Michael Alexander - Sports Handicapper

Rating: 2 Units

Utah came out flat in the third quarter on Wednesday and that dismal 12 minutes did them in. The Jazz were just not as aggressive as L.A. Utah had 3 more turnovers, 4 fewer steals and only one block all night long. Donovan Mitchell didn’t look to be in great shape but he should be able to shoot better than 6 for 19 from the floor. Utah really blew a huge opportunity as they lost the home-court advantage and Kawhi Leonard was not even in uniform. Mitchell is the best player on Utah and he is dealing with a serious ankle problem, Donovan: “It’s something I have to deal with, it sucks… it’s tough when you’re trying things you normally do and you see spots you can get to, but you can’t.” Paul George was determined to be engaged in every facet of the game on Wednesday and he was as he led all scorers and he had more rebounds than anybody. Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris stepped up big time and when Morris shoots the ball well, the Clippers are usually very tough. Jackson, who has been working with L.A. assistant coach and ‘Mr. Big Shot’ Chauncey Billups, is playing with great confidence. He is shooting the long ball the best he has in his career. If you told the Clippers at the beginning of the season that they only had to win a Game 6 at home to make it to the Conference Finals, they would have thrown all their money into the pot.

Rating: 2 Units

Mets’ lefty Joey Lucchesi looked good in two straight starts against the Padres — who let him go after last season. With the personal revenge mojo out the window, he now leaves a pair of pitcher’s parks — Petco and Citi Field — for a road game against an opponent that hits lefties better than righties. The Nationals’ Joe Ross has thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings in his last two starts. Guess this had to happen eventually but with a guy whose full season ERAs have been 5.01, 5.06, 5.48 the last three seasons and is currently 4.19 after 12 starts in 2021, the other side would seem to be due to offset that scoreless streak with the runs necessary to play to Ross’ previously established typical performance.

Rating: 2 Units

The Rockies have beaten ace-like starters Yu Darvish, Blake Snell and Brandon Woodruff already on this homestand which began on Monday and is currently
4 wins, 0 losses — a major departure from their ridiculously horrible, Hall of Shame road record of 5-27. Why can’t they beat Corbin Burnes, too? Burnes’ ERA and WHIP are among the best in the game among starters: 2.27 and 0.85. He has 102 Ks and only 10 BBs in 63 1/3 innings pitched. But despite those numbers, his Won-Loss record is a mere 3-4 and the Brewers are 5-6 when he starts. Coors Field has a habit of turning fine visiting pitching form into something less than mediocre. If you say that the answer to the ‘Why shouldn’t they beat Corbin Burnes?’ question is ‘Because Antonio Senzatela is pitching for the Rockies,’ then you might have a good point. Senzatela requires a leap of faith but anyone who took that leap the last two times he started in this ballpark was rewarded with 6-3 and 7-6 wins, and 7 innings of 4-hit, 1-run ball (in an eventual loss) in the prior home start before that.

Rating: 3 Units

Yesterday we noted that the White Sox were only 2-9 as the underdog and we went with Houston as the favorite. The Astros scored early and often against Dylan Cease for the expected win. Does this mean we should be on the favored White Sox — 37-16 when favored — tonight? Maybe it does. We’ll see. But we’re sticking with the Astros. Chicago lefty Carlos Rodon has been sensational with his 1.89 ERA and 0.89 WHIP. His last start was 7 innings of 1-hit, 1-run ball at Detroit, the worst-hitting team in the majors against left-handed pitching. Tonight, his assignment is against the best hitting team in the majors against lefties, at least via Batting Average. While the White Sox are known for winning a ton of games when the opponent starts a lefty (Luis Garcia of the Astros is not a lefty), it’s the Astros who have the best batting average against them: .286. As noted yesterday, Rodon and the White Sox staff have been facing a string of lower-scoring opposition over their last six series before making this stop in Houston, who leads MLB in runs per game (5.62, and 10 last night).