Hey there Pregamers!
Well we bounced back yesterday after a bad end to the weekend. Finish the day 2-1 for +1.12 units. Now sitting at 18-13 for +4.54 units on the season. Looking to add another winning day today. Going with 5 plays today. Write ups are here. Wish you all the very best of luck tonight! Go get 'em Pregamers!
Mil -101 : Kendrick had a solid spring and a great first start of the year for the Phillies. Don't be fooled by that though. I'm a big Phillies fan and know Kendrick is not THAT kind of pitcher. He should come back down to earth tonight vs the Brewers. They are coming off a sweep of Boston, and are swinging the bats well. On top of that they have always hit Kendrick well (.328 avg vs him... Kendrick is 1-4 with a 3.58 ERA vs Mil). On the other side Lohse is going for the Brew Crew. He has pitched well vs the Phils the last few seasons and holds them to a .224 avg in 134 at bats. I see Milwaukee hitting Kendrick early while Lohse holds the Phils in check.
KC -103 : Ventura makes his "long" awaited season debut today vs Tampa. He looked great in 2 of his 3 starts last season and had a solid spring. He faces a Tampa team that has struggled at the plate the last couple days, and they haven't seen him before... that should make for a difficult first couple times through the lineup. On the other side Kansas City looks to continue their last season + dominance over the Rays. Archer is a great pitcher (have him on my fantasy team!), but he just wasn't the same pitcher last season away from home. His ERA was almost half a run more, just about same amount of hits, more walks, less strikeouts... all in 20 less innings on the road than at home. Royals definitely hit RHP much better than lefties. See Ventura holding the Rays off for 5 or 6 innings while the KC bullpen comes through. KC should be able to push enough runs across the plate to take this one.
StL -136 : These two teams are always tough when they play each other as we've already seen this year. Lynn and Bailey faced off against each other last week and both were hit around a bit. Between these two though I like Lynn slightly better. Both teams have hit the opposing pitcher well in the past (Bailey: .324 Avg, Lynn .297 Avg). I think both these pitchers will help these offenses get going today, but I have to go with the pitcher that can get the most swing and misses... and that's Lynn here at home. Bailey does not pitch well in St Louis (1-5 5.54 ERA), and Lynn has always found ways to beat the Reds (his run support hasn't hurt either). I see some runs being scored in this game and the Cards pulling it out.
Col -120 : Colorado has been swinging the bats well this season, especially over their last 5 games (averaging almost 8 runs per game and hitting over .330). Meanwhile the White Sox just haven't really been able to get it going. Once again failing to do much of anything last night against Lyles. Tonight we have a pair of lefties going at it. Quintana actually got some run support in his first start of the season (amazing!), but it didn't matter as both he and the Sox pen couldn't do anything with it. With how the Rockies are seeing and hitting the ball I feel they will be able to get to Quintana and that bad White Sox pen tonight. On the other side Colorado counters with Morales. He got hit a bit in his first start v.s. Miami, but that was a team that was swinging the bats very well at the time. Chicago is not doing that right now. Morales did face them out of the pen last year while in Boston and fared very well. I think the Rockies bats will continue to roll while the White Sox continue to search for some answers. Give me the Rockies.
Sea -120 : The Angels won some games, scored some runs, and looked good!.... against the Houston Astros. They now face Seattle for the 2nd time this season, and the first time did not go well at all... swept at home and gave up over 8 runs per game. That's rough. Seattle has impressive 2nd year guy Paxton on the mound, and all he has done in his 5 career starts is look great! In his first start this year against the Angels he went 7 innings giving up 2 hits 0 runs and had 9 strikeouts. Talk about a hell of a line. Now I don't see him having as great a line as that tonight, but I still see him pitching a solid game. The Angels have not yet swung the bats well vs lefties this season and I don't see it starting tonight. On the other side LA counters with Santiago. He wasn't bad last year, but he played on a bad team that didn't score for anyone it seemed (White Sox). He didn't last long against Seattle earlier this season going only 5 innings and giving up 7 hits and 4 runs while walking 3. Seattle's bats did cool off a bit in Oakland while facing some good young pitching, but expect them to heat back up some here against Santiago. Paxton hasn't given up much of anything so far in his young career and pitching at home in Seattle is definitely a recipe for continued success. Give me the Mariners!