Bryan Power

8* Cleveland (8:10 ET): This will be the Tribe's third city in three days (Tampa Bay, Boston), but don't think that will bother them as they've been rolling w/ four straight wins, including 7-3 in Fenway Park (make-up game) Monday night. Prior to that, they'd won three in a row in Tampa, including two shutouts. The pitching staff is now at full strength w/ Danny Salazar back in the fold and that is who will pitch Tuesday in Minnesota. This is a revenge spot for the Indians, who were swept last month (at home) by the Twins. But, curiously, Cleveland has been better on the road this year as their record is 33-25 and they've outscored foes by 0.6 rpg. The Twins, meanwhile, have been a horrid home team as they've been outscored by a full run per game, going 27-33.

Cleveland is actually a perfect 7-0 here at Target Field this season! These teams have played 12 times in 2017 and the road team has won 11 of them. Maybe that's not too surprising considering both teams have better records on the road than at home. The Twins have the worst home run differential in the American League as they're giving up an average of 5.7 runs per game. That's easily the most in all of baseball. Strange as it may be to hear, there actually appears to be a "road team advantage" in this AL Central rivalry.

Salazar has a 1.96 ERA his L3 starts. Sadly, the team has lost the last two times he's taken the mound, but don't blame the pitcher for that. He's allowed just two runs and has 20 K's in 12 1/3 IP. Since returning to the rotation, he's allowed only FOUR runs in 25 1/3 IP and has 36 IP. Those are really good numbers, obviously. Earlier this year, Salazar beat Minnesota (here at Targe Field, of course) by allowing just one run in six innings. Pitching opposite him today will be veteran Bartolo Colon. The portly southpaw broke in w/ Cleveland two decades ago and while he's enjoyed a successful career, he's no longer the pitcher he once was. Yes, he did throw seven shutout innings his last time out and a complete game before that, but he has a 6.77 ERA and 1.622 WHIP for the year (18 starts) and given all that I've told you so far, it should not come as a surprise to see the numbers get WORSE at home. 8* Cleveland

8* Milwaukee (7:40 ET): Last month (7/17-7/20), the Pirates swept a four-game series from the Brewers. That seemed to signal a renaissance for the Bucs, who at the time had climbed back to .500. But their mediocre string of baseball has instead continued as they're now back two games below (.500) and in fourth place of the wide open NL Central. Compared to the three teams above them, their run differential is clearly inferior as it's "in the red" (negative) whereas the other three teams have all outscored the opposition this season. One of them is obviously Milwaukee, who spent much of the year in first place. But getting swept by the Bucs signaled a clear downturn here as they're 9-18 their L27 games. But I like the revenge angle here in this short two-game set and following B2B wins, feel the Brew Crew may be back on track.

Milwaukee had lost six in a row prior to beating Cincinnati both Saturday and Sunday. The offense definitely woke up against the Reds, scoring 23 times in the three games. That's a good sign going up against the Pirates' Ivan Nova, who has a 5.71 ERA and 1.616 WHIP his L3 starts. Last time out, Nova was hit hard, giving up six runs and 10 hits. While it would be easy to blame that performance on being in an AL park, Nova had also allowed 4+ ER his previous three starts and two of those were against San Diego, the worst offensive team in the sport. When he faced Milwaukee last month, part of that four-game sweep, obviously Nova won. But he also was lucky to give up only three runs as he allowed 10 hits over the six innings. 

Pitching here for Milwaukee will be Zach Davies. He too was terrible his last time out, giving up seven runs and 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings. But the difference between he and Nova was that Davies has been pitching well previously. In fact, "well" would be putting it mildly. It was four consecutive quality starts, going seven innings or more every time and he allowed just four runs TOTAL. He had gone 6-1 w/ a 2.38 ERA in his eight starts prior to the last one. Davies did pitch in the last series between these teams and pitched well, giving up just one run (unearned) in 7 IP. I'm a big believer in the revenge angle here and Milwaukee has simply been better at home this year. They also have the better starter. Add it up and it's a win! 8* Milwaukee

8* San Francisco (7:10 ET): In what's been a disastrous season for the team, Madison Bumgarner has had either "no" or "bad" luck. Despite a 2.71 ERA and 1.025 WHIP, he has a 2-8 TSR. One of those wins did come last time out however as he allowed only five hits in 7 IP and one run - on a solo HR. Over his L3 starts, he has a 1.29 ERA and 0.905 WHIP, having given up three runs and just 15 hits in 21 IP. While he missed three full months this season due to a dirtbike accident, Bumgarner has allowed 3 ER or fewer in 9 of his 10 starts. I feel he should extend that streak here against a Marlins team that is prime fade material right now off four straight wins. The Giants also have revenge, not just for last night, but for a three-game sweep that occurred right before the All-Star Break. 

Giancarlo Stanton homered again last night (43rd, team record) in Miami's 8-3 win. It was a 3-3 game after three innings, but from there the Giants didn't score again while the Marlins added five more. Incredibly, Stanton has now hit 22 times in the last 34 games. But like his team's recent bout of success, I do not believe that to be sustainable. Prior to last night's win, Miami was just 2-8 this year when on a win streak of three games or more. The Fish have been outscored at home this year and their longest win streak of the year is four games - so winning again would be "foreign territory."

Dan Straily will start today for Miami. Like Bumgarner, he's pitched better than the team start record suggests, just not as well as Bumgarner. The Marlins have lost each of the past six times Straily has started and he's failed to make it past the sixth inning in any of the starts. Personally, he's gone 0-4 w/ a 5.17 ERA during the span. The only issue Bumgarner has faced is a lack of run support w/ the Giants scoring one run or less in half of his starts. I project they'll fare far better against Straily tonight and thus beat the Marlins for the 1st time in '17. 8* San Francisco