Preview: White Sox at Reds
Gracenote
Jul 4, 2018
Avisail Garcia is showing quite the power display since returning from a hamstring injury. After going deep in the series opener on Monday, Garcia launched a pair of solo shots to help the Chicago White Sox (30-55) even the interleague series against the Cincinnati Reds (37-49) heading into Wednesday's finale at Great American Ball Park.
Garcia, who is riding a career-high 13-game hitting streak, went deep in the sixth and ninth innings to improve to 5-for-10 in the series and 19-for-52 with six homers and nine RBIs in 12 contests since returning from injury. Yoan Moncada joined Garcia with three hits on Tuesday and five in the series after ripping a bases-clearing triple in the 12th inning before coming around to score on Yolmer Sanchez's triple in a 12-8 victory. While Chicago rallied to its sixth win in 19 outings overall, it did little to cool off Cincinnati's red-hot bats as the Reds have scored 33 runs over their last four contests. Eugenio Suarez had one of his team's three homers to extend his hitting streak to seven games, during which he has scored six times and driven in five runs.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, NBCS Chicago, FS Ohio (Cincinnati)
PITCHING MATCHUP: White Sox RH Dylan Covey (3-3, 4.82 ERA) vs. Reds RH Sal Romano (4-8, 5.30)
Covey fell to 0-2 with a 12.71 ERA in his last three starts after getting blitzed for nine runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings of an 11-3 setback at Texas. The 26-year-old was taken deep on four occasions in that contest and six times in his last three outings after keeping the ball in the park in each of his previous six trips to the mound. Covey will be making his 28th career appearance and first versus Cincinnati on Wednesday.
Romano sustained his first loss since June 6 despite permitting just two runs in five innings of an 8-2 setback versus Milwaukee. The 24-year-old was taken deep in that contest and has yielded eight homers in his last eight trips to the mound. Romano has fared better at Great American Ball Park, with his ERA (4.77) nearly a run and a half less than on the road while limiting the opposition to a .248 batting average.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cincinnati 2B Scooter Gennett has six hits -- including a homer -- and five runs scored in his last three games.
2. Chicago SS Tim Anderson has seven multi-hit performances during a stretch in which he has hit safely in 11 of his last 12 contests.
3. Reds 1B Joey Votto is 0-for-9 with four strikeouts in the series.
PREDICTION: Reds 5, White Sox 4
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Preview: Pirates at Dodgers
Gracenote
Jul 4, 2018
The Los Angeles Dodgers look to complete a punishing sweep when they host the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday for the finale of their three-game series. The Dodgers belted six homers in Tuesday's 8-3 victory and have outscored Pittsburgh 25-4 in the first two contests.
Max Muncy has hit three home runs in the series - including two on Tuesday - and Chris Taylor, who also went deep, recorded three hits and two RBIs for the second straight night. Los Angeles has hit 10 homers among 32 hits in the series and has launched a National League-leading 122 blasts on the season. Matt Kemp was hitless in four at-bats and struck out three times after going 5-for-5 with a homer and five RBIs in the series opener. The Pirates have dropped nine of their last 13 games to fall five games below .500.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, SportsNet LA (Los Angeles)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Pirates RH Clay Holmes (0-0, 2.25 ERA) vs. Dodgers LH Rich Hill (1-3, 4.68)
Pittsburgh needs a starter after placing Joe Musgrove (finger) on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday. The Pirates are expected to turn to Holmes, who has not pitched since he tossed two hitless innings of relief against Arizona on June 24. Before his recall, Holmes went 6-3 with a 3.39 ERA in 13 appearances (12 starts) for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Hill struck out a season-high 10 batters in 6 2/3 innings against Colorado in his last turn but was the hard-luck loser after giving up one run and six hits. The 38-year-old has registered 21 strikeouts and issued three walks in 17 2/3 frames since returning from a back injury. Hill is 2-3 with a 3.25 ERA in nine career starts against the Pirates.
WALK-OFFS
1. Los Angeles OF Joc Pederson homered in each of the first two games of the series and has gone deep in four of his last nine contests.
2. Pittsburgh recalled Dovydas Neverauskas from Indianapolis and optioned fellow RHP Tanner Anderson to the same affiliate.
3. Muncy is 14-for-37 with seven homers and eight RBIs over his last 11 games.
PREDICTION: Dodgers 8, Pirates 5
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Preview: Giants at Rockies
Gracenote
Jul 4, 2018
The Colorado Rockies seek their first home sweep of the season when they take on the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday in the finale of their three-game set. The Rockies, whose only series sweep of the year came against the Mets in New York from May 4-6, trounced the Giants 8-1 on Tuesday for their fifth win in six games.
Nolan Arenado belted a three-run shot for his National League-leading 22nd homer of the season and Charlie Blackmon also went deep during a 3-for-5 performance for Colorado, which has outscored San Francisco 13-3 over the first two games of the series. Arenado has homered in nine of his last 14 contests, collecting 21 RBIs in that span. The Giants recorded only six hits - all singles - on Tuesday as they fell to 3-2 on their six-game road trip. Alen Hanson and Brandon Belt each notched two hits in the setback, with the latter registering his third two-hit effort in six contests.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, NBCS Bay Area (San Francisco), AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Colorado)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Giants LH Andrew Suarez (3-4, 4.18 ERA) vs. Rockies LH Tyler Anderson (5-3, 4.23)
Suarez improved to 2-0 during his seven-start unbeaten streak on Friday, when he allowed just one run and seven hits over six innings at Arizona. The 25-year-old Floridian rookie has given up more than two runs only twice during the stretch while serving up just three home runs over 39 1/3 frames. Suarez's streak began on May 28 at Colorado, where he escaped with a no-decision after yielding four runs and five hits over five innings in his first career outing versus the Rockies.
Anderson avoided a third consecutive loss in a big way on Friday, scattering four hits over a career-high eight scoreless innings en route to a victory over the Dodgers in Los Angeles. The 28-year-old native of Las Vegas is 4-0 on the road this season but has struggled at home, going 1-3 with a 5.26 ERA in seven turns. Anderson has yet to defeat the Giants in his career, going 0-2 with a 5.56 ERA in four starts - including a no-decision at San Francisco on May 20 in which he surrendered five runs and six hits over 5 1/3 innings.
WALK-OFFS
1. Hanson has gone 5-for-10 in his last three games against the Rockies.
2. Colorado placed Chad Bettis (finger) on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday and recalled fellow RHP Antonio Senzatela, who worked seven scoreless innings in the win over the Giants, from Triple-A Albuquerque.
3. San Francisco's starting rotation will receive a boost during its four-game weekend series against St. Louis as Johnny Cueto (elbow) is expected to start the opener on Thursday while fellow RHP Jeff Samardzija (shoulder) will take the mound two days later.
PREDICTION: Giants 6, Rockies 2
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Preview: Indians at Royals
Gracenote
Jul 4, 2018
The Cleveland Indians are a season-high 10 1/2 games up in the American League Central and appear as if they may run away with the division title. They'll try to continue taking advantage of another weak division rival when they look to finish off a three-game sweep against the host Kansas City Royals on Wednesday.
Yan Gomes slugged a go-ahead grand slam to lift Cleveland to a 6-4 victory on Tuesday, giving the Indians - who have scored 30 runs during their three-game winning streak - a 27-13 record against the AL Central. Francisco Lindor added two hits and scored a run in improving to 10-for-20 with four homers, 11 RBIs and nine runs scored during his five-game hitting streak. He likely will be getting his first look at rookie Trevor Oaks, who is expected to step in for the injured Ian Kennedy to make the start for the Royals - losers of five straight. Trevor Bauer carries a 2.40 road ERA into the start for Cleveland.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Trevor Bauer (7-6, 2.45 ERA) vs. Royals RH Trevor Oaks (0-1, 7.45)
Bauer went 3-3 in June despite posting a 2.18 ERA and striking out 62 batters in 41 1/3 innings. He dominated the Royals through eight frames early in the season before giving up five runs and a season-high 11 hits over a season-low 4 2/3 frames in a rematch on May 11. That left the 27-year-old with a 2-4 career record versus Kansas City.
Oaks figures to be called up from Triple-A Omaha to start in place of Kennedy, who was placed on the 10-day disabled list Tuesday due to an oblique strain. The 25-year-old Oaks has gone 5-3 with a 2.00 ERA in 13 starts for Omaha, allowing two runs in 22 1/3 innings since being sent down in June. Oaks never has faced the Indians.
WALK-OFFS
1. Royals 3B Mike Moustakas (back spasms) was a late scratch on Tuesday.
2. The Indians placed Lonnie Chisenhall (calf) on the 10-day disabled list and recalled fellow OF Greg Allen from Triple-A Columbus.
3. Cleveland leads the AL with eight grand slams.
PREDICTION: Indians 7, Royals 2
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Preview: Cardinals at Diamondbacks
Gracenote
Jul 4, 2018
Flipping the calendar has done nothing to slow down Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who was named the National League Player of the Month for June after hitting .364 with eight multihit games. The five-time All-Star looks to maintain his torrid pace Wednesday when the Diamondbacks face the visiting St. Louis Cardinals in the rubber match of their three-game series.
Goldschmidt is hitting .413 with 11 homers and 28 RBIs over his past 26 games, including a three-run blast in Tuesday’s 4-2 victory. Closer Brad Boxberger pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 20th save in 24 chances for the Diamondbacks, who snapped a four-game losing streak and improved to 22-12 since May 28. St. Louis lost for the fifth time in their last six games and had a new right fielder in Jose Martinez, who went 1-for-4 while batting third. The 29-year-old has started 72 games at first base this season but made his first start in right field Tuesday as part of the team’s effort to improve its infield defense while keeping Martinez’s potent bat in the lineup.
TV: 10:10 p.m. ET, ESPN, FS Midwest (St. Louis), FS Arizona
PITCHING MATCHUP: Cardinals RH Miles Mikolas (8-3, 2.61 ERA) vs. Diamondbacks LH Patrick Corbin (6-3, 3.14)
Mikolas suffered from poor run support again last Tuesday and took the loss against Atlanta after giving up one run in 6 1/3 innings. The 29-year-old native of Florida posted a 2.68 ERA and 21-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio in six starts in June but received one run or fewer of support in four of those outings. Mikolas is facing Arizona for the first time since 2012, when he made two relief appearances as a member of the San Diego Padres.
Corbin received a no-decision against San Francisco last Friday after allowing one run on four hits over six strong innings. The 28-year-old native New Yorker is winless in his last four starts but has given up just one earned run and posted a 17-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio over his last 13 innings. Matt Carpenter is 1-for-10 with five strikeouts against Corbin, who is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four career starts versus St. Louis.
WALK-OFFS
1. St. Louis C Yadier Molina has hit 11 of his 12 home runs this season on the road.
2. Arizona RHP Yoshihisa Hirano has a franchise-record 26-game scoreless streak.
3. The Cardinals are 15-7 at Chase Field under manager Mike Matheny.
PREDICTION: Diamondbacks 5, Cardinals 3
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