More big games are up ahead in MLB this Tuesday. The Cleveland Indians will have a tough task ahead of them as they take on AL Cy Young frontrunner Chris Sale and the Boston Red Sox. And in the NL, the streaking Chicago Cubs will host Patrick Corbin and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
After having their nine-game winning streak snapped, the Cleveland Indians are now on a two-game losing skid after losing last night’s series opener against the Boston Red Sox, 6-2. Ace Carlos Carrasco will now look to stop the bleeding as he makes the start tonight for the Tribe. The right-hander recorded four quality starts with an ERA of 3.31 in his five starts in July.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox will be eager to win back-to-back games for just the second time post-All-Star break, and they’ll have the best pitcher for the job with Chris Sale. The Red Sox ace is coming off a spectacular month of July where he didn’t give up a single run in four of his five starts and finished with a sparkling 1.04 ERA.
Writer’s Prediction: Sale and the Red Sox (-154) roll to a win over the Indians.
Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Chicago Cubs (8:05 PM ET)
Like the Red Sox, the Arizona Diamondbacks have also been pretty inconsistent during the second half of the season. They’re coming off a 2-2 split of a recent four-game series against the St. Louis Cardinals, and are just 7-9 post-ASG. Look for starter Patrick Corbin to give the D-backs a decent chance of winning. The lefty has given up two runs or fewer in seven of his last eight starts and has a 2.83 ERA during that span.
He’ll be going up against the Cubs’ own ace lefty, Jon Lester, who has been a completely different pitcher post-ASG. Since returning from the break, Lester has completed at least seven innings in all three starts (all Cubs wins) and has given up just five total runs. The Cubs as a whole haven’t been doing much losing recently, though. They’re now 13-3 during the second half of the season, but all three losses have been during a series opener.
Writer’s Prediction: Lester keeps his hot streak going as the Cubs (-175) beat the Diamondbacks.
