Orioles are playing the Angels, nuff said in my opinion. Orioles have been struggling mightily in the pitching area. Expect the Angels to rout them tonight. All Angles hitters should be able to find their groove again after a somewhat tough offensive force at the plate. Expect Trout and Ohtani to have a really good game.
BAL: Mancini, Alberto, Santander
LAA: Trout, Ohtani, Simmons, Upton
Tigers @ Mariners (VerHagen vs TBD)
Oh great the Tigers, how weird is this team? This team is statistically better on away games than home games even though the team is downright terrible this season. The Mariners are also terrible this season after fizzling off from a hot start. I expect the Tigers to come out on top of this disgusting looking game in Seattle. Pitchers will continue to get rattled in this series.
Hello everyone, welcome back from the long awaited posts. I apologize, I was on vacation and was too busy to write up the daily posts for awhile and the internet connection was very slow which made it impossible for posting the picks. With that being said I did also miss out on watching most of the baseball games. Still no big trade moves announced and the trade deadline is fast approaching so we will see which teams will pull the trigger on deals. The most interesting teams right now who are rising in momentum are the Giants, Nationals, and the Athletics. Outside of those teams most teams are staying pretty consistent with their season performance so far.
Rockies @ Nationals (Freeland vs Corbin) GAME 2
Well this is odd, the Rockies were penned by many to make the post season but as of right now they are on the outside looking in. For the Nationals, they were expected to make the postseason by many analysts as a wild card but now they soon could be making a run for the NL East title. We have to give the upper hand to the Nationals here in this home game. Rockies are slumping and have had some small streaks here and there but the will and drive for the Nationals should be enough to get a solid win. Most of the Bats hitters are red hot like Trea Turner and Soto. Their pitching has gotten much better and their closer Doolittle is still one of the most feared NL closers. Rockies have literally been a hit or miss team with Bud Black playing musical chairs with some position players. Tapia as of late has been seen as a great plug in for them as he brings speed and contact. Blackmon has been pretty iffy lately when not at home, until consistency picks up he’s not going to be picked.
COL: Tapia, Wolters, Dahl, Desmond
WSH: Soto, Robles, Turner, Dozier, Rendon
Washington Nationals’ Trea Turner, left, watches his solo home run in front of Colorado Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta and umpire Jerry Meals in the first inning of a baseball game, Tuesday, July 23, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Angels @ Dodgers (Barria vs Stripling)
It’s the Battle of LA part 2, electric boogaloo. After the Dodgers got swept in Angels stadium they will look for answers on how to sweep them at home in this revenge series. Dodgers could afford to lose these games as they pretty much have the NL West under lock.We think the series will be split between them and the Angels will have a small chance to catch up to some AL Wildcard spots in the future days. Angels are still riding on the momentum from honoring Skaggs who massed away earlier this season. There are still some players coming back from injury for the Angels but there should be a good show in LA tonight. Both of these pitchers aren’t considered elite so there should be a plethora of hits for both teams. As always Bellinger, should be able to put the ball in play for some hits tonight.
LAA: Pujos, Trout, Rengifo, Simmons, Upton
LAD: Bellinger, Martin, Verdugo, Pollock
Angels are 3-0 against the Dodgers this year, they are looking forward to making is undefeated against the Dodgers in this ultimate showdown to call LA home for MLB fans in 2019.
We had a barnstormer of a game out in Colorado and in Philadelphia for the visiting teams. Of note, Crawford went 5-6 in a game which they won by 17 runs. Dodgers took the Phillies by storm in a commanding showcase of offense. The game was practically over in the 5th inning after they were up by 6 but continued to bat around and tallied a total of 19 team hits. Its safe to say that the Dodgers are back to their normal selves after being embarrassed by the Padres a few weeks ago. A crucial game between the Yankees and the Rays came down to the wire but was won by a single man named d’Arnaud. The catcher for the Rays had himself a 3 home run game with 4 RBI’s. It was an impressive outing for the Rays as they continue to climb closer to the Yankees. They’ll need these other wins against the Yankees moving forward as this is the last series between the two.
Travis d’Arnaud shows off his power by clubbing 3 homers in a single game in front of home fans in Tampa Bay.
Dodgers @ Phillies (Buehler vs Velasquez)
The trend is your friend! I know it’s cheap to pick the Dodgers hitters but they are really hot right now. Bellinger is seeing the baseball like a beachball right now and is simply unstoppable. Buehler has only lost once this year and that was earlier at Philadelphia. It’s safe to say that he comes away with another win in his column today. Velasquez has been pedestrian this year belting an ERA of 4.6 and only having 63 strikeouts in his back pocket. Phillies are stretched thin and determined to win in a surprisingly heated NL East race. The only good news for the Phillies? Only two more games against the Dodgers here in Philly. Be cautious picking Philly hitters as they are power hungry and will chase Buehler’s pitchers away.
LAD: Bellinger, Freese, Muncy, Verdugo
PHI: Harper, Bruce
Astros @ Angels (TBD vs Heaney)
If you would have told me the Angels had a chance to make the wild card in spring training, I would have had you locked in a loony bin. Yet here we are, in the heart of the season and the Angels are demonstrating a strong case to climb the ladder to make a wild card spot. Time will tell if it will be too late but it seems that they have turned on the afterburners in memorial for “45.” Trout is having probably his best season right now and with a supporting cast of Pujos and Simmons, they have enough to go the distance. The only question will be is if the injury bug will catch up to them as Lucroy has been rattled, All-Star La Stella fouled a ball off his leg and is out for some time, and now Trout with a calf strain (day-to-day). If the Angels make the post season Brad Asmus deserves to win manager of the year.
Well the impressive series is over between the Dodgers and the Red Sox. Dodgers took the last two games to win the series. Red Sox offense was hung up and became stagnant in clutch moments. It was interesting to see these two teams again in the regular season but it is likely that these exact two teams won’t meet each-other in the World Series. Red Sox woes are still continuing and it’s hard to pen this team in if they don’t turn their struggles around. Too much momentum is building in the AL West that might kick them out of the Wild Card picture soon.
Giants @ Rockies (Rodriguez vs TBD) GAME 2
This is game 2 of the double header today in Coors Field. I decided not to go with game 1 as I feel Samardjiza will command the mound in that game in a low scoring effort. Rockies pitchers and bullpen have been exposed greatly in the matchups against the Reds. Giants should be able to win this second game with ease. Notable was that Posey sat out last game for the Giants. Blackmon also did not play during his bobblehead night last night in a managers decision. They could be saving their energy for this much needed match up. Let those balls fly high in the mile high city.
SFG: Posey, Panik, Crawford, Dickerson
COL: Blackmon, Dahl, Story, Wolters, Tapia
Reds @ Cubs (Castillo vs Hendricks)
Who doesn’t like a good fashioned NL Central matchup with the division championship within reach? Reds are coming off a very, very hot series with the Rockies in which they were able to hit non-stop. Puig was able to stay pedestrian for the team which has always been a way to see the temperature of how they will fair in games. Phillip Ervin has emerged as a star in the Rockies series and proves that he deserves more time on the field. He’s quickly becoming one of the hottest players to watch. If Ervin stays hot at the plate it will be a tough team to beat when all of the stars are on the same page. Votto has been very iffy at the plate, I would hold off on picking him. For the Cubs, Rizzo is starting to come alive at the plate.
CIN: Senzel, Ervin, Puig, Gannett
CHC: Rizzo, Almora, Contreras, Baez
Phillip Ervin ties a singe game Reds record by going for a perfect 6-6 record at the plate. He raised his batting average a whole .050 to over .300. Look for the manager to give him more playing time going forward.
Last nights game between the Rockies and the Reds ended around 1am local time after a few hours of rain delay. The game featured a grand total of 39 combined hits and had many cycle watches as triples were handed out like candy. Unfortunately this game was so late that it had the least amount of people watching it but fans who stayed at the game were treated to another game filled with offense at Colorado. This stadium is turning into the ideal place to look for hitters due to the recent juiced ball and elevation.
The original start of the Rockies game was delayed for more than 3 hours because of storms in the area. The Rockies played last nights game in the twilight zone.
Giants @ Brewers (Beede vs Chacin)
Maybe this is a broken record here but even after a win yesterday the Brewers are still in a slump. Their offense this year has been worse than last year and they are relying on Yelich to carry this team to the post season. Both of these starting pitchers have an ERA of more than 5 and have lost more games than they have won. Giants are starting to get hot at just the right time. Posey has had a huge turnaround since the beginning of the season.
SFG: Longoria, Pillar, Crawford, Posey
MIL: Yelich, Thames, Moustakas
Pirates @ Cubs (Williams vs Quintana)
This series has been more exciting than it should be for both teams. This game could end up going either way but with more hits than any other game in the series. Newman seems to have earned his starting role back so we should see some balls fly for the Pirates. Baez is having a stellar season for the Cubs not only at the plate but on the field as well. Look for Josh Bell to fall into a comfortable hitting pattern here as they ride this one out to a victory.
Welcome back from the seemingly very long All-Star break in Cleveland, Ohio. The All-Star weekend demonstrated a showing of promising rookies and stand out stars that have been in the league a while. We also had the final All-Star selections for a few senior players like CC Sabathia. It was also a time of reflection for fans as moving tributes were made for the fallen Angel pitcher Tyler Skaggs and an uplifting message to Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco batting leukemia. This years theme was that baseball was just more than a game, it is a way of life. The American League won the annual summer classic 4-3 with Shane Bieber winning MVP of the game. In the Home Run Derby, Pete Alonso edged out Vlad Guerrero Jr in the final even though Vlad Guerrero hit more home runs than Alonso. This was a good display for the MLB to showcase their top rookies in the Home Run Derby, it attracted a lot of fans for years to come.
Jul 9, 2019; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Indians players stand with teammate Carlos Carrasco during the Stand Up For Cancer moment in the 2019 MLB All Star Game at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Before we go any further and into our picks, we should highlight which way teams are trending after the mid-way point in the season. The season is halfway over and the trade deadline is right around the corner so teams that are in contention might be making a move very soon.
Teams Trending Up: Braves, Angels, Padres, Athletics, White Sox, Rangers, Nationals, Pirates, Yankees, Astros, Diamondbacks, Giants. (12)
Astros are getting into a small groove after getting their players back, Athletics and Angels are both hanging in there, Rangers are still beating teams behind Mike Minor, Pirates taking advantage of slumping Brewers, Padres winning 3 straight against LA, Giants starting to hit, White Sox almost .500, Diamondbacks swept Rockies in a 4 game series, Giants finding ways to get old players to hit again.
Teams Trending Neutral: Reds, Twins, Cubs, Red Sox, Phillies, Cardinals, Indians, Rays. (8)
Puig is starting to get hot, Twins still a steady team, Cubs starting to falter since earlier this season, Red Sox beating up bad teams, Phillies gotta find ways to get Harper into a swinging machine, Cardinals have some pitching to figure out, Indians chasing the Twins but losing winnable games, Rays pitching is starting to come alive but still need to stay hot to trend up.
Teams Trending Down: Brewers, Mets, Royals, Blue Jays, Orioles, Tigers, Rockies, Dodgers, Marlins, Mariners. (10)
What happened to the Brewers since earlier this season? Mets managers are throwing chairs and that’s not a good sign, Royals are finally calling up Bubba Starling, Jays have some moves to do soon to keep Guerrero Jr happy, Orioles Cashner has been a surprise and the rest of the bullpen hasn’t, Tigers are better on the road then at home (ouch), Rockies just have bad luck (2 late surges from Padres to lose) but have higher chances of winning at a hitting friendly park at home, Dodgers were completely stumped by the Padres pitching, Marlins are still the bottom feeders in the MLB but at least they can hit (almost), Mariners are on the outside looking in.
Reds @ Rockies (Gray vs Gray)
Ah yes finally we have two pitchers with the same last name playing each other again. Both teams are hovering around .500 and need to come out of this series with a win. Both pitchers have an ERA rounded up to 4 which should fare extremely well for hitters. Jon Gray has allowed more hits and homer runs than his counter part, Sonny Gray. As always, Blackmon hits comfortably at home for the Rockies. Arenado is coming off a high from the All-Star game and so is David Dahl. Puig started to tear it up before the All-Star break in what seemed like a one man effort to win the game. The over/under for this game is 12, we expect a high output of offense in this game. Scooter Gannett is still hurt and listed as day-to-day as of this writing.
CIN: Puig, Dietrich
COL: Blackmon, Dahl, Desmond, Story, Arenado
National League’s Charlie Blackmon, of the Colorado Rockies, watches his solo home run during the sixth inning of the MLB baseball All-Star Game against the American League, Tuesday, July 9, 2019, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
Braves @ Padres (Keuchel vs Lamet)
After the Padres split their series with the Braves earlier this year, they look to pick up more wins on their home turf. Padres are rolling back to town after beating up the Dodgers 3 times in a row in a statement series win. If the Padres want to put an exclamation point on their recent streak they will beat up the Braves. The Atlanta Braves should get their best chance to beat the Padres against Lamet who is trying to find a groove after dealing with Tommy John. Padres are only two games out of the Wild Card right now in the National League and looking for opportunities to capitalize.
ATL: Acuna, Albies, Freeman
SDP: Tatis Jr, Machado, Hosmer, Renfroe, Reyes
White Sox @ Athletics (Nova vs Fiers)
Fiers pitching has been on fire this season (no pun intended). He already has a no hitter this season and has turned back the biological clock on his game as he is looking like one of the top aces on the mound. Athletics are the favorite here at home against Nova which has been decent lately. It won’t be easy for the A’s but they should prevail behind some power hitting in Semien and Davis. If Tim Anderson plays he should be picked as he has been a stellar player for the White Sox this season. McCann was also a recent All-Star and managed to get a hit in the game this past holiday weekend.
CHW: McCann, Anderson, Abreu
OAK: Davis, Semien, Piscotty, Chapman, Olson
Rain, snow, or sun, James McCann can hit. He was voted as AL’s best catcher in the first half of this season.
Rays @ Orioles (Chirinos vs Bundy)
Bundy still has the role of being a starting pitcher in the MLB, this should be good for opposing team batters. It could also be good news for Orioles hitters as they try to come back in this game. In the past few games the Rays are looking like they are getting back to their regular selves except for the extra innings loses against the Yankees. In order to win tonight the Rays need to come out ahead and have a good spread against the Orioles going into the final two innings. Rays can’t afford to get their closing bullpen to get rattled anymore going forward. Rays shouldn’t have a problem as their hits should be served up on a silver platter to Bundy. Rays win this game by a few runs but Orioles should put up close to 5-7 hits. Rays are the team to watch going forward as teams out west might try to squeeze into their wild card slot.
No picks are suggested for today, we will be back tomorrow, July 12, 2019 with a full recap of the All-Star break, outlook on the season so far and regularly scheduled picks.
Chicks dig the long ball but so do the fans? Lets take a long look on theories from different sides, going back to the history of the steroid era and into this season in 2019 as we broke numerous offensive records.
1999 “Chicks Dig the Long Ball” Nike Commercial
Earlier this year there has been much discussion and theory of the anatomy and performance of baseballs through the years. There are people on both sides of the theory here as players, representatives and even the commissioner having words on the theory. One of the most notably outspoken critic on this topic has been Pete Rose.
The Cincinnati legend Pete Rose, who is very critical on MLB since his own controversy betting on his team, gives no holds bar interviews on how he views the game of baseball in todays eye. In one of his interviews given in 2018 he has gone on the record to say that:
“I’m going to argue with baseball until the day I die,” Rose said, “that baseball is juiced. I don’t care what anybody says. They’ll say it’s not, which they have to. I saw a ball bounce behind the dugout the other day in Anaheim and it bounced into the second deck. Now, there’s something going on there.”
“I saw Bryce Harper break his bat in half, and hit a 420-foot home run in New York. That just doesn’t happen. I know the ballparks are small. It just seems to me that everybody who plays baseball today is a potential home-run hitter.”
Pete Rose (2018)
It’s known that Pete Rose has beef with MLB commissioners for not allowing him into the baseball HOF and that in his playing generation he was king of the small ball. Pete Rose was known to have a hit streak stretching 44 games, the only player in the top 5 that is still alive. Could this be a cranky old man who is just vengeful that he didn’t get his name casted in bronze in the HOF? Maybe but there are more people who are willing to support his claim.
Earlier this year the MLB set the record of number of home runs hit in the month of May at a staggering 1,135. This season alone they are on pace to obliterate the previous season record of home runs set at 6,105 in 2017. The New York Yankees have hit home runs in 31 consecutive games in this first half of the season. Compared to the “steroid era” in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, in recent years batters have been able to just about match home runs in a season without the help of PEDs.
Many players, coaches and managers are starting to question if the baseballs have been altered through the years. Most notably of them is Justin Verlander, who is very respected as a pitcher and an 8 time All-Star and a World Series champ. In a press briefing before the All-Star game activities he voiced his opinion and said:
“Major League Baseball’s turning this game into a joke. They own Rawlings, and you’ve got Manfred up here saying it might be the way they center the pill. They own the f—ing company. If any other $40 billion company bought out a $400 million company and the product changed dramatically, it’s not a guess as to what happened. We all know what happened. Manfred the first time he came in, what’d he say? He said we want more offense. All of a sudden he comes in, the balls are juiced? It’s not coincidence. We’re not idiots.”
Justin Verlander 7/8/19
But this comment comes at a caveat, Verlander has given up a season high 26 home runs, and is in a walk year in his contract. Maybe he’s protecting his stats by blaming it on the commissioner? Many other pitchers like CC Sabathia are backing up Verlander’s claims but to only a certain degree as they don’t want to be that outspoken about it. Verlander ends his claim saying that:
“If you’re going to change something so dramatically, I think you need to make people aware.”
Justin Verlander
Let’s take a look at another prime example this year as the game of baseball was introduced overseas in its first ever game in London. The two game series between the Yankees and Red Sox “across the pond” were the prime example of how to showcase the game and make it exciting. For people who aren’t baseball fans or people out of the loop, let’s watch the highlights of the first game in London in the two game series.
NYY and BOS highlights of game 1 in Boston
Wasn’t that fun and exciting? The game had a total of 30 runs combined, higher than any NFL game showcased in London. The only downside to this game is that it lasted almost 5 hours but for new fans to the game they sure looked glued to their seats. This was the best chance the MLB could get to create excitement for the game for fans. I would say that these baseballs were juiced even more than regular balls used in America.
So what does Rob Manfred have to say about this conspiracy? Well Rob seems to dance around the question a while and while he does agree that it seems like the baseball appears changed to him he denies having anything to do with it directly.
“We had a spike (in homers) this year. We went back to those scientists and they said, ‘Look, you have baseballs with less drag.’ We’ve acknowledged that, said it a number of times. We went back to the scientists and said, ‘We need to figure out why.’”
Robert Manfred 7/9/19
Surprisingly though, as mentioned by Verlander before, the company that makes baseballs, Rawlings, is owned by the MLB and is the only company that makes the official game ball. In a 2018 article posted by FiveThirtyEight, they x-rayed some of the baseballs used throughout the years. Scientists at the Keck School have noticed that not only have the density of the balls been changed through the years in the core but the chemical composition of the core has been altered. This change can at least be contributed to at least half of the home runs hit. Spokesperson for Rawlings have mentioned that manufacturing varies from year to year in the composition of the baseball. Meanwhile the commissioner has been adamant about getting to the bottom of this problem and has conducted an independent test on the baseballs. We won’t hold our breath on waiting for their results…
So why could they be “juicing” baseballs?
Good question, so if you believe that they are juicing baseballs it’s obviously for fan enjoyment and to increase profit for MLB owners. As of today MLB is one of the highest paying sports if you are a player which makes it very attractive to play in, and you can have a long career barring any weird injuries. Although it is tougher than any other sport out there where you must hit a ball with a tiny bat while pitchers are throwing 90+ MPH baseballs at you, they will pay handsomely if you excel at it. Currently the team with the highest payroll is the Boston Red Sox which sit at $225,513,226 this season. Baseball takes a lot of money to play and to have up keep on the game. Up keep that must be paid from the fans pockets with admission prices, food sales, and other profits made. Unfortunately though the writing is on the wall for baseball as their viewership has been in a steady decline ever since WW2 ended.
Since the mid 1960’s American Football has been the favorite sport to watch on TV. MLB has fallen to 3rd behind NBA since the late 90’s.
So why don’t people like the game of baseball today? Some people have said it’s the ridiculous ticket prices stating that they can see professional baseball cheaper in the smaller minor league system where you get a more intimate experience. Other people have been harping the constant changes that are being brought on from the commissioner which include challenging plays, pitching time clock, Buster Posey rule, the Chase Utley double play takeout slides, and fan interferences. These changes were made to make players safer when playing and to speed up the game. Other changes that will probably be addressed in the near future are the defensive shifts.
Buster Posey’s injury, the start of the Posey Rule
These changes influenced older fans to abandon the game of baseball and while newer generations are focused on more gratifying and faster paced sports like Basketball or Football where it’s more of a ritual rather than a relaxing pastime. Newer generations aren’t accepting the game of baseball as they once were, the roots of little league baseball is now being rivaled by football leagues, lacrosse camps, basketball clinics, and even soccer. America is slowly becoming more “diverse” in their choice for sports and that is putting a huge strain for the game of MLB.
In Conclusion
There’s significant evidence that the baseball has been changing along with the game of baseball. This is occurring at the same time America as a country is changing to accept more diverse and gratifying sports. It’s not hard to believe that Manfred commissioned the balls to be changed to help make the game of baseball faster and more exciting but at the same time why not publicly announce it? There could be fear and backlash from players that their statistics were skewed due to this result. As we head into the future baseball should be a game of perfection and the dissection of everything including any and all equipment that may be involved. Fans really dig the long ball.
Yesterdays matchup from the Red Sox and Tigers was a hitters delight once again. The two teams combined for 31 hits total. Red Sox ultimately routed the Tigers once again at home. Blue Jays offense was once again stifled by the Orioles pitching. Padres win back to back games at Dodger Stadium. Indians get the much needed win over the Reds in Puigs 3-4 hit game. This Sunday we have a lot of games that start at 1pm EST.
Yankees @ Rays (Paxton vs Morton)
The power hitting Yankees continue their series in Tampa Bay with Paxton on the mound. Paxton is coming back from his Mets outing allowing one run in 6 innings of work. He has a low strike out rate and looks to expand it against the Rays. Morton has a lower ERA and higher strike out rate than Paxton. We can expect that to decrease after this outing with the Yanks. Yanks will take this game again in the Trop.
NYY: Hicks, Urshela, Gregorius, Judge
TBR: Pham, Lowe, Garcia
Cubs @ White Sox (Hendricks vs Nova)
The classic rivalry of the two Chicago teams resumes Sunday afternoon on the Southside. Both teams are close to being .500 and need a win in this series. Nova, by statistics is the worse pitcher of the two in this matchup. Expect the Cubs to win in this one on the Southside. Tim Anderson is not in the lineup today for the White Sox today.
CHC: Contreras, Rizzo, Baez, Almora
CHW: Jimenez, Abreu, McCann, Jay
White Sox/Cubs Rivalry is steeped in history dating back to the 1997 MLB season. This picture is of Cubs Catcher Michael Barrett punching AJ Pierzynski in 2006.
In what I thought was going to be a great matchup for picking hitters came out to be a game where only about 10 hits. Orioles and Blue Jays turned out to be a dud for most of the Blue Jays as stars like Guerrero and Biggio went hitless. On another note Chris Davis got two hits and one was a homer. Yamamoto threw a decent game only to have his teammate give it up in the 9th after a very long rain delay. Red Sox and Tigers was a good matchup as the Tigers started making a comeback in the later innings but couldn’t overcome the deficit. An earthquake rattled the Padres and Dodgers game last night which had fans take cover from the nose bleed seats.
TV broadcasters camera shook uncontrollably as an earthquake shook the Padres-Dodgers game. Play kept going through the earthquake.
Red Sox @ Tigers (Porcello vs Zimmermann)
Zimmermann is winless so far this season on the mound. Tigers are in a great slump, being worse at home than they are on the road. Red Sox take this game in a no brainer as they won last night. Porcello might give up less hits that his counterpart last night. Red Sox get a nice pick me up right before the All-Star break as they look to take the second half by storm in order to make the post season.
BOS: Betts, Holt, Benintendi, Leon, Devers
DET: Castellanos, Castro
Indians @ Reds (Bieber vs DeSclafani)
The Indians find themself in a very interesting spot in a central battle in Cincinnati. Reds have been electrified behind Puig getting emotional in all of his games. Puig is usually a streaky hitter at times and he can make or break the game for the Reds. Senzel has been an amazing addition for the Reds in a time of need. Indians might falter here on the road behind Bieber. Bieber should still have a good outing but will give up to many hits.
Beat The Streak With Me 