Tuesday’s MLB Picks
Baseball pushes on towards the postseason and Tuesday offers a full schedule of games. Our team of writers and handicappers has three picks for Tuesday’s action.
Los Angeles Dodgers (78-72) at Pittsburgh Pirates (63-87)
The Los Angeles Dodgers have put themselves in control of the NL West thanks to a big push over the last three weeks. Derek Lowe has more than done his part during that stretch.
Lowe looks to win his fourth straight start when he takes the mound Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates as the Dodgers try to increase their lead in the NL West.
The Dodgers (78-72) have won 13 of their last 15 games since Aug. 30 and bounced back from a 1-0 loss to Colorado on Sunday with an 8-2 win over the Pirates (63-87) on Monday. Juan Pierre and Manny Ramirez each had three hits, and Hiroki Kuroda pitched seven scoreless innings for Los Angeles’ fifth win in its last six games.
Pierre, starting a third consecutive game with Andre Ethier attending the birth of his first child, hit his first home run in 1,070 at-bats since his drive off the Phillies’ Jon Lieber on Sept. 18, 2006.
The Dodgers are 4 1/2 games ahead of the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NL West with 12 games remaining. Seven of their last 13 wins have come on the road, where they are 33-42 for the season.
The Pirates, meanwhile, were coming off a three-game sweep of the Cardinals over the weekend in which they scored 24 runs. They had lost 17 of their previous 20 games before the sweep and on Monday reverted to their previous struggles. Against the Dodgers, Pittsburgh was shut out until Adam LaRoche hit a two-run homer in the ninth.
LaRoche is hitting .368 (14-for-38) with 14 RBIs in his last 10 games.
Pittsburgh’s Jeff Karstens (2-5, 4.46) takes the mound Tuesday after his scheduled start on Saturday was scratched because of an abscessed tooth.
Pick: LA Dodgers – View game matchup | Best line -170 SBG Global
New York Mets (83-66) at Washington Nationals (57-93)
New York Mets manager Jerry Manuel says he hasn’t had to address all the talk surrounding his team’s late-season collapse last year.
With his club’s lead in the NL East down to the slimmest of margins, now may be the time for that discussion.
The Mets look to maintain their hold on first place and avoid their first three-game skid in six weeks Tuesday night when they continue a four-game series against the Washington Nationals.
One of the most indelible memories from last season was the historic collapse by the Mets (83-66). Leading the East by seven games with 17 to play, New York went 5-12 and lost the division to Philadelphia on the final day of the season and missed the playoffs altogether.
Coming off his worst start in a month, Mike Pelfrey (13-9, 3.77 ERA) hopes to rebound when he faces the Nationals for the second straight outing.
The right-hander was tagged for five runs and eight hits over five innings against Washington on Wednesday, but escaped without a decision as the Mets pulled out a 13-10 victory. Pelfrey, who failed to record a strikeout for only the second time in 29 starts this season, was 3-1 with a 1.86 ERA in his five previous starts.
He is 2-2 with a 4.29 ERA in seven career starts – six at home – against the Nationals.
Pick: Washington – View game matchup | Best line +150 SBG Global
St. Louis Cardinals (78-71) at Cincinnati Reds (68-81)
The St. Louis Cardinals consider themselves a playoff contender, but for the second straight September, they’ve gone into a major slump.
On the verge of playing themselves out of the postseason race, the Cardinals look to avoid their longest losing streak of the season Tuesday when they open a three-game road series against the Cincinnati Reds.
St. Louis (78-71) has dropped five straight games, matching its longest skid of the season from July 21-25. The Cardinals, who trail wild-card co-leaders Milwaukee and Philadelphia by 4 1/2 games with 13 to play, were outscored 24-10 in a three-game weekend sweep at Pittsburgh – the last-place club in the NL Central.
The Cardinals will counter with Braden Looper (12-12, 4.02), who can also set a career high for victories Tuesday. The right-hander, though, has failed in three attempts at his 13th, going 0-2 with a 4.86 ERA in his last three outings.
He was charged with Wednesday’s 4-3 loss to the Cubs, giving up four runs – one earned – and eight hits over five innings.
Since joining the Cardinals rotation at the start of last season, the converted reliever is 3-0 with a 0.93 ERA in four starts versus the Reds.
St. Louis holds a 6-3 edge in the season series with Cincinnati.
Pick: St. Louis – View game matchup | Best line +105 SBG Global
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