Larry Ness

My 9* Pitching Mismatch Of the Month is on the Tex Rangers at 7:05 ET.

The Texas Rangers edged the LA Angels 8-7 (11 inn.) on Monday and then split a doubleheader with them on Tuesday, with a 3-2 win in 11 innings Tuesday night.The team's second straight 11-inning win moved the 62-65 Rangers into a virtual tie with the 63-66 Angels for third place in the AL West but both teams are 19 games back of the Astros. As for any wild card hopes, that 'ship has left port' as well, as both teams are 11 games back of the final spot. At stake is nothing more than this. The Rangers haven't won a series since sweeping Detroit to open August and have not taken a series from a team other than the Tigers since June 21-23 against the Chicago White Sox.

Taking the mound tonight will be LA's Patrick Sandoval (0-1, 5.79 ERA), squaring off against the Rangers' Mike Minor (11-7, 2.94 ERA). Sandoval pitched a solid five innings of relief in his MLB debut back on August 5 (2 ERs) but has struggled in back-to-back starts, allowing seven ERs over nine innings (7.00 ERA), with almost as many walks (5), as Ks (7). There was lots of talk that Minor would be moved by the trade deadline but he's still in Arlington. He did see his personal three-game winning streak come to an end Friday against Minnesota, giving up four runs (three earned) in seven innings. However, he's had some season for Texas, allowing three ERs or less in 19 of his 25 starts.

Minor recorded his first career shutout with a three-hitter against the Angels back on April 16 and is 3-0 in six career starts vs LA (teams are 4-2), while posting a 2.55 ERA. Minor over Sandoval is a clear "Pitching Mismatch."

Good luck...Larry

My 10* Game of the Week is on the Oak A's at 10:07 ET.

The Oakland Athletics opened a nine-game homestand last Thursday by taking THREE of four against the AL West-leading Houston Astros. After a Monday "off day," the A's got off to a good start vs another division leader, posting a 6-2 victory over the AL East-leading New York Yankees. Oakland now seeks its SEVENTH victory in its last nine contests when it hosts the Yankees on Wednesday for the middle contest of a three-game series. The 83-44 Yankees own a dominating 10-game lead in their division, while the 72-53 A's find themselves EIGHT games back of the Astros in their division. However, Monday's win pulled Oakland even with Tampa Bay for the AL's second wild-card spot.

Tonight's pitching matchup will feature J.A. Happ (10-7, 5.40 ERA) going up against Mike Fiers (11-3, 3.46 ERA). Happ's been a disappointment for New York but did deliver his best performance in nearly a month last Wednesday, allowing two runs on six hits in five innings of a 6-5 victory over Baltimore. Then again, it was against the Orioles! Let's note that his 5.40 ERA is almost 1 1/2 runs higher than his career ERA (4.01) and his .276 BAA is 25 points higher than his lifetime mark (.251). I guess one could point to his 4-1 record and 3.96 ERA in nine starts (teams are 7-2) and two relief appearances against Oakland in his career but one could easily file that under "old news," just as easily.

Fiers escaped with a no-decision against Houston last Thursday, after surrendering five runs and six hits (including 4 HRs!) over six innings but the A's would win, 7-6. Fiers will take the mound tonight looking to claim his 10th consecutive winning decision. He is unbeaten in his last 18 starts, a stretch that began with a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Reds back on May 7. The A's are 13-4 in those 18 starts, with one suspended game (Qakland led 5-3 at the time). Most impressively, Fiers had allowed three ERs or less in ALL 17 of those starts (had allowed two ERs or less 13 times) , prior to his last outing! Fiers is 9-0 with a 2.40 ERA in 18 starts since throwing that no-hitter vs the Reds.

Let me remind everyone here that Fiers was acquired by the A's (from Detroit) in early August of 2018 and Oakland went 8-1 (+$812) in his nine starts. Add that to his 13-8 (+$1,085) moneyline record with the Tigers and Fiers was MLB's top MONEY-MAKER among all starters in 2018 (21-9, +$1,897). He's followed that season with the one I just detailed above, including a 16-9 record in team starts (+$766). Pretty impressive, right? What's more, the A's are an impressive 21-10 at home vs lefties in 2019, averaging 5.5 RPG. That includes a 9-3 (75%) record in night games. Oakland should have little trouble here vs Happ, who hasn't won on the road since June 6 at Toronto (note: Happ owns a 4.31 ERA in six games, including five starts in Oakland).

Good luck...Larry

My 8* Daytime Dominator is on the Cin Reds at 12:25 ET.

The San Diego Padres and Cincinnati Reds have opened their three-game series by splitting a pair of 3-2 contests. San Diego won Monday and Cincinnati returned the favor last night. The one-run loss ended the Padres' modest three-game road winning streak, while the Red won for just the THIRD time in their last 10 contests. Each 59-66 team has less than 40 games remaining in their seasons and each sit EIGHT games behind the second wild card spot with FIVE teams ahead of them. The rubber game of the series goes early this afternoon, with the Reds looking to clinch their first season series over the Padres since 2012.

Wednesday's pitching matchup will feature Matt Strahm (5-8, 5.21 ERA) and Luis Castillo (11-5, 3.10 ERA). Strahm began the season in the starting rotation, going 3-7 with a 5.42 ERA prior to the All Star break (15 games) but has been used exclusively out of the bullpen since. He hasn't pitched more than two innings in 14 relief appearances since the break and will likely serve as "an opener" in this one. Castillo has already set a career high for wins and boasts a strong 3.10 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and .201 BAA during his All-Star 2019 campaign. However, he was roughed up at home Friday night when he allowed a career-worst eight runs, allowing three HRs among the nine hits he gave up (in just 4.1 innings). Then again, Castillo entered that contest 2-0 with a 2.61 ERA in his previous three starts

As noted above, Strahm "wont be around long," before turning it over to a San Diego bullpen which owns a 4.68 ERA (19th in MLB) and has a MLB-high 24 blown saves (tied with the Nats). Expect a strong "bounce-back" effort from Castillo, who has allowed three ERs or less in 20 of his 25 starts in 2019 and here at Great American Ball Park, owns a 2.97 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and .195 BAA.

Good luck...Larry