Inside the Chalk

The Atlanta Braves and the Boston Red Sox will play the rubber game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Fenway Park. The best team in baseball, the 37-19 Atlanta Braves, were shut out yesterday 8-0 which is a rarity, but they will bounce back today. The Braves are expected to send the 2024 NL Cy Young winner and future Hall-of-Famer to the hill, southpaw Chris Sale. Sale is once again in the running for the coveted award and so he should be. He is 7-3 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over 62.0 innings of work. The 23-31 Red Sox are expected to hand the ball to fellow southpaw Payton Tolle and he has been delivering. Tolle is 2-2 with a 2.46 ERA and a WHIP of 0.82 but that is over just 36.2 innings of work. The Braves are 5-0 in Sale’s last 5 road starts against a team with a losing record and Boston is averaging just 3.9 runs per game which is not good when you are facing the Condor.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

Since Aaron Judge snapped his 11-game home run drought on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Rays the New York Yankees bats have exploded. In their first 2 games of their 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals, the Bombers have outscored the Royals 19-4. Tonight they will go for a road sweep and are expected to have the future Hall-of-Famer on the hill, Gerrit Cole. Cole has not missed a beat since returning from Tommy John surgery. He returned to the rotation on Friday against Tampa and delivered, allowing only 2 hits and no runs over 6 innings of work. The Royals are expected to give the nod to southpaw Noah Cameron, and the Yankees crush left-handed pitching. Cameron comes in at 2-3 with a 4.72 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. New York has won 13 consecutive games against KC and has edge in runs scored, run differential, homers, team ERA and the list goes on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

With last night’s 6-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park, the Arizona Diamondbacks have won all 4 meetings with their NL West rival this season, outscoring them 29-10 over that span because the Giants do not score runs. The Giants are dead last in the league in scoring, averaging just 3.6 per game, and tonight they are expected to face southpaw Eduardo Rodríguez who has been throwing flames. Rodríguez is 4-1 with an excellent ERA of only 2.24 and a WHIP to match at 1.19. Tyler Mahle is expected to get the nod for the Giants and he has been just the opposite. Mahle is 1-6 with a bloated ERA of 6.10 and a 1.57 WHIP. The Snakes are one of the hottest teams in the league. They have won 3 straight and 8 of their last 10. With an offense that is averaging just under 5 runs per game, Mahle could be in trouble.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

It was just a matter of time until Aaron Judge snapped his 11-game home run drought and it happened yesterday when he walked off the Tampa Bay Rays in the ninth with a blast to right center, sending the Rays packing with a 0-2 loss. Today that momentum will carry over when the Yankees take it on the arches to Kauffman Stadium to open a 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals. Today’s expected starters have both been dealing. The Yankees’ Will Warren is 6-1 with a 3.61 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. The Royals’ Michael Wacha is 4-2 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. The Yankees own the Royals. Back in April the Bombers swept KC in a 3-game set in the Bronx, outscoring them 24-6, and last year they swept both 3-game sets outscoring them 29-11 over the 6 games.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

To say the Chicago Cubs are in a tailspin would be an understatement. The boys from the north side have lost 7 straight but that happens to all teams and doesn’t last forever. Today they will look to get back on the rails when they conclude their 3-game set with the 22-31 Houston Astros this afternoon at Wrigley Field. Despite their current misfortunes, the Cubs are still 29-23 overall, 18-10 at home, and just 2.5 games back of the Milwaukee Brewers for the lead in the NL Central. Southpaw Shōta Imanaga is expected to get the nod from skipper Craig Counsell. Imanaga had a rare rough outing in his last turn against the Brewers, surrendering 8 runs on 9 hits, resulting in a 9-3 loss but he will bounce back today. Imanaga still has decent numbers at 4-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.04. The Cubs’ bats have been silent but they are still averaging just under 5 runs per game and should get to the Astros’ expected starter, Peter Lambert. Lambert is 2-4 with a 3.57 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and did not look good in his last outing against the Texas Rangers where he allowed 5 runs on 3 hits resulting in a 0-8 Astros’ loss. The Cubs have too much talent and are too well-managed for this to continue.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Pittsburgh Pirates will play the middle game of their 3-game set this afternoon at Rogers Centre. The Jays are hot, winning Game 1, 6-2, and have now won three straight but if anyone can slow them down it is the expected starter for the Bucs, Paul Skenes. He is the best pitcher in the majors without a doubt. Skenes is 6-3 with a 2.60 ERA and a ridiculous WHIP of only 0.71. If Pittsburgh is going to win this game the solution is simple. Let Skenes go deep into the game, give him a few runs, and Pittsburgh evens the series at a game apiece.
TODAY’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The 17-34 Los Angeles Angels, who are now dead last in the AL West, got off to a great start in the 2026 campaign but are starting to implode as they usually do. LA has lost 3 straight, 9 of their last 10, and over that span they have mustered just 24 runs – not good. Tonight they will welcome in the Texas Rangers to Angel Stadium for a 3-game set and they will have their work cut out for them. The 24-25 Rangers, who are second in the AL West, are starting to click. They have won 2 straight, 6 of their last 10, and are expected to send future Hall of Famer Jacob deGrom to the hill. DeGrom is 3-3 with a 3.02 ERA and a WHIP that is off the charts at only 0.89. The Halos are expected to counter with Grayson Rodriguez and the Rangers should be licking their chops. In only one start this season, Rodriguez lasted just 3.2 innings against the LA Dodgers where he yielded 7 runs on 7 hits and walked 4.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS