Michael Alexander

Rating: 2 Units

The A's are scheduled to send right-hander James Kaprielian (0-5, 5.88 ERA) to the mound today against Mariners lefty Marco Gonzales (4-8, 3.31).  Kaprielian is 1-1 with a 6.26 ERA in seven career appearances against Seattle, including four starts; Gonzales is 9-3 with a 3.94 ERA against Oakland in 17 games with 16 starts. Gonzales is 2-0 versus the A's this season while Kaprielian is 0-1 in two starts against the Mariners.

Rating: 2 Units

Houston is playing at a high level and just went 7-2 over a nine-game stretch that included games against the Yankees and Mets.  The Astros have one of the best bullpens in baseball and will be starting Cristian Javier who is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA all-time against the Angels. He also has a 1.95 ERA at home this season. The Angels will be starting Michael Lorenzen, who comes in with a 6.14 ERA at home. Lorenzen is also 0-1 with a 7.20 ERA against the Astros all time. Take the Astros to roll to another win today.

Rating: 2 Units

The Cardinals are a good play when Miles Mikolas is on the mound. The right-hander is in a groove, conceding a total of only five runs in his last four starts spanning 29 innings. His stats are even better on the road where he features a 2.53 ERA on the season. The Phillies were supposed to have Eflin start this one but he has landed on the IL. The Cards should take advantage of Phillies' starter Bailey Falter who has squandered 8 runs (five earned) in his last two outings spanning only eight innings.  The Phillies are also playing without key players in Bryce Harper and Jean Segura.

Rating: 2 Units

Boston struggled against Toronto but there are things going in their favor here that they didn’t have against the Blue Jays. Their closer, Tanner Houck, was unavailable for the series, as was Jarren Duran. Both guys are unvaccinated and are prohibited from entering Canada as a result. The Red Sox could have used Houck in the series, especially after blowing a ninth-inning lead Tuesday night. Boston has the edge of having had Thursday off, giving their bullpen an extra day of rest, while the Cubs were in action at home. Hill has plenty of experience at Wrigley Field, having started his career with the Cubs more than a decade ago. Sampson hasn’t faced Boston much but he’s been rocked by the Red Sox in his limited work, giving up six homers in 9.1 innings. Boston is at full strength and that’s enough to give them the upper hand in this contest to start the series on a positive note.