Inside the Chalk

New York’s starter Luis Severino served up 6 runs in the first inning to the Los Angeles Dodgers last night and LA went on to cruise to an 8-4 victory. Today it won’t be that easy. The Yankees will send their ace, Gerrit Cole, to the hill. Cole is a perfect 6-0 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. He has not been at his best over his last two starts but will be extra motivated to deliver at Chávez Ravine, being a SoCal native. The Dodgers are expected to counter with Michael Grove. Grove is 0-1 with an ERA of 8.44 and a 1.75 WHIP. Yankees saw the return of Josh Donaldson and Giancarlo Stanton last night and they both delivered, with Donaldson going yard twice and Stanton once. The Yankees are 10-2 in Cole’s 12 starts this season and with the Bombers lineup now loaded with heavy hitters, they should get to the rookie Grove early.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

Two teams that match up well will meet in the desert tonight when the Arizona Diamondbacks host the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is #1 in the NL East with a record of 33-23. Arizona is tied with the LA Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West, with a record of 34-23. Currently the Diamondbacks are a home dog which is perplexing. They have won 5 straight and are coming off a 4-game sweep of the Colorado Rockies. The Snakes are expected to send Merrill Kelly to the hill and he has been dealing. Over his last 3 starts, Kelly is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.96 ERA and a nasty WHIP of 0.87. The Braves have not been playing well. They are 2-4 in their last 6 and will send veteran Charlie Morton to the hill. Over his last 3 turns, Morton is 1-2 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. How do you not consider Arizona tonight? They are smoking hot, are at home, and have a starting pitcher who is throwing flames.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The Miami Marlins and the San Diego Padres will play the rubber game of their 3-game set in an early one today in South Florida. Despite all their high priced acquisitions, the Padres are still the Padres. San Diego is 25-30 overall and 13-15 on the road. The Friars will send Joe Musgrove to the hill. He is 2-2 with a 5.64 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Miami is 29-27 overall and 15-13 at LoanDepot Park. Lefty Jesús Luzardo will get the nod for the Fish. He is 4-3 with a 3.67 ERA and 1.37 WHIP. The Marlins have won 4 of their last 5, and will have momentum on their side after last night’s 2-1 walk off victory.
TODAY’S PICK: MIAMI MARLINS

The Tampa Bay Rays will look to avoid losing their third straight and being swept by the host Chicago Cubs this afternoon at Wrigley Field. The Rays prolific offense has mustered just one run over their last two games but you can’t keep Franco and company down for very long. Southpaw Justin Steele will get the nod for the Cubs. After a great start to the season, Steele has come back down to earth. Over his last 3 turns, he is 0-2 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Zach Eflin will be tapping the rubber for the Rays. Over his last 3 starts, Eflin is 3-0 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Tampa still has the best record in baseball, at 39-18. They have yet to lose 3 straight, are averaging around 6 runs per game, and get back on track today against the 24-30 Cubs.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The 34-20 Baltimore Orioles should even the score with the 24-29 Cleveland Guardians tonight when they play the middle game of their 3-game set at Camden Yards. The O’s were blanked yesterday, 5-0, but usually rebound after a loss. Tonight’s expected starters are Kyle Gibson for Baltimore and Cal Quantrill for Cleveland. Gibson is 2-1 over his last 3 starts with a 2.37 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. Quantrill has struggled over his last 3. He is 0-1 with an elevated ERA of 6.89 and a 1.40 WHIP. Despite winning two straight, the fact is the Guardians do not score a lot of runs. They are averaging around 3.5 runs per game which is one of the worst in the majors. Baltimore’s star center fielder, Cedric Mullins, is questionable for tonight but regardless if he suits up or not, Baltimore is 16-11 at home and are the better team, by far.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The Detroit Tigers will have their hands full this afternoon when they welcome in the AL West leading Texas Rangers for game 1 of a 3-game set. Bruce Bochy’s crew has won 7 of their last 9 and will have their ace, Nathan Eovaldi, on the bump. Eovaldi has been off the charts. He is 6-2 with a 2.60 ERA, a WHIP of 0.97, and it gets better. Over his last 3 turns, he is 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. The Tigers will counter with veteran southpaw Matthew Boyd, who is 3-3 with a 5.74 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Over his last 3, Boyd is 1-1 with a 6.94 ERA and a 1.63 WHIP. The Rangers are a scoring machine, averaging over 6 runs per game. They are also 4-0 in their last 4 against a left-handed starter. If Boyd isn’t totally zoned in today, the Rangers will rip him to shreds.
TODAY’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The Los Angeles Angels are on the verge of being swept at home today by the Miami Marlins, but not so fast. The Angels could have and should have won yesterday but came up short due to fielding errors. Today’s expected starters are lefty Patrick Sandoval for the Halos and Eury Pérez for the Marlins. Sandoval (3-3, 3.47 ERA, 1.24 WHIP) was shaky in his last two starts but has quality stuff and should bounce back strong today. The rookie, Eury Pérez, is 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP but has yet to face the likes of Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani. Los Angeles has the edge in runs per game, run differential, batting average, hits, home runs, and I could go on.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES ANGELS