A month ago the Phillies were barely on my radar as far as playoff teams go, but they are now in the midst of an incredible hot streak and are on a 7-game winning streak within their overall impressive winning stretch. They don’t have a lot of pitching depth or defensive stars, but they hit, and they have been hitting at an elite level over the last two weeks with a team OPS of .856. That’s good for 3rd in MLB while their opponent, the Marlins, have a team OPS of just .603, tied for second to last in the league. Edward Cabrera is a fun and exciting pitcher, but has had some tough starts this year. With the way the Phillies are swinging the bat, it’s hard to bet against them when facing a young starter.

Prediction: The Phillies offense continues to roll and win this one for them.

The Royals wouldn’t have much of a chance in this game if an average pitcher was starting for the White Sox, and Dylan Cease is no regular pitcher. The White Sox starter enters this game with a sub-2 ERA at 1.98 and has pitched his last 18 innings while giving up just 2 runs and 16 strikeouts. He is in the midst of the best stretch of his young career and Kansas City does not have the offense to keep up with or really even challenge him. The White Sox offense isn’t elite, but they can certainly handle a past-his-prime Greinke while Cease mows down the Royals young lineup.

Prediction: White Sox win on the back of a good start from Cease.

The Cardinals are playing great ball at the moment and just recently swept the Yankees in a 3-game series that was not nearly as contested as one would’ve thought it to be. At. Louis has been dominant of late and can attribute a lot of that success to team hitting, as the Cardinals currently sport an .845 team OPS over the last two weeks. Their pitching hasn’t been nearly as good, but with offense like that as a team, and hitters like Paul Goldschmit and Nolan Arenado playing at an MVP level, this team can rely on its offense to get wins as I think they will here.

Prediction: The Cardinals elite offense carries the team to victory.

The Phillies just keep winning games. Their awful team defense and high strikeout rate hasn’t seemed to matter lately as they are on a 5 game win streak and are 9-1 in their last 10. They may not make a move for the NL East, but they are certainly in Wild Card contention and are making a serious push at the playoffs. The Marlins just lost a series to the Cubs…so not great for them. Philadelphia enters this game with a pitching advantage as well with Zack Wheeler on the mound, and while Braxton Garret and his 3.88 ERA is solid, it’s not Alcantra, and Alcantra is the only pitcher I would expect to beat the Phillies right now. Philadelphia's offense plus a pitching advantage equals a win.

Prediction: Phillies win easily and cover as the favorite.

Ohtani is pitching! Ohtani is pitching! That means the Angels actually have a good shot at winning this game. And with James Kaprielian on the mound for the A’s, the Angels offense, including Ohtani, should be able to pounce and score some runs. Kaprielian’s 4.32 ERA isn’t terrible, but when opposing one of the best pitchers in the league, it’s difficult to have confidence in him, especially when backed by the A’s offense. Ohtani dominated his last outing against the A’s in which he had 7 strikeouts and gave up two runs in 5.2 innings, and I don’t expect much difference in this one.

Prediction: Angels win on the back of Ohtani pitching and very likely also hitting his team to victory.

After a series loss to the Red Sox, the Astros have split their four game series against the Guardians and are looking less than dominant. And with Martin Perez on the mound for the Rangers, the Astros won’t have an easy win in this one. They have their own good starter in Cristian Javier, but with the Astros bats slowing down as of late and sitting outside of the top-10 in team OPS over the last two weeks, the Rangers have a shot at a win. That is, if their own stagnant offense can get some runs across the plate. Neither team has been great offensively, and though the Rangers do have a starter advantage, the Astros have a bullpen advantage and offensive advantage, even with their recent struggles.

Prediction: Astros win a close one late after a solid outing by Perez.

After a surprising start, the D-Backs have regressed to the mean, and though their starting pitching is still solid, it’s not the elite unit it was for the first month and a half of the season. Both starters hold solid ERAs at 3.4 and 3.89 for Zac Gallen and Tyler Beede, respectively, but Arizona's offense has been much better than that of the Pirates in the last two weeks. While the Pirates have struggled with a team OPS of just .629 in that span, Arizona has shown some real life in their bats with a team OPS of .719. That puts them squarely in the top-10 sandwiched between the Padres and Braves at 10th and 8th, making it one of their best offensive stretches of the season. If they get a solid start out of Zac Gallen, which he often gives them, the Diamondbacks have a great shot in this game.

Prediction: The D-Backs offense should be able to score with relative ease as Zac Gallen does what he does and pitches well.

Look, the Nationals aren’t the worst team in MLB, but they…What’s that? Oh. The Nationals are the worst team in MLB. It’s not close either, with the next worst team in the A’s having five more wins than Washington. The Cubs aren’t world beaters either with a 43-64 record, now behind the Reds who had one of the worst starts to a season in MLB history. This game is all about the Pitching matchup. While the Cubs are starting a respectable pitcher in Keegan Thompson, who currently has a 3.58 ERA, the same cannot be said of the Nationals. Washington's starter, Anibal Sanchez, enters this contest with an ERA of 7.65. If the Cubs can’t win against an opposing starter whose ERA is approaching 8, I don’t know if they really deserve to be an MLB franchise.

Prediction: Cubs win this one by the Nationals pitching exploding and giving up more runs than any MLB team should. This isn’t about the Cubs being good, this is about the Nats being really bad.

The Padres didn’t exactly impress after their huge trade deadline in which they acquired Juan Soto and Josh Bell. Against the Dodgers, though, any team could get swept. They have a great chance in this game to get back to winning, and against the Giants it will be a much easier task. The Giants aren’t bad, but they don't have the players to truly make a move in the NL West or even the wildcard in the NL. They have been bogged down by a regression in pitching while their offense has taken a dip from last year as well. Over the last two weeks, the Padres have been a top-ten offense by team OPS at .717, while the Giants have struggled to stay above water at 20th with a team OPS of just .671. The Padres are the better team here and should get a bounce back win after a tough series against the Dodgers.

Prediction: Padres get the win.

The Rangers have struggled on the offensive end over the last couple of weeks with a .685 OPS, and things won’t be easy against Chicago starter Michael Kopech. Kopech has been great this year with a 3.12 ERA and has given up just 2 runs in his last 12.1 innings of work. He should do well against this struggling lineup and lift his team to a win.

Prediction: White Sox take this one with a solid pitching performance from Kopech.

Though the Giants are not a great team, the A’s are quite a bit worse. On top of that, A’s starter Adam Oller is having a season to forget with an ERA of 7.68 which is bad. Really, really bad. Carlos Rodon is starting for the Giants and his ERA at 3 will play much better than his adversary and should help to get his team a win. There’s not much else to this one. The Giants are better and the A’s are starting a pitcher with an ERA approaching 8.

Prediction: Giants win and cover as the favorite.

Though both of these teams rely heavily on their pitching and defense, the Astros are still a better than average offensive team with a season OPS of .745, making them the 5th best hitting team in MLB by that metric. Astros starter Luis Garcia also has a better ERA at 3.72 coming into this game than Guardians starter, Cal Quantrill, who currently has a 4.08 ERA. Houston has dominated the Guardians this year with a 4-1 record against them with their lone loss coming in the first matchup of the season. The Astros are a better team than the Guardians and will show it in this game.

Prediction: Astros take this one in Cleveland and distance themselves even further from the rest of the AL West.

The Nationals were already bad, now they are even worse. They lost their franchise player and one of their better hitters in their trade with the Padres, and while they may be set for the future, they are screwed in the now. Not to mention, starter Anibal Sanchez has an ERA of 7.47 and doesn’t seem to be improving on that number to this point in the season. Chris Basset starts for the Mets, and though his 3.76 ERA isn’t elite, it’s good enough to allow the offense to win games for them, and with the Nats pitching situation, the Mets offense can certainly, and most likely will, win this game.

Prediction: Mets take this one easily and cover as the favorite.

The Giants, who had once challenged for the top spot in the NL West, have fallen by the wayside as the Dodgers have all but sealed their division. Julio Urias has been lights out all season and has been one of the most consistent pitchers in all of baseball this season. He just doesn’t really have bad starts and with the Dodgers offense as good as it is, only needs to give his offense a chance for the team to win. That's no different here, and with Alex Cobb on the Hill for the Giants, the Dodgers should be able to put up some runs. Cobb’s 4.39 ERA combined with the Giants 26th ranked bullpen ERA at 4.44 will give the Dodgers lineup more than enough scoring opportunities while one of their young stud pitchers mows down their rival. Being a Dodgers fan sounds pretty fun sometimes.

Prediction: Dodgers win this on. They are better in all facets of the game already and have a major starter advantage. Don’t be surprised if they cover the spread as well.

The A’s bats went cold in last night's game, and while a turnaround would be nice for them, it is not likely. Shohei Ohtani is on the mound for the Angels and he has been dominant of late besides one bad outing against the Braves. His 2.81 ERA easily leads the Angel’s starter and his 2.81 ERA would put him firly in the top-20 in MLB if he qualified for the leaderboard. The A’s OPS was a little better than Aneheims, but with Ohtani on the mound, the A’s have a very sli9m chance of doing anything offensively, let alone winning the game.

Prediction: Angels take this one on the back of a quality start by their best pitcher in Shohei Ohtani.

Though Matt Manning has been a better starter than Chris Archer, the Twins offense has been much better as a unit than the Tigers. While the Twins have been about league average in team OPS for the last fifteen days of play, the Tigers have been awful, with a .626 team OPS that leaves them at 26th in MLB over that span. Their offense is virtually non-existent and even with their starter advantage I don't see them getting a win in this one. They are too inconsistent at the plate to trust them.

Prediction: Twins win with their superior offense.

The Orioles aren't a playoff team yet, but they have the core that they want to do it with and they are playing solid ball at the moment. Jordan Lyles certainly isn’t their best option on the mound, but Spencer Howard of the Rangers has an ERA at 5.93 which puts him almost a run and a half worse than Lyles for the season. The Rangers have been a better offense over the last couple of weeks, but only slightly, with a team OPS of .711 compared to the Orioles .687. I’ll take the pitching advantage here as the Orioles have the better starter on the mound and have had a better bullpen for the year.

Prediction: Orioles to grab the win in this matchup between an up and coming franchise and the Rangers.

Both the Angels and the A’s should be sellers at today's deadline and while that could change things heading into this game, the A’s have been the better team of late. Their offense ranks 7th in the league in team OPS over the last fifteen days while the Angels sit at 24th, and though Noah Syndergaard has been solid of late, so has A’s starter Cole Irvin, who currently has an ERA of just 3.05. The Starting pitching matchup goes to the A’s and they have been swinging the bats with much more authority lately, leading me to the conclusion that this is the A’s game to win.

Prediction: A’s to win with a solid start from Irvin and enough offense to get the win over the Angels.

The Orioles aren’t on their hot streak anymore, but they are still playing solid ball and can thank their pitching for the most part. With a team ERA of 3.57 over the last two weeks the Orioles have been a middle of the pack pitching team while the Rangers sit just behind them at 3.66, but the Rangers hitting has been much better of late with a team OPS of .719 compared to the Orioles .668. So while the pitching is comparable as a team and with both starters within half a run of each other in ERA, I like the Rangers here with their better offense.

Prediction: Rangers win with their offensive advantage.

San Diego is the better team in this matchup and it’s extremely clear. Mike Clevinger has an ERA more than a run and a half lower than Rockies starter Antonio Senzatela at 3.38 and 4.9, respectively, while the Padres offense actually has the same exact OPS as a team as the Rockies do over the last week. The hitting is as even as it gets, but San Diego’s pitching advantage is huge in this game and should help them to win. Their team 3.35 ERA over the last week is good for 12th in the majors and puts them way above the Rockies with their ERA at 5.

Prediction: San Diego wins with good pitching.

Tarik Skubal has been solid this year, but so has the Twins offense. However, they have had some trouble lately and sport a team OPS of just .679 in the last week while the Tigers have had the best team ERA in baseball over the same span. At 2.25 as a team, they are looking much better due to their team improvement on the mound, with starters and relievers all doing their part to bring their mark down. With an unlisted pitcher starting for the Twins and the factors above combined, I like the Tigers here.

Prediction: Tigers pitching gets them the win here as the Twins offense continues to struggle.

Neither the Twins, nor the Padres have been hitting as of late, with team OPS marks at 20th and 24th in the league for the Twins and Padres respectively. Minnesota hasn’t been very impressive as a pitching group either as the 18th ranked team ERA in MLB, but the Padres crack the top-10 in that category sitting at 8th with a 3.78 ERA. Blake Snell started the year with difficulty coming back from injury, but now that he has settled into the rotation, he has been much better. Don’t expect Cy Young Snell to emerge again, but with his recent success and the Twins inability to hit over the last couple of weeks, I like the Padres here.

Prediction: Padres win with a good start from Snell as this game remains low scoring.

While the Red Sox have struggled greatly in the month of July, the Brewers have been much better and are on a mini win streak of four games at the moment. Bryan Bello is pitching for the Sox, and though his expected numbers are much better than his actual numbers so far, his expected numbers still aren’t great. Brandon Woodruff on the other hand is looking like one of the better pitchers in the NL again after a slow start, and the Brewers offense has been great over the last month with a team OPS of .766, good enough for 5th in the MLB.

Prediction: Take the Brewers here. The Red Sox offense has been inconsistent and their defense has been bad while the Brewers mix of pitching (starter and bullpen) and hitting success should propel them to a win.