The Astros have the best record in baseball and they have won two in a row and four of their last five games. They are running away with the AL West, as they are 15 games up on the 2nd place L.A. Angels. Earlier this season at home they took two games from the Braves outscoring them 12-5. Houston All Star SS Carlos Correa is riding a 12-game winning streak where he is batting .417 with 15 RBI. The Braves are coming off a three-game sweep of the Oakland A’s where their pitching was great only giving up a total of seven runs. They are in 2nd place in the NL East eight games out of first place and they can get to .500 with a win in this interleague contest. This is a match up between two young pitchers that have enjoyed success lately. Peacock and Newcomb will each have solid starts, but Newcomb will have the better one. He will lead the Braves to their 4th straight win and even their record at 41-41.

The Cardinals starter Lance Lynn rebounded from an ugly stretch with his first quality start in seven games. That may signal a return to form for the right-hander, but my money is going to go against that happening. Lynn struggled in his last start against Miami getting the hook after four innings when he allowed four runs and was taken out of the park twice. Also, another metric to throw into the mix is his stats in days games where he holds a 2-2 record with a 5.17 ERA. Marlins starter has shone in day games with a 2-1 record and 1.99 ERA. He comes into this game sharp with four consecutive quality starts and as mentioned in the preview has yet to be tagged with a loss on the road this season. I’ll take the plus money and put it on the team with the superior starter.

The Angels have lost three of their last four games and with a loss in their last game they dropped to .500. They are still in 2nd place in the AL West, but 14.5 games back of the Houston Astros. In the Halos last four games they have only scored 9 runs. Albert Pujols leads the Angels in RBI (52) and he has not hit a HR in 13 games and is 3 for his last 26. The Twins have lost four of their last five games and they are now tied with the Kansas City Royals in 2nd place in the AL Central three games back of the Cleveland Indians. The Twins’ staff has allowed 36 runs in their last five games. The Twins took three of four games against the Angels in L.A. in the beginning of last month. Meyer has been solid in two of his last three starts, but both were at home. Mejia is the hotter pitcher not giving up any earned runs in his last two starts and he had a good start in his lone one facing the Angels this season. He will have his 3rd straight solid start and lead the Twins to the win.

The Blue Jays have lost four in a row and are coming off being swept in a three-game home series against the Boston Red Sox. They were outscored 29-6 and their lineup has failed to score more than one run in three of their last four games. Toronto is in the basement of the AL East 9.5 games out of first place. The Yankees have dropped two in a row and three of their last five games. They are only 5-14 in their last 19 games and they are not three games back of the Red Sox in the AL East. After a couple of rough outings Stroman has been solid in his last two starts and he had a pretty good last start facing the Yankees. Tanaka has also pitched pretty well as of late and he will win the battle with Storman mainly because he is facing a Toronto lineup that has really been struggling lately. The Yankees will win the first game of this series at home and send the reeling Blue Jays to their 5th straight loss.

The Nationals have lost three in a row and the first two games of this series and they need a win tonight to avoid the sweep. While they rank 3rd in the Majors in runs scored they have only scored six runs in their last three games and one in each of their last two. Washington is still in first place in the NL East with a 7.5 game lead over the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals have won four in a row and they are in 3rd place in the NL Central 3.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. In winning four in a row St. Louis has outscored their opponents 24-9. This is great pitching match up tonight and Scherzer leads the NL holding right-handed batters to a .125 average and Martinez ranks 2nd holding righties to a .171 average. Scherzer ranks 1st in the NL in strikeouts and has a strikeout to walk ratio of 6.3-1. He will have another strong outing tonight out-dueling Martinez and just like Game 2 of this series it will be a low scoring affair, but this time the Nats will come out on top snapping the Cardinals four-game win streak.

The Rangers had lost three straight games only totaling 11 runs before beating the White Sox yesterday putting up 10 runs. They are in 3rd place in the AL West 14.5 games back of the Houston Astros and they can get to .500 with a win in this series finale. The White Sox had won two in a row before yesterday’s loss to the Rangers and they are in the basement of the AL Central eight games back of the Cleveland Indians. In two of their last four games they have given up at least10 runs. However, that will not happen today with a hot Quintana on the hill. This is his first start of the season against the Rangers and in his last three starts he has lowered his ERA from 5.30 to 4.37. He will have his4th straight solid start in this game and while Ross will not have a bad outing the White Sox will get him for a few runs. Unlike the first couple of games of this series this will be a low scoring affair and just like Game 1 the White Sox will win and in the process win the series.

The Mariners snapped their four game-losing streak with a win over the Angels yesterday. They only totaled 10 runs in those 10 losses before scoring 10 in the first game of this series. Seattle is in 3rd place in the AL Central 14 games back of the Houston Astros and only ½ game back of the Angels. Mike Zunino had a HR in Game 1 of this series finishing off a hot June where he had 10 HR and 31 RBI. The Angels have lost two in a row and three of their last five games. Their offense has been struggling lately, as in their last four games they have only scored four runs. Nolasco had a great last outing in snapping his long winless streak and he will have another good outing tonight. On the other side of the coin look for Gaviglio to struggle for a 3rd straight start on the road. The L.A. bats will not light him up, but get a few runs off him and that is all Nolasco will need, as he will lead the Halos to the win.

The Yankees have won two of their last three games and in the two wins in that span they have totaled 25 runs. They are in 2nd place in the AL East one game back of the Boston Red Sox. Houston had won two in a row where they totaled 17 runs before losing the first game of this series to the Yankees yesterday. They still have the best record in the Majors and they are running away with the AL West 13.5 games up on the 2nd place L.A. Angels. Montgomery has been solid in his last few starts and hope to help end the trend of the Yankees losing their last five games after a win in their previous game. He will do just that with a quality start in this game. On the other hand Francis will be facing a potent New York lineup and like his last outing he will not last long. The Yankees will take the 2nd game of this series and go for the sweep tomorrow.

The Twins have lost three of their last four games and they are in 2nd place in the AL Central 1.5 games back of the Cleveland Indians. In their last four games they have only totaled 10 runs. While Minnesota is three games above .500 and have been in the lead in the AL Central for much of the season they do not rank in the top 22 in the Majors in runs scored or team ERA. The Royals have also lost three of their last four games and they are 3.5 games out of first place in the AL Central. The pitching has been the strength of the club this season, but in the three losses in their last four games they have given up 20 runs. Great pitching match up tonight between a couple of Aces who rank 1st and 2nd in wins in the AL. The Twins had lost seven straight facing the Royals with Santana on the mound before they won his season debut facing them. Vargas has been solid all season and while Santana had a great last start he gave up five earned runs in each of his previous two starts. Vargas will out-duel Santana in this division match up and lead Kansas City to the win.

The Rays have lost two straight and four of their last five games. They sit in 3rd place in the AL East four games out of first place. In their last five games the Tampa Bay offense has struggled some only totaling 14 runs. The Orioles have won four of their last five games and they are only a half game back of the Rays in the division. Before their last series facing the Blue Jays they faced the Rays in Tampa Bay in a three-game set where they took the last two games where they scored eight runs in each. The Orioles are 10 games over .500 at home while the Rays are five games under .500 on the road, but they are still the pick in this game. Tillman has been pretty bad since his first start of the season and while the Orioles have won five of his last six starts against the Rays can’t go with them since he has an ERA north of 8.00. Faria will have decent outing, but the different maker in this game is the Rays lineup, as they will get to Tillman big time. Tampa Bay will take the first game of this series tonight.

After winning four in a row the Braves have lost two of their last three games and in losing to the Padres yesterday they had their nine game win streak facing them end. The Atlanta lineup has only scored seven runs in their last three games. The Braves are in 2nd place in the NL East 9.5 games back of the Washington Nationals. The Padres had lost two in a row before beating the Braves yesterday and while they are 14 games under .500 and in 4th place in the NL West they have won four of their last six games. Garcia has given up six earned runs in his last two starts, but has gotten a ton of run support. That will not happen in this game, as Danilson will keep the Braves lineup in check and he has been decent in his last two starts and be decent tonight. San Diego will win this series finale and also win the series.

The Mets have won four of their last five games and they are 11.5 games out of first place in the NL East and are only ½ game back of the Marlins. Their pitching has been the issue in the Big Apple on the season with all the injuries to their staff, but they have only given up a total of eight runs in their four wins in their last five games. The Marlins had their modest two-game win streak snapped with their loss to the Mets yesterday and in those two games they only gave up a total of five runs. Miami had also won four in a row at home over the Mets before the loss to them yesterday. Urena has been solid since joining the Marlins staff and he has pitched really well in his last few starts. Look for that to continue, as he will have another quality outing tonight. Conversely, Lugo will get knocked around for a few runs and in a game that will nto be a high scoring affair Miami will win and also win the series.

The Yankees have lost three of their last four and 11 of their last 14 games. With their recent swoon they are not in first place in the AL East any longer trailing the Boston Red Sox by a game. The White Sox had lost four in a row before their win over the Yankees yesterday. Chicago had given up 24 runs in losing four in a row before only giving up three in their last game. They are still in the basement of the AL Central seven games out of first place. Tanaka has had a really rough season, but he is coming off a solid start, had a good start in his lone one facing the White Sox this season, and has enjoyed a lot of success facing them in his career. Even on the road he will have a good start in this game and the same cannot be said for Rodon. He is making his first start back from injury and he was pounded in the minors in his four rehab starts. Now facing the potent lineup of the Yankees he will get chased early. The Yankees will take this game and send the White Sox to their 5th loss in six games.

The Rangers have won three of their last four games and while they got above .500 with a win in their last game they are still 12.5 games out of first place in the AL West. The Indians have dropped three of their last four games and in the three losses in that span they only scored three runs and in the one win they scored 15. Cleveland is still in first place in the AL Central, but they are only ½ game up on the Minnesota Twins. Darvish has not enjoyed much run support in his last few starts, but he will get some tonight. It will not be many runs, but he will not need many and he will have a 2nd solid outing. Bauer will not get lit up, bit he will give up a few runs. The Indians have been great this season on the road, but they are five games under .500 at home. They will not add to their home win total in this game, as Darvish will lead the Rangers to the win.

The Brewers had lost two in a row before winning their last game and they are in first place in the NL Central one game up on the Chicago Cubs. Eric Thames got off to a blistering start to the season and while he still leads the Brewers in HR he has not gone deep in his last eight games and is only batting .179 in the month of June. The Reds have lost five of six and 14 of their last 16 games. With their swoon they are in the basement of the NL Central 8.5 games back of the Brewers. They have really struggled on the mound in the last few weeks and they rank dead last in the Majors in team ERA. Joey Votto has had a solid bounce-back season leading the Reds in HR and RBI and is batting .352 in June. Scooter Gennett is 13 for 34 with four homers and eight RBI in his last eight games. Guerra has been decent as of late and the Brewers have won his last five starts facing teams from the NL Central. He will have a good outing tonight and the Brewers bats will get to Adleman and chase him out early. The Brewers will win this game, which will be their 5th in a row against the Reds.

After winning three in a row the Rays have dropped their last two games where they gave up eight runs in each game. They are in 2nd place in the AL East three games back of the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. The Pirates had won two in a row before a loss in their last game. They have been a.500 club for the last couple of weeks and they are in 4th place in the NL Central five games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. Cobb got off to a great start this season, but has tailed off in the last few games. Williams has also not been overly impressive in his last three starts. The Rays have the better lineup and I think Cobb will bounce back and have a good start in this game and he has enjoyed a lot of interleague success. Tampa Bay will take the first game of this series and end their two-game slide.

The Rockies have lost five in a row and they are coming off being swept in a three game series against the L.A. Dodgers. They are now in 3rd place in the NL West 4.5 games back of the Dodgers. In their five game skid Colorado has been outscored 48-15. The Giants have also lost five in a row and they have dropped 12 of their last 13 games. They have given up 41 runs in losing five in a row and they are in the basement of the NL West 24.5 games out of first place. San Francisco has the 2nd worst record in the Majors and they are tied with the Philadelphia Phillies for the fewest home wins (14). Both teams are struggling, but the Giants are reeling. The Rockies will get the win behind a strong start from Marquez and in his last eight starts he has given up two earned runs or fewer seven times. Colorado will take the first game of this series snapping their losing streak and hand the Giants their 6th loss in a row.

The Cubs have lost two of their last three games and they are in 2nd place in the NL Central 1.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers. After scoring 11 runs in a recent win the Cubs have only totaled seven runs in their last three games. The Nationals had won two in row where they scored 24 runs before only scoring two in losing their last game. Daniel Murphy is 13 for 36 during his current nine game hitting streak and Ryan Zimmerman, who leads the Nats in RBI and HR, leads the Majors batting .350. Butler has been decent on the season, but he has not lasted long in his outings and luckily Chicago’s bullpen ranks 2nd in the NL in ERA. However, Washington has a potent lineup to say the least and they will put up several runs in this game. Add that to the fact that Gonzalez will have another solid home outing and it equals a Washington win.

The Blue Jays have lost three in a row and they have to win today to avoid a sweep in this series. In losing their last three games they have been outscored 19-10. Toronto sits in the basement of the AL East six games out of first place. The Royals have won three in a row and five of their last six games. They are in 3rd place in the AL Central only two games back of the Cleveland Indians. Kansas City got over .500 with yesterday’s win and in beating the Blue Jays in Game 1 of this series they got to .500 for the first time since April. Liriano is coming off a subpar effort and while the Blue Jays had won his previous six starts he was not great, but got a lot of run support. Toronto has lost five of his last seven starts on the road and that is a trend that will continue. Hammel has been very solid in his four June starts and he will have another good start today leading the Royals to a win in this game and they will complete the series sweep.

The Twins have won the first two games of this series and they can avenge getting swept in recent four-game series at home at the hands of the Indians by getting a win today and sweeping them in this series. If they can do that they will also take over first place in the AL Central, as they trail Cleveland by ½ game. Minnesota has outscored the Indians 9-2 in the two games in this series. The Indians had won eight of nine games where they were solid at the plate before only totaling two runs in losing the first two games of this series. Both starters in today’s contests are coming off subpar last outings, but each has pitched well in the two starts facing each other’s teams this season. Santana has given up at least five earned runs in three of his last four starts and he will struggle in this game. Tomlin may not have the best outing, but he will be decent and that will be good enough, as the Indians lineup will be the main reason for the win. Cleveland will get the W in this game and avoid the sweep.