Thursday, July 28, 2016

MLB – Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants

NL Division Leaders Washington Nationals at San Francisco Giants on Saturday

The Washington Nationals will travel to play the San Francisco Giants on Saturday. Both teams are leaders in their division and are right behind the  Chicago Cubs for the best record in the National League. These are two talented ballclubs both with a 59-42 record as of Tuesday. The ballgame between the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants is scheduled to start on  Saturday, July 30th, 2016, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California.
The San Francisco Giants will be sending the veteran right-hander Jake Peavy to the mound for this ballgame. Peavy has a 5.42 ERA. Peavy is older and has lost some of his stuff and is no longer considered even an average hurler. The San Francisco Giants have a balanced offense which also includes star catcher Buster Posey.  Posey has been in good form and is batting .285, with 12 homers and 47 RBIs. First baseman Brandon Belt has done well also and is hitting .283 with 11 home runs and 49 RBIs . The Giants have scored a solid 462 runs for the season. The Giants are 30-19 at home so they may feel good on their chance to win this game.
The Washington Nationals have a solid starting pitching staff but have not announced their starter for this ballgame. The Nats outfielder Bryce Harper is one of the best hitters in the game, however he has been in a slump lately.  He is hitting .237 with 20 homers and 55 RBIs this season. Nats infielder Daniel Murphy has been in good form and is batting .351 with 20 home runs and 75 RBIs this season. The Nationals are well over .500 on the road this season. Top Sports Blog think it’s hard to predict this ballgame without knowing the pitcher for Washington. However, we give the edge to the Nats because we suspect the pitcher won’t be worse than Peavy statistically.

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

MLB – Colorado Rockies at New York Mets


Colorado Rockies continues two city East Coast swing against New York Mets on Thursday

The Colorado Rockies is opening up a four game series against the New York Mets on Thursday. The New York Mets are now seven games over .500 and in the run for a NL Wildcard spot.  The matchup between the Colorado Rockies and New York Mets will take place on Thursday, July 28, 2016, at 1:10 p.m. ET at Citi Field. The ballgame will be broadast on SportsNet New York and ROOT Sports Rocky Mountains.
The Colorado Rockies are just a few games under .500 every month and are an even 10-10 in July. They are a little above .500 at home and below on the road. The Rockies offense comes from the bats of shortstop Trevor Story and third baseman Nolan Arrenado. The Colorado Rockies offense is scoring just 4.14 runs per game on the road and 6.18 runs per game at home. The Rockies will be sending the 26-year old southpaw Tyler Anderson to the mound for this ballgame. Anderson has 48 innings over eight starts with a 3-3 record and a 3.56 ERA.  The Rockies have won his last three starts. He has done well in Coors Field and has pitched slightly better at home than on the road. He has a 0-2 record on the road with a 3.86 ERA in 11 2/3 innings.
The New York Mets have been up and down this season. The Mets offense has injuries right now is a bit of a question. The rotation has been hurt with a season ending surgery for Matt Harvey and bone spur issues for both Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz. The Mets will be sending the 28-year old right-hander Jacob deGrom to the mound for this ballgame. This season deGrom has 17 starts with a 6-5 record and a 2.73 ERA. He pitches better at home with a 4-2 record and a 2.45 ERA in nine starts. The only time deGrom pitched against the Rockies was back in May. He pitched in Coors Field, and allowed three runs in six and a third innings. Top Sports Blog is looking for the game to be close through the first five or six innings. We will give the edge to the Mets, because they have the stronger bullpen.

Thursday, July 21, 2016

MLB – San Francisco Giants at New York Yankees


San Francisco Giants return to the Big Apple against New York Yankees on Saturday

The San Francisco Giants are having another great year and are in great position for another deep playoff push. The New York Yankees had back-to-back losses to divisional-rival Boston coming out of the All-Star break and things were looking bleak. Then a win in the series finale against Boston and a nice start in the series against Baltimore has the Yankees at .500 and back in the hunt. The matchup between the San Francisco Giants and the New York Yankees is scheduled to start on Saturday, July 23, 2016, at 4:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. The ballgame will be broadcast on FS1.
The New York Yankees is still not in great form given the rotation questions and aging lineup. The Yankee offense has been questionable lately. A-Rod was able to hit a home run on Monday but has been shown to have a rather slow bat all season. The pitchers for this game hasn’t been announced, but based on how each team set their rotation it looks like Ivan Nova will take the mound for the Yankees. In his game against Baltimore last Monday, Nova pitched 6 innings and allowed one run and four hits. This was his first quality start since June 9. Nova has a 7-5 record and a 4.92 ERA. He has allowed 9.9 hits per nine innings and 16 home runs in 86 innings.
The San Francisco Giants have been on a roll this year with a 50-26 record. The Giants lineup works pretty good and they have a rotation that is one of the best in the sport. The Giants should be sending veteran right-hander Jeff Samardzija to the mound for this ballgame. Samardzija hasn’t done very well in the past against the Yankees. Yankee outfielder Carlos Beltran is hitting .313 in 16 at bats with three walks against him. Also, Yankee infielder Chase Headley has a .579 on base percentage in 17 plate appearances. Samardzija has been inconsistent this year and has a 7-3 record with a 2.84 ERA. In his first start after the break against the Padres, Samardzija allowed four runs in five innings. Top Sports Blog gives the edge to the Giants because they are able to produce and give Samardzija run support when he needs it.

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Women’s Soccer – United States vs. Costa Rica

United States Women’s National Team prepares for Olympics against Costa Rica on Friday at Sporting Park

The United States Women’s National Team will be playing their last tune-up match against Costa Rica before heading out to Brazil for the Summer Olympics. The USWNT has looked sharp this season and has defeated Colombia, Japan, and South Africa so far. The US women are heavy favorites to win this soccer match against Costa Rica. The fixture between United States and Costa Rica is scheduled to start on Friday, July 22, 2016, at 9:00 p.m. ET at Sporting Park in Kansas City, KS. The matchup will be televised on ESPN.
The Costa Rica women’s national football team will have Dinnia Diaz defending the goal against the USWNT.  Her performance will be the most crucial part of the game for the Ticas. Diaz was solid in net for Costa Rica during the Women’s World Cup last year.  There was 55 shots and 24 shots in goals, but she only allowed four to get past her.
The United States Women’s National Team have outscored their opponents 21-3 this season. Japan was soccer team that scored all 3 goals. The USWNT has dominated CONCACAF and should not have much trouble against Costa Rica. The USWNT striker Alex Morgan has not put up the numbers she usually does for her NWSL club. She has two goals in 10 games this season. Morgan has played four games with the USWNT this year.  She has four goals and an assist in those games, including three goals in two games against Japan. Goalkeeper Hope Solo should have no problem in defending her goal as the USWNT continually finds the back of the Ticas net. Top Sports Blog thinks head coach for USWNT, Jill Ellis won’t look to run up the score. This could be a subdued affair with the side just wanting to avoid injury and get a win before heading off to Brazil.

Monday, July 18, 2016

MLB – San Francisco Giants at Boston Red Sox


Red Sox sends newly acquired Drew Pomeranz against San Francisco Giants on Wednesday Night

The Boston Red Sox will get its first look at the newest pitcher it acquired against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday Night. Drew Pomeranz is the Red Sox pitcher and this will be his first start at Fenway Park.  The Boston Red Sox will be favored at home. The San Francisco Giants are the best team on the road with a 28-18 record. The road game for the Giants have allowed them to pull away from the rest of the pack in the NL West. The ballgame between the San Francisco Giants and the Boston Red Sox is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2016 at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Boston Red Sox will send the lefty Pomeranz to the mound on Wednesday night. He was picked up from the Padres during the All-Star break.  He is going to have to pitch under the pressure of a pennant chase for the first time in his career. Before last season, Pomeranz was just an average pitcher. He is hot this year going 8-7 and a 2.47 ERA with the Padres. The Red Sox pitching staff is having their injury problems this season. Junichi Tazawa is on the disabled list with shoulder problems and  Craig Kimbrel battling a knee injury. Koji Uehara is doing good at closing out games, as he is 4 for 4 before the All-Star break. The problem with Uehara is that he allows too many hits along with his strikeouts. His ERA is 4.54 and we wouldn't feel safe with him against a good San Francisco lineup.
The San Francisco Giants will probably be sending Matt Cain to the mound for this ballgame.  Cain is the scheduled to start this game, but he's still on the disabled list. Cain has been battling a hamstring injury and has been out on a rehab assignment. Top Sports Blog thinks Cain is a big question mark for the Giants right now, but we see a lot flaws in the Red Sox right now as well. We think this game can go either way but we are giving the edge to San Francisco.

Friday, July 15, 2016

MLB – New York Mets at Chicago Cubs


Chicago Cubs open up three game revenge minded set with the visiting New York Mets at historic Wrigley Field

The Chicago Cubs lost three straight to their division rival New York Mets just before the All-Star break. If not for that the Cubs would have been one of the hottest teams heading back into the second half of the season. Recently, the Mets dropped the whole series to the Nats at home. Before that the Mets took four straight form the Cubs and then took two out of three games from the Marlins. This helped to put some space between them and Miami in the standings. The matchup between the New York Mets and Chicago Cubs is scheduled to start on Monday, July 18, 2016, at 7:05 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The ballgame will be televised on ESPN.
The New York Mets return after the break with a 47-41 record. The Mets should be sending the young lefty Steven Matz to the mound for this ballgame. After his terrible debut, Matz went on to pitch seven quality starts.  He only allowed 2 ER or less three times and allowed 0 ER four times. Since then, Matz has only had three quality starts in his last eight starts on the mound. In his most recent start against the Nats before the break, he went seven innings and allowed four walks. He has a 4-2 record on the road with a 3.38 ERA. He has one career start against the Cubs allowing seven hits and 3 ER through 5.1 innings in a no decision.
The Chicago Cubs at one point in the season had an insurmountable lead atop the NL Central standings. Then during the last three weeks before the break, the Cubs dropped 15 of their last 21 ballgames. The Cubs will be sending Jake Arrieta to the mound for this ballgame. He got beat up during his last three starts in allowing 15 ER. Arrieta still has a good 2.68 ERA overall. When Arrieta is at Wrigley Field, he’s allowed no more than 3 ER in any of his eight starts to date. He has a 2-2 record with a 2.48 ERA against the Mets.  Top Sports Blog thinks to look for the Cubs to rally and give Arrieta the win and finally put an end to their eight game losing streak to the Mets.

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Montreal Impact vs. New York City FC

New York City FC are in search of a victory against Montreal Impact at Saputo Stadium on Sunday

The New York City FC and the Montreal Impact are both  threatening to win the Eastern Conference regular season title. The combination of both of these teams are averaging over three goals per game. The Montreal Impact should be favored in this fixture because they’re at home and are near the top of the chart. The fixture between the Montreal Impact and New York City FC is scheduled to start on Sunday, July 17, 2016 at 5:00 p.m. ET, at Saputo Stadium. This matchup will be broadcast on ESPN.
The Montreal Impact have been in good form as of late and have gone five straight matches without a loss. The last time the Impact were beaten at home was back in April.  However, this year the Impact are only 4-3-1 at home. Midfielder Marco Donadel is out for now, but should be back at some point in the future from his ankle injury. Also, it is questionable if forward Didier Drogba will be back in full form from a thigh injury. There are some concerns at the back for Montreal. The goalkeeper Evan Bush hasn’t been good in the net this season. Montreal also has problems on finding center backs to help him out.
The New York City FC are in great form and has been a bib surprise this season. The City has a great 5-1-3 record on the road. Last weekend, the City did loose a match on the road to Sporting Kansas City by a score of 3-1. The City has had a lot of success this season due to a relatively healthy lineup. The City are without midfielder Connor Brandt and forward Steven Mendoza, both who have long-term injury problems. Top Sports Blog doesn’t like the vulnerability which the Impact have shown. We think that City has a great chance to win this match on the road against a top contender in the East.

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

MLB – Texas Rangers at Chicago Cubs

Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Friday

The Chicago Cubs will pick back up the 2016 MLB season at home playing against the Texas Rangers. Both clubs at one point in time owned the largest leads of any division leader. However, both teams have gone on prolonged losing streaks heading into the break. The matchup between the Texas Rangers and Chicago Cubs is scheduled to take place on Friday, July 15, 2016, at 2:20 p.m. ET at Wrigley Field. The ballgame will be broadcast on the MLB Network.
The Texas Rangers lost a four game series against the Minnesota Twins through Sunday to fall to 3-9 in its last 12 games. The Texas Rangers have played their best ball on the road where their record is 25 wins and 21 loses. The Rangers should be sending Martin Perez to the mound for this ballgame. Perez is 7-5 with a 3.85 ERA and the Rangers have a 10-7 record when he has started. However, he is allowing nine hits and four walks per nine innings. He hasn’t been very dominate over his last three starts with a 1-1 record and a 5.29 ERA. Perez has been a better pitcher at home in his own ballpark where his ERA is at 2.48 compared to 5.23 when on the road..
The Chicago Cubs lost 9 of their last 11 ballgames going into the All-Star break. The Cubs are currently 12 games over .500 and will be sending Kyle Hendricks to the mound. Hendricks has dominated throughout most of the first half of the season. He is just one win away from matching his career high at 6. He is best at home with a 5-1 record and a 1.67 ERA. Top Sports Blog thinks it will be interesting to see how these teams perform after the break. We think the Cubs should be given the edge in this ballgame with Hendricks the more dominating of the two starting pitchers.

Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Women’s Soccer – United States vs. South Africa

United States prepares for Olympics in a game against South Africa on Saturday at Soldier Field

The United States Women’s National Team are going to be the huge favorites against South Africa this Saturday afternoon at Soldier field. The USWNT has only two matches left before they compete at the Olympics in Rio. The South Africa women’s national football team isn’t used to competing at this sort of level in women’s soccer quite yet. The Americans have only given up goals in two matches out of 13 this year. The fixture between the United States and South Africa is scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 9, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. ET at Soldier Field . The matchup will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1.
The South Africa team is going to have problems in producing attempts at goal. The USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo rarely lets a kick get past her into the back of the net, and rarely needs to make much of a save either. The South African forward Portia Modise does have 114 Caps in her career. Aside from that, the South African team just doesn’t have any experience whatsoever.  The South African team hasn’t challenged itself against any of the top competitors in the world in recent years. The entire team plays at home in a weak South African league, and their captain, Janine Van Wyk will be trying to keep things together at the back.
The USWNT head coach Jill Ellis has put together a lineup that has a familiar look to it. Defender Becky Sauerbrun will captain of the team for this match. Midfielder Carli Lloyd is potentially out due to a MCL injury. Heather O’Reilly, Tobin Heath, Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Ali Krieger will all surely be in the side, while Meghan Klingenberg and Kelley O’Hara are likely going to be starting at the back.  Top Sports Blog believes the Americans are one of the best in the world and would’t expect anything but a win against South Africa. This should just be another successful tune-up for the United States on the road to the Olympics.