I look for a pitchers duel in this matchup on Wednesday. Its a rare day game in Oakland. Faria is a tough pitcher to deal with - with a nasty 2.00 ERA and 41 K's - and has been the only bright light during a down year for the pitchers being able to strike anyone out, on the whole. But, Tampa Bay has struggled with getting guys in scoring position, and Evan Longoria is not bringing in guys like they thought he would be doing at this point of the season. I beleive the UNDER is the best play in this game and we'll use it as your comp play.

The Astros are just 1-4 in their last five home games against left-handed starters and their lineup is hitting just .216 against Seattle starter James Paxton. I like Seattle in this matchup on Wednesday afternoon. The Mariners are also 5-1 when Paxton faces winning teams, and are 7-2 when he starts Game 3 of a series. Look for Seattle and Paxton to keep the Astros in check in this one.

In all likelihood, Bartolo Colon is making the last stop of his MLB career. The 44-year-old struggled mightily as a starter in Atlanta before latching on recently with the Twins. The Yankees bats were cold yesterday scoring just 2 runs. The Minnesota Twins finished last season with the worst record in the major leagues at 59-103, the lone team with triple-digit losses. Luis Cessa (0-3, 4.18 ERA) will get the start for New York in this one and Bartolo Colon (2-8, 8.14 ERA) will get the start for the Twins. Cessa remains in search of his first victory of the season as he makes his fourth overall start and first since June 29. Cessa came out of the bullpen to face Minnesota once last year, yielding a solo HR and a walk in 1 2/3 innings. Colon is getting another chance to prove he still can pitch in the major leagues after a horrendous 13-start tenure with Atlanta that resulted in his release on July 4. If he struggled with NL teams I think the Yanks should have their way with him on Tuesday night. Colon owns a 7-8 record and 5.28 ERA in 21 career starts against the Yankees (teams are 11-10). Take the YANKEES here.

Baltimore's Dylan Bundy now has a team best 4.33 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP on the year. And with the O's just a handful of games back in a very winnable AL East, Baltimore is primed for the push. One of the reasons the O's have been good this year is their closers are finishing their games out. They aren't losing games with Jonathan Schoop hitting like he has and Trey Mancini - who are taking care of what they need to do. Baltimore is going to be an interesting team to watch - come gritty game time.
It is polite to refer to this Texas team right now as just mediocre. At almost 20 games behind Houston in AL West - Texas has no chance for much of anything. They have been playing some bad baseball and the little simplistic reason they are not utterly and completely out of contention is they have had the fortune to play some teams recently, that are just worse. ORIOLES get my call as your comp on Tuesday night.
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Marcus Stroman put his season’s worst start behind him with three solid outings in a row. He allowed one run in seven innings his last time out against the Astros. Against Boston in April, he gave up six runs in a loss so I expect him to be focused as well. On the other hand the Red Sox gotta be tired playing 16 innings on Saturday night and a double-header on Sunday and the bullpen was spent.

I'm on the TORONTO BLUE JAYS on Monday night.

The Phils have lost Jeremy Hellickson's last six starts, and I think this is a reasonable price to back the host Brewers.
Garza has a 2.50 ERA in his last 3 starts and Garza is coming off his first scoreless performance of the season, allowing just five hits over 6 1/3 innings vs. the Orioles on July 5. It was the deepest he's gone in an outing since May 6, and it was his sixth quality start of the season.

I'm on Milwaukee to complete the sweep on Sunday.

Seattle's bullpen continues to be a major disappointment, compiling a 4.27 ERA overall and a 4.85 ERA away from the friendly (and spacious) confines of Safeco Field. Let's also note that the Mariners are a woeful 19-41 in the last 60 meetings in this series and 15-43 in the last 58 affairs in Chicago. The home team is 12-4 in umpire Mark Ripperger's last sixteen games behind the plate.

Derek Holland has been serviceable at home this season where he owns a 3.12 ERA with a 22.5% strikeout rate. Those numbers should improve against a Seattle squad that is just 8-17 in their last 25 games versus left-handed starters.
Lets back the small home underdog with the WHITESOX.

In his first appearance since injuries sustained in an April 20 dirt-bike accident sidelined him, Bumgarner will resume his season in a spot where he has had mixed success. Look for him and the SF Giants to start the 2nd half here with a win on the road. The Giants also have the better offensive punch with their stronger lineup in this one.