Thursday’s MLB Picks
Our team of writers and handicappers dove into Thursday’s baseball matchups and hand out three of their top picks for the day.
New York Yankees 61-52 at Texas Rangers 60-54
The New York Yankees had to be encouraged with their performance on the field Wednesday, when they ended a road slump by beating a fellow wild-card contender. Off the field, bad news on the injury front kept coming.
The Yankees look to overcome more health woes and salvage a split of a four-game series against the Texas Rangers on Thursday night at Rangers Ballpark.
The Yankees did get closer Mariano Rivera back Wednesday. Rivera, who hadn’t pitched since Friday because of back spasms, gave up one hit in the ninth and remained perfect in 27 save opportunities this season.
Rivera helped hold the Rangers (60-55) to their lowest run total since a 10-2 defeat to the Chicago White Sox on July 22. In 13 games between those losses, Texas averaged 7.6 runs and batted .302 while going 8-5.
Texas could have a hard time getting back on track offensively against New York’s Mike Mussina (14-7, 3.44 ERA), who’s won four of his last five decisions with a 2.37 ERA in that six-start stretch. The right-hander limited the Los Angeles Angels to two runs – one earned – and two hits in seven innings of an 8-2 victory Saturday.
Pick: NY Yankees – View game matchup | Best line -144 SBG Global
Los Angeles Dodgers 56-56 at St. Louis Cardinals 63-52
Ryan Ludwick is helping the St. Louis Cardinals build momentum heading into a key weekend series with their biggest rival.
With one of the major’s hottest hitters in the lineup and ace Kyle Lohse on the mound, the Cardinals try to sweep their three-game set from the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday afternoon at Busch Stadium.
The Cardinals likely will be in for a challenge against Los Angeles rookie Clayton Kershaw (1-3, 4.02), who has not allowed a run in his last 12 innings over two games.
After giving up four hits in six innings to record his first career victory in a 2-0 win over Washington on July 27, Kershaw posted the same line and didn’t factor in the decision of a 2-1 loss to Arizona on Friday.
Manny Ramirez continued to swing the bat well since being traded to Los Angeles form Boston last Thursday. He went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs on Wednesday and is 12-for-20 with three home runs and seven RBIs in five games with the Dodgers.
Pick: LA Dodgers – View game matchup | Best line +115 SBG Global
Florida Marlins 60-53 Philadelphia Phillies 61-51
The Philadelphia Phillies won the 2007 NL East title despite lackluster pitching, but they were confident they’d have a chance to win nearly every time Cole Hamels took the mound.
That hasn’t been the case lately.
Hamels will look for his first win in more than a month on Thursday, when the Phillies play the decisive game of their series against the visiting Florida Marlins.
While his ERA has stayed low in 2008, Hamels (9-7, 3.37 ERA) has struggled lately, pitching only 9 2-3 innings in his last two starts while allowing 14 runs – eight earned. The left-hander has also given up eight home runs in the five outings since his last victory at Atlanta on July 3.
While Volstad (2-2, 3.25) has never faced Philadelphia, Hamels has experienced mixed results against the Marlins this season. After giving up seven runs in 5 2-3 innings of a 7-3 loss on May 31, Hamels has allowed four runs and seven hits while striking out 20 in 16 innings during his last two outings versus Florida.
Pick: Philadelphia – View game matchup | Best line -200 SBG Global
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