Sunday’s MLB Picks
It’s officially the dog days of summer in baseball. Our team of writers and handicappers gathered three of their top picks for Sunday’s MLB action.
Arizona Diamondbacks (63-59) at Houston Astros (62-60)
Chris Young is clearly happy to be back in Houston. Randy Johnson might be, too.
Young’s hometown has been a site of great success for both the center fielder and the Big Unit, who look to continue their respective resurgences and help the Arizona Diamondbacks complete a sweep of the Astros on Sunday afternoon.
Johnson has started three games there and won them all, posting a 2.70 ERA and striking out 29 in 20 innings. He also won all five of his starts in the Astrodome – four were complete games – when he pitched for Houston in 1998, with a 0.42 ERA and 62 strikeouts in 43 innings.
Roy Oswalt (10-8, 4.52) gets the start for Houston. The right-hander is 3-0 in four starts since missing 2 1/2 weeks with a hip injury. He has provided Houston with seven-inning, quality starts in his last two outings while beating Cincinnati and San Francisco.
He had been 6-0 with a 1.98 ERA in seven career starts versus the Diamondbacks before losing his most recent outing against them. He gave up six runs and 10 hits in six innings of an 8-4 defeat on May 27, 2007.
Pick: Houston – View game matchup | Best line -110 SBG Global
Milwaukee Brewers (71-53) at Los Angeles Dodgers (63-60)
The Milwaukee Brewers and Los Angeles Dodgers were two of the league’s hottest teams entering their three-game set this weekend, and with each club embroiled in a tight race for a playoff spot, their margins for error are small.
The distance between the teams has proven to be even less.
After Milwaukee’s extra-innings win on Saturday evened the series, the Brewers will look to secure their fifth straight series victory on Sunday at Dodger Stadium.
The Brewers (71-53) had won eight of their previous nine games when they arrived in Los Angeles, but their 5-3 loss on Friday was the Dodgers’ fifth straight victory, keeping Los Angeles tied with Arizona atop the NL West.
Clayton Kershaw (2-3, 3.78) will face Milwaukee for the first time. The 20-year-old rookie has begun to live up to expectations in recent weeks, going 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA in his last four starts. He has struck out 23 in 25 innings over that span.
The Brewers have lost four straight series at Dodger Stadium, dropping 11 of 14 there before Saturday’s win. They can split the six-game season series with a victory in this game.
Pick: LA Dodgers – View game matchup | Best line –135 SBG Global
Tampa Bay Rays (74-47) at Texas Rangers (61-62)
The Texas Rangers found a cure to satisfy both their struggling offense and their downtrodden pitching staff in their latest game – don’t give up any runs.
The Rangers will try to build off an impressive shutout win on Sunday in Arlington as they look to become the first team to win a series against the Tampa Bay Rays since before the All-Star break.
One of the key reasons the Rays are in first – 3 1/2 games up on Boston – is 24-year-old Scott Kazmir (8-6, 3.22). The All-Star left-hander has certainly looked the part in two starts against the Rangers this season, going 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA and 16 strikeouts without a walk in 15 innings.
With his high strikeout totals, though, Kazmir has a tendency to throw a lot of pitches. That’s limited him recently – he’s thrown seven innings just once since June 6.
Kazmir hasn’t gone past the fifth in his last four starts, and he’s won only once since June 27. He gave up two runs in five innings on Tuesday at Oakland and was on the hook for the Rays’ 2-1 loss.
Pick: Texas – View game matchup | Best line +120 SBG Global
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