Joe Gavazzi
Chicago Cubs +110
This is a single makeup game to complete the season series following an earlier rain out. It is a matchup of 2 teams headed opposite directions with this underdog price making the Cubs our Dog of the Day! The White Sox were just swept at Tampa Bay dropping their recent record to 10-27 and 2-9. Though Santiago has pitched decently for the season, that has not been true from this mound where Santiago has a 4.30 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and .281 OBA. The Cubs enter with great confidence on a 7-4 run after defeating the best team in baseball in a pair of close games. Garza is pitching to get out of Chicago as his name continues to circulate prior to the trade deadline. In his last 4 starts, Garza is 3-0 with an 0.90 ERA while in 6 road starts, Garza has a 2.41 ERA. The better team and better pitcher along with current form make this our Dog of the Day!
Scott Delaney
Meet Matt Harvey.
They're calling him the best pitcher in baseball, and with the All-Star Game a little more than a week away in his ballpark - CitiField in Queens, N.Y., it may take this game right here to prove the critics right, and earn him the starting nod over the Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw.
Personally, I think the young right-hander is up to task, and will get it done over the Giants and Tim Lincecum. I don't think he's the best pitcher in baseball - I am convinced it's Kershaw. But I think for baseball's sake, he deserves to the be the starter on his own field, and tonight he'll show why.
Harvey, who is 7-2 with a 2.27 ERA on the year, will be looking to rebound from his worst outing of the year, last week against the D-backs, who tagged hhim for a season-high five earned runs while matching a season worst with three walks. His ERA climbed to 2.27. However, the NL Cy Young Award candidate still struck out nine.
Tonight he has to step up, and I want you listing only him in this game.
2♦ N.Y. METS