This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Parity has overtaken baseball. Not a single team has won more than three consecutive games or lost more than two straight entering the start of play on Wednesday.
Only one team in the American League has won seven of its last 10 games. But it’s not helping the Texas Rangers much since they dug themselves too big of a hole. They are seven games out of the last wild-card spot.
The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets have won eight of their past 10 in the National League. Philadelphia owns the best record in the majors, and we will break down their contest against the Tampa Bay Rays. It promises to be an intense atmosphere after Tuesday’s shenanigans.
The San Diego Padres have been hot since the All-Star break, so we will check in on their game against the Seattle Mariners. Also, let’s give the Kansas City Royals some love as they visit the New York Yankees.
TAMPA BAY RAYS AT PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
The Phillies scored five times in the bottom of the eighth inning to win 9-4 on Tuesday, and Rays reliever Edwin Uceta became unhinged and drilled Philadelphia’s Nick Castellanos in the left hip. That led to a benches-clearing incident that had both Castellanos and Bryce Harper furious at Uceta.
It will be quite the scene in Philadelphia—we know those fans will be looking for No. 63—if Uceta takes the mound and either Castellanos or Harper come up. Trea Turner homered off Uceta, so perhaps he’ll need to borrow some padding from the Eagles.
If you like betting homers, watch for the pregame report on Kyle Schwarber. He left with a hyperextended left elbow. Before leaving, Schwarber led off the game with a homer for the 14th time this season, breaking the record set by Alfonso Soriano of the New York Yankees in 2003.
The Rays have dropped the first two games of this series and 12 of the past 19. But Yandy Diaz and company are capable of making it a rough night for Phillies’ ace Zach Wheeler.
Rays money line, +180 (DraftKings)
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SAN DIEGO PADRES AT SEATTLE MARINERS
Nate Colbert finished his six-season stint with the Padres in 1974 with a club-record 163 homers. Amazingly, nobody surpassed his record for 50 years.
Manny Machado passed Colbert when he drilled his 164th homer with San Diego during Tuesday’s 7-3 victory over the Mariners. Machado has 26 homers this season for the Padres, who lead the NL wild-card berth.
The Mariners are hanging around in both the AL West and Wild Card races, but they don’t seem ready to make a real push. Cal Raleigh hit his 30th homer on Tuesday, but star Julio Rodriguez’s pedestrian numbers of 14 homers, 14 doubles and 49 RBIs have been a killer.
Making contact is a challenge for Seattle hitters. Josh Rojas (who slugs a porous .345) is one strikeout away from making it eight Mariners with 100 or more strikeouts. You know Padres’ right-hander Michael King (185 Ks) can’t wait to send a ton of Seattle players back to the dugout with bat in hand.
Michael King 9-plus strikeouts, +180 (DraftKings)
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KANSAS CITY ROYALS AT NEW YORK YANKEES
These two teams are in good position to make the playoffs. The Yankees are leading the AL East by a half-game over the Baltimore Orioles, and the Royals currently possess the second wild-card spot.
New York rolled to a 10-4 victory in the series opener, and then its bats were totally silenced in Tuesday’s 5-0 loss. Aaron Judge was hitless in four at-bats, and his homer drought stretched to 14 games. Mystifying for sure.
Judge has never faced Kansas City All-Star left-hander Cole Ragans before, so that matchup is certainly intriguing. Juan Soto also has never seen Ragans, and he also went 0-for-4 on Tuesday. He has gone deep just once in the past 14 games.
One guy you can always count on is Royals catcher Salvador Perez. The nine-time All-Star is a blistering 6-for-7 with a homer and five RBIs in the series. He has 100 RBIs, the second time he has reached that milestone in his stellar career.
Salvador Perez 2-plus hits, +270 (DraftKings)
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