Inside the Chalk

The Baltimore Orioles will wrap up their 3-game set with the Seattle Mariners today at T-Mobile Park. The O’s are expected to start Kyle Bradish, who is 7-6 with a 3.19 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. The Mariners will counter with Bryce Miller. He is 7-4 with a 4.20 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. Baltimore should get this one.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

If the Arizona Diamondbacks are going to win a baseball game, it will be tonight at home when they host the San Diego Padres. Their ace, Zac Gallen, is on the hill and he can deliver. Gallen is 11-5 with a 3.37 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. On the flip side, Rich Hill is expected to tap the rubber for the Friars. He is 7-11 with a 5.09 ERA, a 1.48 WHIP, and over his last 3 starts, Hill is 0-2 with a 7.00 ERA and a 1.72 WHIP. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Houston Astros took 2 of 3 from a really good Baltimore Orioles team at Camden Yards and return home tonight to host the Los Angeles Angels. The Astros have owned LA, winning 7 of the last 9 meetings this year, and are expected to send future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander to the hill. Verlander is 6-6 with a 3.11 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and is 15-11 in his career against the Angels, with a 3.20 ERA. The expected starter for the Halos is southpaw Reid Detmers. He is just 2-8 with a 4.78 ERA, a 1.33 WHIP, and is 0-1 this year against Houston, with a 6.55 ERA.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The 72-40 Atlanta Braves and the 51-63 Pittsburgh Pirates will wrap up their 4-game set this afternoon at PNC Park. The Braves will go for their third straight victory and will have Bryce Elder on the hill. Elder has been delivering. He is 8-3 with 3.43 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. The Pirates are expected to counter with Bailey Falter and his numbers are not good. Falter is winless at 0-7, with a 4.87 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The best team in baseball, Atlanta, has owned Pittsburgh, winning 9 of the last 10 meetings, and today should be no different.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

Despite last night’s 6-0 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park, the 60-55 Minnesota Twins are still 5-1 in their last 6 games overall and are 4½ games ahead of the Cleveland Guardians for the lead in the AL Central. Tonight, in the third game of their 4-game set with Detroit, Minnesota will send Bailey Ober to the hill. Ober is 6-5 with a very respectable ERA of 3.21 and a 1.05 WHIP. The 50-63 Tigers are expected to counter with Alex Faedo. The Twins should be able to get to this guy. Faedo is 2-4 with a 5.80 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The Tigers’ bats came alive last night but they are still averaging under 4 runs per game with a team batting average of around .233.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

After a successful road trip where they went 6-3, the Tampa Bay Rays return home tonight to the Trop to host the St. Louis Cardinals. St. Louis is 49-64, 24-31 on the road, and will send Miles Mikolas to the hill. Mikolas is 6-7 with a 4.29 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP, and has not fared well in his career against the Rays, going 0-2 with a bloated 7.71 ERA. Tampa is 68-46, 37-19 in St. Pete, and will have Zach Eflin toeing the rubber. Eflin comes in at 12-6 with a 3.36 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.99, and has been dominant at home with a record of 10-2 and a 2.60 ERA. The Cardinals lost all 3 meetings with the Rays last year and are 2-8 in the last 10 meetings overall.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

After splitting a 4-game series with the Houston Astros in the Bronx over the weekend, the New York Yankees will take it on the arches to the southside tonight to open a 3-game set with the Chicago White Sox. The Yankees’ starting rotation has been unreliable, to say the least, except when their ace, Gerrit Cole, takes the hill, and he will be getting the nod tonight. Year in and year out, Cole delivers, and this year is no different. The Yankee flamethrower is 10-2 with a 2.64 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. The White Sox are expected to counter with Dylan Cease. Cease has been inconsistent all season. He is 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. In his last turn against the Rangers, Cease allowed 7 runs on 7 hits in just 1-2/3 innings and Texas went on to an 11-1 victory. The Yankees won the last meeting with the White Sox, 3-0, on June 8th and if Aaron Boone doesn’t sit out his stars like Judge, Stanton, and Bader, (which for whatever reason only known to him he has a tendency to do) the Bombers win.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES