call in this one as he should be well rested since he only pitched an inning in his last outing. This spells trouble for Miami, however if you’re trying to win first in your league it might not be a bad idea to take Miami players. Scherzer is going to be 70% owned he has to have a fantastic game to help you. If he has an average game there will be no benefit to you, Aces get beat every now and again, happened to Sale this week look for it to happen to Scherzer too.
Targets: Stanton, Gordon
San Diego Padres @ Cincinnati Reds – Jhoulys Chacin takes the mound for the Padres, who will be a very sneaky play. He is 11-7 on the year with a 3.99 ERA, the Reds aren’t a great ball club so Chacin should have a good game. However the Padres aren’t a great team either so this game will be the lowest scoring game of the day.
Targets: Chacin
Milwaukee Brewers @ Minnesota Twins- Ervin Santana is 12-7 on the year, and should have a big day against the Brewers. The Brewers are able to hit the home runs however they don’t hit for average as they are batting .249 as a team. I would take Santana and Chacin over Scherzer and save the money for position players. Sano and Santana will be better than Shaw and Thames which sets up for the Twins win.
Targets: Santana, Sano
St. Louis Cardinals @ Kanas City Royals – The Royals have climbed back into the race and are playing out of their minds the last two months. They are one of the hottest teams in baseball outside of the Dodgers. I love the Royals today at home as the Cardinals are sending Carlos Martinez to the mound. Hosmer and Moustakas are great plays today, Hosmer has been red hot this year batting .316 with 17 home runs.
Targets: Cain, Moustakas, Hosmer
Baltimore Orioles @ L.A. Angels- This game was high-scoring last night as the Orioles won by 1. I like this game to go high scoring again as Mike Trout has been on a tear coming back from injury. The Orioles mashed the ball yesterday going back-to-back-to-back in the first inning. Their bats should be more tame today however they should still score some runs in this one. I love Trout in this game, lock him into your lineup.
Targets: Trout, Pujols
Chicago Cubs @ San Francisco Giants – Jake Arietta has the ball today against the terrible Giants ball club. Arietta has been quiet this year but he has turned it around and is playing well. Arietta will be a great play today as he should have a monster day against the Giants. The only threat from the Giants this year is Posey and he is a fossil. Arietta will be highly-owned, but he will be a better play than Scherzer.
Targets: Arietta, Schwarber, Rizzo
Check out our MLB Breakdown Spreadsheet and our Pitcher Breakdown Spreadsheet (these picks – all over/unders – are now at 58.7% accuracy since June 30) where you can compare key statistics and numbers for today’s games.