Wyndham Clark takes L.A. by storm to win the U.S. Open

….and if you’d have put a little dough on the Wynner…

Money Monday

Three suggestions for early-in-the-week action

Colorado Rockies at Cincinnati Reds
Great American Ball Park – Cincinnati, OH
7:10 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Cincinnati -160

Colorado’s pitching staff was absolutely pathetic in Atlanta over the weekend, giving up 12 home runs during the four-game sweep. That’s the most in a four-game road series in franchise history.

The Rockies weren’t even competitive in any of the games against the Braves, losing 8-3, 8-1, 10-2 and 14-6. After starting its current road trip 2-0, Colorado has lost five-straight games before heading to Cincy to wrap up one of its longest outings of the year.

Starter Austin Gomber has an alarming 7.29 ERA and has lost each of his last two appearances to drop his record to 4-6 this year. The centerpiece of the infamous Nolan Arenado trade has given up at least five earned runs in six of his starts this season, including against the Reds on May 17. He lasted just 4 1/3 innings while giving up eight hits and five runs.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati is likely to go with Brandon Williamson on the mound, a winner his last time out to move to 1-0 on the season. The Reds are 5-1 overall in games he’s started.

Cincy as a team right now is red hot. The Reds have won eight games in a row, including road trip sweeps of the Royals and Astros to finish things off. They’ll return to Great American Ballpark as the hottest team in baseball, looking to turn a disappointing 17-18 home record around.

There’s no one better to do that against than the Rockies, who appear to be serving up a whole bunch of batting practice right now. Take the Reds with confidence.

Richard DeMala’s pick: Cincinnati M/L (-160)

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Chicago Cubs at Pittsburgh Pirates
PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
7:05 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Chicago -120

Talk about two teams going in different directions. Pittsburgh was at one point one of the best stories in baseball, but the Pirates have walked the plank since a promising 20-8 start. They now sit below .500, at 34-36, meaning they’re just 14-28 since sprinting out of the gates.

Pittsburgh blew a lead to Milwaukee on Sunday afternoon, falling 5-2, and extending its current losing streak to six games; part of that was a sweep at the hands of these Cubs.

Chicago dominated the Pirates last week, winning games by scores of 11-3, 10-6 and 7-2. Cubs’ starter Drew Smyly has just a 3.59 ERA on the season and a respectable 6-4 record. He beat the Pirates his last time out.

Meanwhile, Pittsburgh starter Osvaldo Bido lasted just four innings in his MLB debut against the Cubs on Wednesday and needed 91 pitches to do it. Chicago is coming off a 6-3 loss on Sunday to the Orioles to snap a five-game winning streak, but the Cubs are 7-2 over their last nine games, creeping back toward .500 after hitting rock bottom at 10 games under on June 8.

Neither of these teams is likely postseason bound, but they are playing two different types of baseball right now. For the Cubs, it’s pretty good. For the Pirates, it’s really bad. That pattern will continue on Monday night.

Richard DeMala’s pick: Chicago M/L (-120)

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New York Mets at Houston Astros
Minute Maid Park – Houston, TX
8:10 PM ET
SuperBook Line: Houston -130

The Mets are one of the biggest disappointments in MLB this year, sitting at just 33-38. Even with their crazy expensive payroll and some big-name pitchers, they’re five games under .500.

New York is just 3-11 over its last 14 games, including a very concerning series loss to the hapless St. Louis Cardinals over the weekend. The Mets fell 8-7 on Sunday.

One of those big-name pitchers will be on the mound on Monday night in Houston. But Max Scherzer hasn’t looked like Max Scherzer of late. He went just 3 1/3 innings against the Yankees his last time out, giving up six earned runs on seven hits and two home runs. Scherzer got rocked in his start before that as well, surrendering 11 hits, five earned runs and a home run against the Braves.

New York lost both of those games. It’s fair to wonder how much Scherzer has left in the tank.

For the Astros, Hunter Brown is coming off a dominant start against the Nationals his last time out, throwing seven shutout innings, giving up just four hits and striking out four. Houston easily won the game, 6-1, and Brown improved to 6-3 on the season with just a 3.35 ERA. Houston is 8-5 in games he takes the baseball and 4-2 over the last six.

The Astros have scuffled of late, losing four in a row, but one of their last wins came with Brown on the mound. And Houston’s +48 run differential is still good for third in the American League, a pretty telling indication of how good a team is.

The Astros may not be dominating right now like we’ve seen in years past, but they’re still World Series contenders, while the Mets clearly are not. Houston will be the latest team to hit Scherzer hard, riding that to a victory.

Richard DeMala’s pick: Houston M/L (-130)

Three Things We Learned…

Takeaways from a weekend full of great games and performances

Don’t have the U.S. Open in L.A.

Hats off to Wyndham Clark. He won the U.S. Open by a stroke over Rory McIlroy, making big shot after big shot down the stretch to earn his first major victory. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the biggest takeaway from the weekend in Los Angeles. Instead, the most-memorable part of this U.S. Open was how dead the crowd was throughout the tournament. The galleries were small. The box seats were empty. It was an embarrassment for all involved. Without a better plan, a major shouldn’t return to L.A. any time soon.

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The West isn’t standing pat

The Nuggets just won the NBA championship, rolling to a title in impressive fashion. Their 16-4 record in the postseason was the second-best title run in the last 15 years. But don’t expect the rest of the Western Conference to stand pat, conceding things to Denver. On Sunday, it was announced that Bradley Beal was heading to Phoenix in a trade. In addition, the Lakers are reportedly in talks to add former Suns guard Chris Paul to their roster. The NBA is fluid, making it tough to stay on top. The Nuggets have their work cut out for them.

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Mayhem in Omaha

Even if you don’t have a rooting interest, the College World Series is must-see TV. The games are crazy, with no lead seemingly safe. And the storylines are epic, with teams coming out of nowhere to steal the hearts of fans. This weekend, Oral Roberts burst onto the national scene, becoming a Cinderella team. Florida is bombing away, giving everyone a big-boy school to root for or against. It’s been fun in Omaha, and it’s only just beginning.