Game Day: Friday, June 26th
It's another weekend of MLB action with a full slate of games on the card. If I am going to get a pick in before the games start this evening, I'm going to have to make this quick today.
Let's have a look at the schedule and see what is on-deck this evening.
Houston Astros (39-43) at Detroit Tigers (34-46)
The Astros are an interesting baseball team. Hunter Brown is back in the rotation with a well-rested arm and he is a true ace, a true number one, top-of-the-rotation stopper. Tatsuyama Imai has hit his stride and is pitching as good as he has all season. If yesterday's start is an indication of his ability to get hitters out in MLB, the Astros have a pair of aces to work with down the stretch. With that duo at the top, are the Astros contenders this season? The Astros are only two games back of the Mariners in the AL West.
Detroit is 12 games under .500 but are only 7.5 games back in the AL Central and five games out of a Wild Card in the AL. Skubal is back in the rotation. Framber Valdez is a solid two. If Mize can stay healthy, the Tigers have a formidable trio at the top. They have a nice stable of arms at the back too. Troy Melton, Ty Madden and Keider Montero have all pitched good innings this season.
The Tigers are rumored to be sellers with big trade chips on the table but as a ball club who lost a big lead to a hot team late in the season last year, you'd think, more than any team in MLB, that this Tigers' team would believe that a comeback is possible. More than any team in MLB, you'd think the Tigers would be the team with something to prove down the stretch. Turning their season around and putting together a comeback of their own to win the AL Central would be redemption.
Winning the AL Central this season seems like it has some real importance to the teams involved in the race and that is good for MLB. Winning the division should be the goal every season and it should be celebrated as a championship. AL Central Champs has a nice ring to it. A Wild Card shouldn't be the goal. The Tigers can win this division.
This is a good series to follow this weekend. Both teams have played well in June and both teams are looking to keep it rolling this weekend.
Imai shut the Tigers down in the opener on Thursday. Game Two from Comerica Park in Detroit, MI. Spencer Arrighetti (7-3) takes on Keider Montero (3-5). It's a 5:40 PM CDT first pitch.
Washington Nationals (41-40) at Baltimore Orioles (38-44)
The Nats have lost four of five to begin the week. The Phillies put them to work this week scoring 29 runs in a three-game homestand from The Great American Ballpark in Philadelphia, PA. This team hasn't had a day off for a week now and won't have one until Thursday of next week.
I imagine the Nationals will be rotating in some arms from the farm in some attempt to keep the bullpen rested. It's a bullpen that is far from spectacular. The Nationals can score runs on offense, they lead the league in that mark, but this is a team that also has difficulty keeping runs off the board.
Their pitching hasn't been good this season. If their bats go cold, this is a team that could drop like a Plinko chip. Right in the $100 slot.
In Baltimore, on the other hand, the clouds seem to be breaking some. Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers have both shown some slight prediliction towards being the pitchers Orioles' fans expected them to be this season. Second-year starter, Brandon Young, has gotten Baltimore some good innings and they have some good arms in the bullpen.
This is a team that isn't going to cash out early. They made their moves this off-season, they spent big in free agency and their window is wide open. They aren't going to close it even a hair. I'd expect Baltimore to be competing tooth and nail into the last week of July with the expectation of buying at the trade deadline. A starting pitcher or two, an outfielder, an infielder, a bullpen arm, Baltimore will add everywhere in every possible way if they are in contention.
The Orioles should be playing with that mindset at the end of June and through July. I feel like there is strong potential for the Orioles to sweep this series this weekend.
It's a pair of lefties tonight. Rookie Andrew Alvarez (1-0) starts for DC and takes on Orioles' hurler, Trevor Rogers (4-7) in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards in Baltimore, MD. First pitch at 6:05 PM CDT.
Rivals Square Up Tonight
Phillies at the Mets, Yankees at the Red Sox, Cubs at the Brewers and the Dodgers at the Padres. Four of the best rivalries in MLB.
After the losing streak this week, the Mets have lost five straight heading into tonight's game, I've abandoned my hopes of having the Mets in contention into July and am happy to see them bow out gracefully. I will now be rooting for Zack Wheeler to win the Cy Young and for the Phillies to run down the Braves in the NL East.
I'm also rooting for the Yankees to put the Red Sox out of their misery this weekend. Boston doesn't have a good team this season. I don't see them pulling it together. A loss tonight will really wound them. If the Yanks sweep the Red Sox in a four-game series at Fenway Park, it will be over for Boston and that is exciting.
The Cubs made a trade to add a starter and it was a desparate trade in some way. They are really in deep water and the life rafts are being deployed. A sweep at the hands of their division rivals to end the month will have this Cubs' team reflecting on how weak their pitching staff really is this season. Matthew Boyd may have plugged the hole in the hull some on Thursday, the veteran had a good start in his return from the IR, but it looks like Cabrera is out until August and the team will likely be without Ben Brown at least until after the All-Star break. A David Peterson shallacking will have Jed Hoyer rethinking his team's ability to weather the storm. Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are nice trade chips. The option to bow out this season has its' benefits for this Cubs' team.
As far as the Dodgers and the Padres go, LA has a good grip on the NL West. They are the best team in the division. Despite LA's prowess and Machado's need to hug everybody, this is still a great rivalry. The Padres are entrenched in second place in the division and can make the playoffs as a Wild Card in the NL this season. A series win over the Dodgers would be good momentum for the Padres as the teams head into the month of July.
I'm looking forward to the games this weekend. It should be a great weekend for fans all across the country.
That's it for Game Day today. It's getting late in the afternoon. I woke up late today. I was up too late last night. It's been a weird year so far in some way. I have been off-kilter in some regard but am good for the most part. I believe that I have the ability to fly my ship through this meteor shower and if I don't may my ship's autopilot guide us to a safe haven.
Overcast skies in Illinois but no rain in the forecast and that is nice. I might be in for laundry. My laundry day was rescheduled and is tentatively scheduled for this evening. If laundry is on, there will be no pick. I am awaiting confirmation as I write this post. If no laundry, I'm going to try and get a pick in on Wheeler and Misiorowski tonight.
Stay Tuned.