Very short card on this wonderful Monday.
San Diego / Atl — Super early game for San Diego here on get-away day. The Fathers will be taking the field around 9 a.m. their time, which as professionals shouldn't be a huge deal but it very well could be. Don't see a number for this one yet, but do see the low total. To me that means the Braves will probably play well here.
Ariz / Cin — Reds are just brutal right now. They've lost eight of their last 10 overall and now sit six games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the top spot in the NL Central. Giving the ball to Homer Bailey here, who actually throws well inside the sandbox in Cincinnati. Will re-examine in the morning.
Phils / Mets — Battle of starting pitchers who will both be scouted. I expect both Burnett and Colon to be moved by the deadline, at worst to clear waivers in August and potentially be moved late. Phils might be out of the race, but Mets are awful chalky here, even with Colon throwing. Mets are 5-5 in their last 10 and have actually out-scored opponents this year, sitting in fourth place/
Wash / Mia — Don't look now, but the Marlins have won four straight and seven of their last 10 overall. They started off wining all the time at home, now they're winning on the road as well. Just two games below .500, I don't anticipate them moving anyone at the deadline. Fish MUCH BETTER at home, however. Washington is a comfy favorite on the road here.
Col / Cubs — Only matchup of lefties on the hill for the entire day. No total yet, but that's not surprising at all. Cubs pretty solid favorite in this one, I see. Flande and Wada have combined for zero Major League wins. Should be interesting.
Pitts / San Fran — Ahh, Bumgarner is on the hill, meaning Giants are going to be bloated favorite. He's tied for ML lead with 12 Ws on the season, but has pitched SO MUCH BETTER on the road this year. Very small total, might look at over play in this one.
Tor / Bos — These guys are playing again. Bucholz banged up, Dickey still throws a knuckleball and this is the ESPN game of the night. Might look at the over of 8.5 here, with neither guy being dominant yet this season. Think, based on lineups, we could see a pretty well played offensive game here.
NY / Texas — Darvish laying -160ish at home. Tempting, but pricey. Rangers are 3-7 last 10 and have gotten drilled all season. They have been out-scored by 119 runs this season, which is why they have the least wins of anybody in Major League Baseball. They are getting to a point where they are UNBACKABLE, even if YU is pitching. Yankees are playing better, but lost twice to Toronto during the weekend.
Oak / Hou — Houston is a bigtime dog here at home. Oakland one of best teams in the league, FAR AND AWAY out-scoring opponents this year. They've out-scored opponents by 170 runs this year, which is 95 runs BETTER than the next closest team (Nationals). From now on Oakland RL must seriously be considered.
Mil / Tam — Rays have to be a MUST play right now, right? They've won nine of last 10 overall and are hottest team in the league. It doesn't look like they're going to trade David Price by the deadline due to their recent wins, so I expect them to dive headfirst into the rest of the season. I'm not sure they are a "better team" than Milwaukee, but hard to look past the Rays when they are this hot right now.