Inside the Chalk

The Arizona Diamondbacks will go for a sweep of the Chicago White Sox when they close out their 3-game set in an early one today on the south side. The D-Backs have outscored the lowly Sox, 18-4, over the first two games and are expected to send Bryce Travis to the hill. Travis is perfect, at 2-0, with a 2.45 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.93. The White Sox are expected to have Touki Toussaint toeing the rubber and his numbers are not good. Toussaint is 4-7 with a 5.10 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, his ERA has ballooned to 6.75 with a 1.69 WHIP. Arizona holds a 2 game lead over the Marlins and Cubs for the second Wild Card spot. They will finish out the season at home against the World Champion Houston Astros and that will not be a walk in the park so they need to take care of business today.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees’ season is done but they are not rolling over and that was evident in last night’s 2-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Tonight in the second game of their 3-game set, they will have the leading AL Cy Young candidate, Gerrit Cole, toeing the rubber. Cole is having a season like no other. He is 14-4 with a 2.75 ERA, a 1.01 WHIP, and 217 strikeouts. If that doesn’t warrant a Cy Young crown, then I don’t know what does. The Jays, who have a 1½ game lead over the Astros and 2 over the Mariners for the second Wild Card spot, will send José Berríos to the hill. Berríos is 11-11 with a 3.58 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and is 3-6 in his career against the Bombers with a 5.14 ERA. The Yankees are 6-0 in Cole’s last 6 starts and in his last turn on September 21st against these Toronto Blue Jays he was in the zone. Cole yielded just 2 hits,1 run, struck out 9 over 8 innings of work, and the Yankees went on to a 5-3 victory. This is probably Cole’s last start of the season. He will want to go out on a positive note and New York would love nothing more than to spoil their AL East rival’s run at the postseason.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Baltimore Orioles hold a 2½ game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays for the top spot in the AL East with 6 games remaining on the slate. Tonight they open a quick 2-game set with the 69-88 Washington Nationals at the Yard then wrap it up at Birdland with a 4-game series with the Boston Red Sox. The Orioles have had the Nationals’ number. They swept them earlier in the year in Washington, outscoring them 5-0 in their 2-game series, and are 8-2 in the last 10 meetings. Tonight’s expected starter for Baltimore is Kyle Bradish and he has been dealing. Bradish is 11-7 on the season with a 3.01 ERA, a 1.07 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts he is 1-1 with a 2.84 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.79. On the other side, Washington is expected to go with Josiah Gray. He comes in at 8-12 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The Orioles’ magic number is 3 and with the Nationals and Red Sox as their last two opponents they are looking pretty good.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The Texas Rangers swept the Seattle Mariners over the weekend and now hold a 2½ game lead over the Houston Astros and 3 over the Mariners for the top spot in the AL West. With 7 games left, the Rangers will open a 3-game set tonight with the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim then finish up with a 4-game series in Seattle with the Mariners so this series is vital for Texas. The Rangers will go for their sixth straight win tonight and are expected to send Jon Gray to the hill. Gray is 8-8 with a 4.22 ERA and is 2-1 in his career against the Halos, with a 3.42 ERA. LA is expected to counter with southpaw Patrick Sandoval, who is 7-13 with a 4.19 ERA. He is 1-3 in his career against Texas with a 3.94 ERA and is a dismal 1-8 in his last 9 starts overall. The Angels are just 2-9 in their last 11 games and are without Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Not good.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The Texas Rangers are clicking when it counts the most, down the stretch, and they will go for their fifth straight win and a 3-game sweep of their AL West foe Seattle Mariners today in Arlington. With last night’s 2-0 win over Seattle, Texas now has a 1½ game lead over Houston and 2 over Seattle for the top spot in the West. Nathan Eovaldi is expected to get the nod for the Rangers. He is 11-4 with a 3.05 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. The Mariners are expected to hand the ball to the rookie, Bryan Woo, who is 4-4 with a 3.91 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Texas has had Seattle’s number this year. They have won 6 straight and 7 of the last 8 meetings. The Rangers are hot, ride them ’til they are not.
TODAY’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

With 8 games left on the slate, the San Diego Padres are 4 games back of the last Wild Card spot but they are still alive and not going down without a fight. San Diego has won 8 straight and look to remain hot when the Padres and the St. Louis Cardinals play the middle game of their 3-game set tonight at Petco Park. The 67-87 Cardinals are obviously out of the picture. Their skipper, Oli Marmol, stated that he will be looking at some of his young talent in tonight’s game. Also, the Cards will be without All-Star third baseman Nolan Arenado and catcher Willson Contreras which is good for the Friars. Tonight’s expected starters are Nick Martinez for the Pads and Jake Woodford for the Cards. Martinez is 5-4 with a 3.73 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. Woodford, who was just called back up from AAA Memphis, is 2-2 with a 5.32 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. The Padres are feeling invincible and like Manny Machado told the Padres fans last night, “We are not out of it. Sixteen in a row.”
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The 79-75 Cincinnati Reds trail the Chicago Cubs and the Miami Marlins by half a game for the last Wild Card spot in the NL and need to care of business tonight when they open a 3-game set with the 72-81 Pittsburgh Pirates at Great American Ball Park. Lefty Andrew Abbott is expected on the hill for the Big Red Machine. He is 8-5 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. The Bucs have yet to announce a starter for tonight, but it will probably be Luis L Ortiz, who is 4-5 with a 4.85 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. The Reds were off yesterday, and this is their last homestand of the regular season so they will be ready. Losing is not an option for Cincinnati.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS