VIC DUKE
Royals vs. Giants
Play:Royals +113
The Royals are a solid 19-7 in Interleague road games and should hold off SF in a low scoring game. KC is a strong 16-6 in its last 22 with Vargas starting. Vargas sports a solid 1.83 ERA over his last 3 starts and should paralyze the light hitting Giants' bats; after all, SF drives in a meager 3.31 RPG on a .231 BA vs lefties. On the other hand, the Royals don't make lots of noise against lefties either. They face a pretty good one in Blach, who's been solid all season at home. But the Giants are struggling off wins at 17-42 and just 1-4 in their last 5 vs lefty starters. Give the edge to the Royals here.
Chris Jordan
My free play for Tuesday night will be on the Pittsburgh Pirates, over the Colorado Rockies. I won't list pitchers, as it doesn't really matter, especially when Bucs-ace Gerrit Cole is struggling anyway.
No, the real story here is the Pirates streaking to three wins in a row, and welcoming the travel-weary Rockies to town. Yeah, Colorado is in first place in the National League West, and just won seven in a row - including three at Wrigley Field over the defending World Series champion Chicago Cubs - but they've lost two in a row.
Last night the Rockies lost the series-opener, 7-2, and that will help with the Pirates' confidence at the plate. Pittsburgh has had plenty of confidence this month, with June's third-best batting average, at .313, just one point behind the New York Yankees.
And even though I'm not listing pitchers, make note Cole is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three career starts against Colorado. So there.
Take Pittsburgh in this one.
3* PIRATES
Jack Brayman
Scored a 30 Dimer on the San Diego Padres last night, and tonight they're my complimentary winner. While them and Cincinnati Reds brass celebrated Draft Day, the teams opened a three-game set at Petco Park. And as we saw, San Diego took full advantage of a suffering Cincy team that is now mired in a four-game skid.
The Reds continue their West coast swing after getting drubbed in Los Angeles by the Dodgers, and in last night's series lid-lifter.
Yes, the Reds won four straight over the St. Louis Cardinals before getting swept by the Dodgers over the weekend at Chavez Ravine, but Cincinnati also caught the Redbirds during a terrible road trip and took full advantage.
Once again, I'm not listing pitchers, though the Padres will have a good shot against Scott Feldman if he indeed goes tonight. Feldman is 2-2 with a 5.26 ERA in five road starts this year.
Let's take a shot with the Padres tonight, as they catch the Reds at the right time.
5* PADRES
Eric Schroeder
My free play for Tuesday night is on the Chicago White Sox over the Baltimore Orioles.
The teams opened their series in the South Side, in what was being billed as a matchup of slumping teams. But the Orioles were demoralized in the Bronx over the weekend, and then had to head to Chicago to continue their road trip.
The White Sox returned home after losing two of three in Cleveland, where they concluded an eight-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Indians on Sunday.
But the Pale Hose were in a better position to right their ship, and did with last night's 10-7 win. The Orioles have lost four consecutive games by a combined margin of 54-16.
Not only is Baltimore mired in a five-game slump, but it is also in a 6-15 rut and is batting a meager .243 in June, the eighth-worst batting average this month.
Take the White Sox, don't list pitchers.
2* WHITE SOX
Jeff Benton
New season series between the Yanks and Halos started last night the same way it ended last season...with an Under.
These teams have played 4 straight Under the posted price, and are now 9-1-2 Under the total the last 12 times these teams have played.
With CC Sabathia on fire - 5 straight starts allowing 2 runs or less - and the Under on a 5-1 run the last 6 times CC has toed the slab, think it is best to look for another series Under in Anaheim tonight.
JC Ramirez will counter, and while his ERA is over 6 for his last 3 starts, he has seen the Under go 7-4 this season in his 11 starts.
Yanks-Angels Under on Tuesday.
3* N.Y. YANKEES-L.A. ANGELS UNDER
Brad Wilton
Tuesday night's comp play is to ride the red-hot Yankees to extend their winning streak to 7 in a row. New York used an Aaron Judge 8th inning, 2 run homer to break a 3-3 tie last night, as the Yankees won their 6th in a row.
New York is now 8-1 the last 9 series meetings, and they will have California-native CC Sabathia on the mound looking to keep his personal run rolling. CC enters this start on a personal 5 game winning streak that has seen him allow just 2 runs or less in all 5 of those starts.
The Yankees are 6-2 in Sabathia's last 8 starts against the Angels, so no need to think too long over this release, especially with JC Ramirez toting in an over 6 ERA for this last 3 starts.
Plenty of transplanted Yankees fans living in Orange County, and they sure made some noise last night when Judge went yard. More noise tonight, as NY stays hot.
4* N.Y. YANKEES