Where did the Mets come from last night? The offense that is struggling and reportedly ready to trade everyone had 20 hits and 11 runs as they finally picked up a win against the Giants. Division rivals, Washington Nationals, game back from 5-1 as Bryce Harper hit a walk off home run in the 10th.
It was a slow night in the MLB, Stanton hit a moon shot of a home run after he announces that he will be part of the home run derby. It was for sure a shot that you would see in the home run derby.
Low-Scoring Plays
Colorado Rockies @ L.A. Dodgers – Clayton Kershaw gets the call for the Dodgers. Kershaw at home should be a lock in your lineup. The Rockies are a strong offensive team however it doesn’t matter. The Dodgers have been swinging the bats extremely well so look for Kershaw to get the win in this one easily. Kershaw has been having a great season, in 15 games he has only made it less than 6 innings once. The Bellinger hype is real, I just feel bad for him as it will now be the standard for him to replicate these numbers every single year. However as he is bashing the ball he will be a great play.
Targets: Kershaw, Bellinger
Philadelphia Phillies @ Arizona Diamondbacks – Philadelphia is one of the worst offenses in baseball. This stacks up well for Robbie Ray who strikes out a ton of batters. Ray should have double digit strikeouts in this game. The Phillies are hitting just under .300 against Ray, which is rather impressive. However that shouldn’t happen today. Playing across the entire country against a solid pitcher they should not be able to do anything this game. Diamondbacks win this one big.
Targets: Ray, Goldschidmt, Owings
New York Mets @ San Francisco Giants – The Mets exploded last night so they won’t score for the rest of the summer. That was an attempt at a joke but they really won’t score tonight. They will run into trouble as they face Johnny Cueto. Luckily the Mets have Jacob deGrom throwing as this game shapes up to be the pitching match up of the day. Ray and Kershaw are better pitchers than both, however the offenses in this game are non existent. You can take both pitchers in this game and get away with it. One won’t get the points for the win however both pitchers will have big games. I’ll side with Cueto at home but it should be the low scoring, pitching matchup of the day.
Targets: Cueto, Posey
High-Scoring Plays
Texas Rangers @ New York Yankees – This was a game that I liked to go high scoring last night. It stayed extremely low, and went into extras. Today the offenses should come out in the afternoon game. The Yankees offense has gone quiet, look for them to get back to their back to their old ways and put up runs in this one. Judge and Sanchez will show up huge in this one. A day where it will be hard to afford both because of the star pitchers, I like Sanchez over Judge.
Targets: Sanchez, Gardner, Judge
Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Rays – The Orioles were rocked last night as the Rays climbed even farther ahead of them in the standings. Look for the Orioles to have a bounceback game today. They have fallen into a funk however their offense is strong, and should be hitting the ball better. Look for Trumbo, Machado, and Jones to all take last nights beat down personally and have a strong game today. The Orioles need to turn it around quick or else their season could be over.
Targets: Trumbo, Machado, Jones
Milwaukee Brewers @ Atlanta Braves – We got a game of batting practice in Atlanta. R.A. Dickey takes the mound for the Braves and if you read this blog regularly you know how I feel about him. If R.A. falls behind in count he will have to turn to his fast ball which isn’t fast. Look for the Brewers to pound him in this game. Thames and Shaw should be locks in your line up as you will get a pre show to the home run derby.
Targets: Thames, Shaw