New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles, 7-30-2020 Free MLB Picks And Preview

New York Yankees (3-1)@ Baltimore Orioles (2-1)

MLB Baseball: Thursday, July 30, 2020 @7:05PM (Camden Yards)

J.A Happ (LHP, 0-0, – – – ERA) vs. John Means (LHP, 0-0, – – – ERA)

The Yanks made the most of the schedule change and it worked out in their favor. As the Bronx squad had to adjust on the fly because of a sudden change on baseball’s schedule, they showed up to Camden Yards with a “ready -to-attack” mindset. As always, the New York Yankees leave everything out on field, and that is certainly the case when they face the Baltimore Orioles.

In a scenario like this, there’s no team they’d rather face than the Orioles.

I have been using the term, “unorthodox” to describe this season and baseball reached another level of strange Wednesday night as New York stepped in for the Miami Marlins. The Yanks ruined Baltimore’s home opener by gaining a 9-3 victory behind Gerrit Cole.

Although the circumstances surrounding this Yankees-Orioles matchup was unusual, the result was not. The Yankees beat their AL East rivals for the 17th straight time since March 31st of 2019, and for the 16th successive time at Camden Yards.

The Orioles were originally slated to launch the home portion of the abbreviated 60-game schedule against Miami, but the Marlins were ordered to take a break after several players and coaches contracted COVID-19 over the weekend.

New York was scheduled to play Philadelphia on Wednesday, but the Phillies’ season was put on hold as a precaution because they were Miami’s opponent in the opening series.

Major League Baseball scheduled a series between the Yankees and Orioles while the Marlins and Phillies recover.

“I thought our mindset was really good,” New York manager Aaron Boone said of the team’s need to change direction without much notice. ”I felt like our guys were good to go from the start. Getting here at a decent hour (Tuesday) night was important….”

In the Wednesday evening competition, Cole (2-0) gave up three runs and four hits in 6 2/3 innings to win his 18th straight decision, six short of Carl Hubbell’s record streak in the 1930s. He is unbeaten in his last 24 starts.

In the opener, Cole went five innings in a win over Washington. In this one, against Baltimore, he was in full control until faltering a bit in the seventh. It is important to note that the Yankee ace finished his night after his pitch count eclipsed 100.

Critiquing himself. he said, “I thought it was a big step forward, I liked everything relative to my last start…”

Cole also gave his two cent on what it is like pitching to Gary Sanchez. “We adjusted well. Gary was a huge help in this situation…” Cole said.

After DJ LeMahieu homered off Asher Wojciechowski (0-1) on the game’s second pitch, Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks both went deep in the third for a 5-1 lead.

”I thought Asher missed location with the pitches,” manager Brandon Hyde said. ”All three were fastballs up or not located down. He got the ball into Judge, but he’s so strong.”

The result was another Yankees blowout win over Baltimore. New York has scored 428 runs against the Orioles over the past three-plus seasons, the highest total in the majors over the span against a single team.

You know, it may or may not matter in terms of the final score, but Baltimore faced a stalked offense while missing one of their hottest bats.

According to David Ginsburg of the Associated Press:

“Baltimore played without first baseman Chris Davis, who was not in the ballpark and ‘unavailable’, according to Hyde. The Orioles do not disclose positive tests for COVID-19, and Hyde would not explain the slugger’s absence…”

As far as I know, Davis won’t be in the Orioles’ lineup for the rest of the series against the Yanks.

Tonight’s ballgame between the two clubs will feature two lefties.

J.A. Happ will make his season debut in the series finale against the Orioles. The 37-year-old is three strikeouts shy of a career high 1,500. The Yankee lefty will do his diligence not to let the ball carry out of the yard, as Baltimore hit him hard in 2019. In five starts against the O’s, Happ pitched to an ERA of 6.85. In those 22 1/3 innings, he permitted seven long balls that happens to be the most he has given up against any opponent.

Happ will be opposed by a 2019 rookie All-Star. John Means was scheduled to pitch in the Opening Day assignment this summer, but he missed the start due to arm fatigue. In 2019, Means was 12-11 on the year and pitched to an ERA of 3.60. Today, he gets a chance to debut in 2020 and build on his 2019 resume.

New York Yankees vs Baltimore, 7-29-2020, Free MLB Picks And Predictions

New York Yankees(2-1)@Baltimore Orioles(2-1)

MLB Baseball: Wednesday, July 29,2020@7:35PM(Camden Yards)

Gerrit Cole(RHP,1-0, 1.80 ERA,5 Ks) vs. Asher Wojciechowski(RHP,0-0,- – – ERA, 0 Ks)

By now, everyone who follows baseball knows about the spread of the coronavirus and how it has impacted the sports’ world. In recent news, the virus has taken an even heavier blow at the game of baseball.

As scheduled, after the Yankees-Nationals series, the New York Yankees were supposed to head to Philadelphia to square off against the Phillies. Unfortunately, the Miami Marlins, who faced the Philadelphia Phillies before the Yanks have reported multiple cases of the virus. As a result, MLB has reset the sport’s schedule. The Baltimore Orioles, who were originally suppose to play against the Marlins next are now scheduled to play the Yanks in Camden Yards.

Honestly, I don’t mind the schedule change, because Gleyber Torres is an Orioles’ killer. So, seeing him wreak havoc on his former team will be very entertaining to watch and it should give John Sterling an opportunity to break out his Gleyber Day call for another series in 2020.

Although, the virus is continuously wreaking havoc on the world, the Yanks are one of the few major league teams that have the benefit of staying optimistic. While the 2020 season remains a massive struggle and changes will have to be made as we go, the Yankees are set to gain back one stud player soon. That is especially good news for the team, because the Yankees have already regained DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa from the clutches of the destructive virus. LeMahieu is an essential asset to the team’s offense, and Cessa has shown glimpses of his stellar stuff on the mound. Now the organization may be looking at a possible return of their star closer that has also been impacted by the virus.

For a breakdown of how the Yanks eased LeMahieu back into the lineup, visit the following link: https://www.rotoworld.com/baseball/mlb/player/19428/dj-lemahieu

Chapman, who was still testing positive as of last Wednesday, is apparently “doing well,” according to Aaron Boone. The Yankee closer is reportedly asymptomatic and could return with the Yankees by next week given his tests come back in good fashion. In the meantime, the Yankee have been utilizing Zack Britton as a closer when necessary, as he finished the game on Sunday night against the Washington Nationals. Props to Britton for filling in as closer.

We all know that Chapman won’t let the virus stop him from being one of the nastiest pitchers in baseball. While he is lockdown in his New York City apartment, he is working out plenty to maintain his strength, in hopes of returning to the closer soon.

In 2019, Chapman logged 37 saves, with 85 strikeouts and allowed just three home runs. He was an All-Star for the second consecutive season. Hopefully, he can return quickly and not skip a beat after giving up a season-ending homer to Jose Altuve in the ALCS last year.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said Monday night that he didn’t consider the Marlins outbreak to be a “nightmare” scenario.

“I don’t put this in the nightmare category,” Manfred said to MLB Network. “It’s not a positive thing, but I don’t see it as a nightmare… That’s why we have the expanded rosters. That’s why we have the pool of additional players.”

With the Marlins’ unfortunate outbreak of the virus, I look forward to seeing Gerrit Cole dominant against Orioles’ lineup. On the offensive front, I am looking forward to seeing Torres lead the charge against his former team to help the Yankees start another series with a win. I would also like to believe, Torres’ offensive power will aid his team in another series win.

New York Yankees,7-27-2020, Free Picks And Predictions

New York Yankees (2-1) @Philadelphia Phillies (1-2)

MLB Baseball: Monday, July 27, 2020 @ 7:05 PM (Citizen Bank Park)

J.A. Happ (LHP, 0-0,- – – ERA, 0 Ks) vs. Jake Arrieta (RHP, 0-0,- – – ERA, 0 Ks)

The Yanks notched their first series victory of 2020 yesterday and now they are looking to keep the momentum going. The New York Yankees will head to Philadelphia for an evening matchup against the Phillies in Citizen Bank Park. As the two ballclubs will square off in a four game set, the Yankees will try to maintain their momentum atop the AL East (American League East).

I know it is a bit too early to keep tabs the records of each baseball team, but with the Yankees getting the series win in Washington, they are now tied atop the AL East with the Tampa Bay Rays. As a result of the Yanks pushing pass the reigning World Series champs, Aaron Boone’s squad is now tied with the Tampa Bay Rays with a 2-1 record and a .667 PCT. For those who don’t what PCT. means, it is a stat that refers to the two teams who are tied for the all-time best single record. With that being said, in a 60 game sprint season, the Yankees need to remain dominant from the start to the finish.

I will try to give you a preview of the competition that will go done tonight. The Yanks will look to add another win to their records, while the Phillies will try to bounce back from a disappointing start to their season.

While the Yanks got their first season win with a 3-2 victory on Sunday, the Phillies are already facing early disappointment because they are coming off a terrible series loss against the lowly Marlins. Right now, to add to their concerns, their bullpen is not their hot ticketed feature.

I just hope the Bronx Squad can capitalize on the Phillies’ current weakness. Here is today’s lineup for each team:

Yankees Preview

Projected Lineup (via Fantasy Labs)

Player	Projected BaseRuns
DJ LeMahieu	0.57
Aaron Judge	0.73
Gleyber Torres	0.67
Giancarlo Stanton	0.71
Aaron Hicks	0.50
Luke Voit	0.59
Gary Sanchez	0.63
Giovanny Urshela	0.46
Brett Gardner	0.52
Total Projected BaseRuns	5.38

On the mound for the Yankees, Boone will pencil in J.A. Happ for tonight’s start. In 2019, Happ was starting to show his age. The 37-year-old posted a 4.78 ERA/5.22 FIP/4.78 xFIP — his worst numbers in more than five years. Happ is predominantly a fastball pitcher, but has three complimentary pitches that play well off his fastball.

Since he is getting up there in age, his fastball is losing its velocity and effectiveness. In 2019, his fastball yielded 25 home runs and a .367 wOBA. For Happ’s secondary pitches to be effective, he has to be precise with his fastball, otherwise he’ll continue to post high ERA and xFIP numbers in 2020. Honestly though, with the offensive production of the Yankees so far, I am too worried about the Yankees score card numbers tonight.

Pitch Type	% Thrown	Velocity	Opp/ wOBA
Fastball	48.4%	92.0	.367
Sinker	17.5%	89.6	.291
Slider	17.4%	84.8	.302
Changeup	15.9%	86.0	.307
Curveball	0.8%	81.0	.174

After being shut down on opening day, the Phillies’ offense has come alive, scoring 13 runs on 19 hits over their last two games. However, those two games were against the Marlins, so take those results with a pinch of salt.

According to actionnetwork.com: “After adding Bryce Harper last season, the Phillies didn’t do much to their lineup over the offseason. They ranked near the middle of MLB last season against lefties, so they should be able to hit an aging J.A. Happ.” Yes, that is concerning, but I believe in my Yankees.

As the Phils will go up against Happ, Jake Arrieta will take on the lethal Yankee offense. It looks like both squads have an issue on the starting pitching front.

Arrieta has taken a big step back since joining the Phillies. The reason for that is his sinker is a lot less effective than it used to be.

Pitch Arsenal (via Baseball Savant)

Pitch Type	% Thrown	Velocity	Opp/ wOBA
Fastball	48.4%	92.0	.367
Sinker	17.5%	89.6	.291
Slider	17.4%	84.8	.302
Changeup	15.9%	86.0	.307
Curveball	0.8%	81.0	.174

During his breakout season in 2015, Arrieta was dominant with his sinker, allowing only a .191 BA and a .236 wOBA to his opponents. Fast forward to 2019, and he allowed a .304 BA and a .366 wOBA against his sinker. However, his changeup and curveball were pretty effective in 2019 with a wOBA against below .275.

He’ll have to use those two pitches more in 2020 if he wants to get back to some semblance of his 2015 season. Arrieta will have the lineup down below to back him:

Phillies Preview

Projected Lineup (via Fantasy Labs)

Player	Projected BaseRuns
Andrew McCutchen	0.62
Rhys Hoskins	0.65
Bryce Harper	0.73
J.T. Realmuto	0.59
Jean Segura	0.56
Didi Gregorius	0.58
Scott Kingery	0.45
Phil Gosselin	0.27
Roman Quinn	0.42
Total Projected BaseRuns	4.87

MY PICK

For tonight’s baseball game between the two squads, I will be backing the Yankees. It would seem that both starters aren’t at their best right now, but the Yanks have an advantage because they have one of the best bullpen in baseball. The Yankees have one of the best 7th-9th inning bullpen combos in the league. However, beyond those three it’s a bunch of average relievers. The front end of the Phillies’ bullpen is solid, but their back end isn’t that great, so the Yankees bullpen has the advantage in this matchup.

The Yankees got their first series win of 2020 today. That’s right, you read those words in the previous sentence correctly, and it was a down-to-the wire type of match too. I hate to say it, but Patrick Corbin gave the New York Yankees a run for their money in this afternoon’s game, but in the end the Bronx Squad buckled down and captured their first series W of the season.

The Yanks did what they had to do to ensure that they claimed the rubber match this afternoon in Washington. Their victory came by a 3-2 win over the Nats.

The teams had split the first two matchups, the Yankees taking a rain-shortened Opening Day clash and the Nationals responding with a 9-2 victory Saturday. Today’s match was one of those nail biters, and I know I was one of the fans that was nervous wreck that was thinking the Yankees would lose their first series of the year. Although that was the case for me, I still followed the game until the very end.

The Yankee bats got off to a slow start, but they eventually got into the swing of things. This game is a perfect example of why no opposing team should sleep on the Yankees. They were struggling for a while, but then the seventh inning showed up and the Bronx Bombers Squad stroke back.

In the space of three batters, the Yanks managed to flip the game completely over on its head.

Gleyber Torres went yard on Patrick Corbin in the seventh inning, which led Nationals manager Dave Martinez to turn things over to the bullpen. Will Harris struck out Giancarlo Stanton and then watched Luke Voit tie the game on a solo home run to left.

Following his teammates, Torres plated the go-ahead run in the eighth with a single to left.

The Yankees had the bases loaded with two outs after Tanner Rainey committed a balk and walked Stanton. Voit struck out swinging before New York could add to its lead, but the damage had already been done. From here on out, it could go down in the baseball records that the Nats wasted a gem pitched by Corbin.

As Jon Sterling would say, “It’s Gleyber Day!” and today there was certainly a celebration of sorts on the Yankees’ end in Nationals’ Park. You could say that Torres got to celebrate an anniversary in today’s game, because he managed to acknowledge the four years that have passed since his trade to the Yankees. In my opinion, making the trade for him was one of the best moves the Yanks have ever made. As a matter of fact, the Yankee shortstop describes the 2016 swap as, “…one of the best things that has happened to me…”

With the Yankees and Gleyber’s performance in the seventh inning, Corbin’s stellar start didn’t matter in the end. All that matters is, the 60 game sprint to a the 2020 World Series has start off pretty well for my pinstriped baseball team.

New York Yankees vs. Washington Nationals, 7-26-2020, Free Picks and Predictions

New York Yankees (1-1) @Washington Nationals (1-1)

MLB Baseball: Sunday, July 26,2020 @1:05PM (Nationals Park)

Jonathan Loaisiga (RHP,0-0,- – -ERA,0Ks) vs. Patrick Corbin (LHP,0-0,- – -ERA, 0Ks)

The News York Yankees and their ace Gerrit Cole opened the 2020 baseball season with a win against Max Scherzer and the reigning World Series champs. Although on Wednesday, the Yankees managed to capture a 4-1 victory in their 1st win of the season due to a rain delay, game 2 didn’t work in their favor because the Washington Nationals struck back to earn their first win of the season.

Although game two of the 2020 Opening Weekend went to the Nats, I will still put my Yankee bias ahead of every other team in baseball. I would like to believe that the Yankees will capture their first series win this afternoon. Washington Nationals’ beat reporter Jessica Camerato of MLB.com said, “The Nationals are no strangers to home runs clanging off the foul pole….” It was that type of night in game two of the three game set between the reigning champs and the 27- time champions. Unlike game one where the Yanks were dominant on the mound and in the batter’s box, last night everything seemed to work in the Nationals’ favor.

The defending World Series champions roughed up Yankees starter James Paxton and various relievers in route to their first win of the new season (WAS 9, NYY 2). Asdrubal Cabrera, who is stepping in at third base to replace Anthony Rendon, went 3 for 4 with a home run. Paxton completed only one inning and exited with the bases loaded and no outs in the second. I don’t know about anyone else, but I did say that the competition between the two club would be an uphill battle. For a breakdown of the unfortunate loss that the Yankees endured, I have provided this link: https://www.mlb.com/news/victor-robles-leads-nationals-yankees

Tonight is the final game of the three game set between the Nats and the Yankees. To start the ballgame, manager Dave Martinez will send Patrick Corbin to the mound against the Bronx squad. Corbin, who is a native of New York, will make his second career start against the Yankees. The lefty last faced the Yankees in the Bronx in 2013. In that appearance, Corbin fanned seven more over as many innings.

Yankees’ manager Aaron Boone will play the opener card to counter against the Nationals. He will call on Jonathan Loaisiga from the back end of the bullpen to open against Corbin. This will be a spot start, and Loaisiga is not likely to go as deep as a typical starting pitcher. He has a career 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and 35:15 K:BB in 30 innings as a starter and did not log more than four innings in any MLB outing in 2019.

It’s time to play Sunday afternoon baseball, who do you have winning today’s game. I am sticking with my Yankees, and hoping they win their first series of 2020. Do you agree with me or are you a Nationals’ fan?

Mother Nature aided the New York Yankees in their first win of 2020 with a rain delay on July 23, 2020. After five full innings of baseball, the start of the sixth inning was halted and called to give the Yanks a 4-1 victory over the Nationals. For a breakdown of game one of the series, visit the following link: https://thepinstripedballclub.travel.blog/2020/07/24/the-new-york-yankees-notch-their-1st-w-of-2020-in-the-nations-capital-2/. Today is game two of a three game set between the Yankees and Washington Nationals. As the Yankees head back to meet the hosting Nationals at Nationals Park, they will be look for their first series victory of 2020.

Here is the information you need to know for today’s game:

New York Yankees @ Washington Nationals, July 25, 2020, Free MLB Picks and Predictions.

New York Yankees (1-0) @ Washington Nationals (0-0)

MLB Baseball: Saturday, July 25,2020 @ 7:15 PM (Nationals Park)

James Paxton (LHP, 0-0, – – -ERA, 0 Ks) vs. Stephen Strasburg (RHP, 0-0, – – -ERA, 0 Ks)

Tonight’s match between the reigning champs and the 27 time World Series champions should be an interesting one. We all know that this year will a sprint to the finish line, rather than the usual marathon, so a series win against the Nationals should give the Yankees some confidence. On the other hand, as the Nats will be hoping that their home field advantage works in their favor, they will look to capitalize on a complete nine inning game.

For these two clubs, the intensity of game two during Opening Weekend is very important. I say that because it will be a true testament to how well they are prepared for an uphill battle that face them ahead.

With that being said, tonight’s pitching duel should speak to that testament. To start the game, we will see a lefty-vs-righty duel on the mound. Manager Aaron Boone will tab left-hander James Paxton with the start tonight against the Nationals. As Paxton is scheduled to start tonight for the Yanks, he is set to begin his second season in a Yankees’ uniform. The Yankees are glad to have the Big Maple ready to go, as he has recovered from lower back surgery that he underwent in February. The Yanks should be extremely glad to have him back in the starting rotation because the big lefty posted some career stats last season. In 2019, the big lefty set career highs in the wins’ column (15) and took the mound 29 times. He posted a K/9.0 IP ratio of 11.11, which surpassed Luis Severino’s 2017 mark of 10.71 for the best in the franchise’s history.

The Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez will hand RHP Stephen Strasburg the baseball to start against Paxton and the Yankees. According to Strasburg, he says that he is, “…feeling strong…”. To that, I say, “We will see about that Mr. Strasburg. Your pal Scherzer couldn’t fully deal with the Yankees’ offensive power, what makes you think you could take them on? Especially one with a raking Stanton, Judge and LeMahieu.”

Strasburg, who turned 32 on Wednesday is coming off a historic 5-0 postseason, which included him helping the Nats win the 2019 World Series. The righty was named the 2019 World Series MVP, but when all is said and done, this will be the fist time he will toe the slab against the Yanks.

In his last appearance, Strasburg pitched 8 1/3 dominant innings in Game 6 of the World Series to help the Nats  stave off elimination and ultimately beat the Houston Astros for their first championship. The key thing there ladies and gentlemen, Washington only has one title, meanwhile the Yankees have experience of earning 27 titles. With a shorten season and the Yankees’ hunger for a championship to add to their collection, I believe Aaron Boone’s squad will take this series.

As Strasburg will take the hill tonight in Nationals Park against the Yankees, he only has the advantage of knowing two hitters. He has squared off against Giancarlo Stanton and DJ LeMahieu before they were ever wearing Yankee uniforms. LeMahieu, who was held out of the opener after missing time in summer camp recovering from COVID-19, is 6-for-21 off Strasburg while Stanton is 15-for-48 (.313) with three homers and 11 RBI.

Brian Cashman refers to a healthy Yankee squad as a, “…fully operational death star.” I wouldn’t describe it any other way because they were in attack mode in game one of this series and two of their biggest sluggers were contributing (Stanton and Judge).

We saw Stanton drive in three runs Thursday after injuries limited him to 59 at-bats in 18 games last season. Two runs came very early in the game and it was via the homerun. After Hicks grounded out sharply to second baseman Starlin Castro-first baseman Eric Thames, Judge stepped up to the plate and singled sharply to Andrew Stevenson. With Judge on base, Stanton stepped into the batter’s box and launched a 459ft fly ball homer to center field. I take that as a sign, meaning those guys are ready and hopefully they stay healthy. With their steady contribution in 2020, the Yankee squad can go pretty far.

Stanton, Judge and Aaron Hicks would not have been ready for the originally scheduled season opener on March 26 and neither would James Paxton. So I guess in terms of the season getting off to an unorthodox start, the Yankees benefited by gaining the extra time for their players to recover.

Paxton was recovering from a back injury when the sport was shut down but is fully recovered. He made his final appearance in summer camp by throwing 84 pitches in five simulated innings on Monday. The Yankees hope Paxton can continue his dominance from the final two months of last season. He was 15-6 with a 3.82 ERA last season and went 10-0 with a 2.51 ERA in his final 11 starts.

Things To Keep An Eye On Tonight

An interesting thing to keep in mind while watching tonight’s game is, Paxton is also seeing the Nats for the first time. I know I will be keeping an eye on a few things. First off, I will be be watching the lefty-vs-righty duel out on the mound. Second, I want see how LeMahieu and Stanton will stalk up against Strasburg, especially because I know how well both players can do offensively. Also, along with those two hitters, I will be keeping tabs on Judge to see if he can remain consistent in batter’s box.

What will you be looking out for tonight?