Texas at Kansas City (August 20, 21, 22)
Texas is playing well right now coming off six straight wins and has kept pace with the Red Sox in the AL Wild Card. Everyone keeps waiting for this team to fold but it does not appear that this will happen. It will definitely not happen against the Royals, who currently posses the worst record in the American league.
The Royals traded away their best player in Carlos Beltran and would like to do the same with Mike Sweeney if he would waive his no-trade clause. They have terrible pitching and very little hitting. This is a deadly combination that calculates into very few wins. Their pitching staff has an E.R.A. of 5.06, which ranks 27th out of 30 major league teams. Their E.R.A. is even .5 higher than the Rangers who play in one of the most hitter friendly ballparks in baseball. As a team they hit collectively .256, which would rank them at the bottom of the National League, where pitchers bat and drop team batting averages. Texas has stayed in the race because of their pitching. On Friday they send Ryan Drese to the mound whom has been electric of late, going 3-0 in his last three starts. Counter that with the high powered Texas offense make them a deadly team throughout this series.
We will play the Rangers to win all three games in this series and feel the number may not be to bad because of the series-taking place in the Midwest. Texas in a much better team than Kansas City and furthermore needs these games if they have any hopes of a birth in postseason. Texas will get them.
Philadelphia at Houston (August 23,24,25)
The Phillies have dropped out of the contention in the National League by going 1-9 in their last ten games and have lost seven straight. We do not expect Larry Bowa to be around when this series opens up in Houston next week. It is not all Larry Bowa's fault as injuries have plagued this team of late.
The Astros seem to have taken a turn for the better with the hire of interim manager Phil Garner. As of this writing they have climb back to the .500 mark by winning four straight. Their bats have started to come alive with Jeff Kent and Craig Biggio returning to form and Brad Lidge has solidified their bullpen. Lidge has not allowed a run in his last twelve appearances.
The Phillies have to move on and look towards the future. This was a team built to win the NL East division but that has not happened and changes need to be made. All players and managers need to take accountability for their performances.
We will play the Astros to win all three games in this series. They need wins to keep their slim chances of a wild card birth alive and can ill-afford a slip-up against a team frustrated and just playing out the season. The numbers should be in line for a healthy profit and we will be sure to take advantage of the situation. Click Here to sign up for our guaranteed Baseball Picks.
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