Matt's Picks (2 Live)
Matt's Past Picks
We're kind of riding the hot hand here with the A's having won 10 of their last 13. And while the Mariners have been hot lately as well, they send Emerson Hancock to the mound with his 6.62 ERA and allowed batting average of .347. I like the A's side better with Jeffrey Springs on the mound.
The Dodgers just scored seven runs in 2 2/3 innings against Sandy Alcantara on April 29 and get to see him again. He's broken right now. The Dodgers are the best team in baseball and the Marlins are awful. Easy play here and the juice isn't too bad.
The Giants have lost three of four while the Rockies have won two in a row, including a game on the road. It's time for that to even out a bit and a Giants blowout feels like the most likely outcome. Robbie Ray has been great at home, too.
The White Sox have won three of seven and just won Thursday, 8-0. Meanwhile the Astros have won eight of 12 and had Thursday off. Framber Valdez is on the mound for the Astros. All signs point to a White Sox backslide while the Astros are just heating up and have their ace on the mound. Blowout time.
The Royals are going very well right now, having won nine of 10 and I love that Vinnie Pasquantino has now started to hit. Orioles starter Dean Kremer has been bad enough so far this season that I like the road 'dogs.
The Padres' lack of offensive depth has shown itself with injuries to Luis Arraez, Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth. They get to deal with Logan Webb and an excellent, rested, Giants bullpen. The Giants are 10-6 on the road and finding ways to win. Padres starter Nick Pivetta is good, but he isn't 1.20 ERA good. Regression is coming soon. Why not now?
I'm feeling really good about the Mets right now, especially at home. They are 12-1 with a seven-game winning streak in Citi Field. David Peterson has been good and Eduardo Rodriguez on the Diamondbacks' side is not to be trusted.
The Orioles are among the top five teams in strikeout rate and are the worst team in baseball against lefties (.177 AVG/.491 OPS). Carlos Rodon has struck out at least eight in each of his last four starts and has thrown well on the road.
Ace Michael King is on the hill for the Padres, who are 12-1 with a +48 run differential at home. They've also had a day off while the Rays played a late game Thursday before traveling. The Rays have lost 13 of 20 and six of nine. The most likely outcome is the Padres by multiple runs, so we're riding the run line.
As noted yesterday before the game was postponed, the Rockies have played in 22 games and lost 13 by more than one run. They are atrocious on the road, too. Royals ace Cole Ragans starts this one, so I'm riding the Royals on the run line here.
Brice Turang is getting on base at a decent clip and has stolen eight bases in nine tries, helping push him to 23 runs scored in 23 games. Giants starter Jordan Hicks has major first-inning problems and this will be a small-ball game. Turang walks or singles before stealing a base and comes home at some point tonight, possibly in the first inning.
The Astros have won five of seven at home and Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt isn't nearly as good as he's pitched so far. He's going to regress and this is a good spot. Yordan Alvarez has monster numbers against him, too.
The weather conditions are ripe for offense and though the pitching matchup of Dustin May vs. Shota Imanaga might scare you off, these two offenses are capable of putting on a show. The Cubs' bullpen is awful, Imanaga is prone to the fly ball, and May is due some regression.