Inside the Chalk

The Cleveland Guardians will go for a 4-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers in an early one today at Comerica Park – but not so fast. The Tigers will send the reigning Cy Young winner, lefty Tarik Skubal, to the hill. Skubal is delivering as he normally does with a record of 4-2, a 2.87 ERA, a WHIP of only 0.88, and Detroit is 4-0 in his last 4 home starts against team with a winning record. Despite their 3-game skid, the Tigers still have the best record in the American League, at 33-20. They are 17-8 at home and the Guardians are 0-5 in their last 5 against a left-handed starter.
TODAY’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

Last night the AL East leading New York Yankees fell to one of the worst teams ever in baseball history, the 9-42 Colorado Rockies, 3-2, but that won’t happen today when they resume their 3-game set at Coors Field. New York is expected to have their ace southpaw, Max Fried, on the hill and he has Cy Young numbers. Fried is 6-0 with an ERA of only 1.29 and a 0.94 WHIP. If numbers like that aren’t intimidating to a hitter, then what is? The Yankees lead the league in home runs; they are averaging over 5 runs per game and should light up the Rockies expected starter, Kyle Freeland. He is 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA, a 1.59 WHIP, and the Yankees are 4-0 in their last 4 following a loss. The Bombers won’t come cheap but should cruise to a victory.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The New York Mets return home tonight to Citi Field to open a 3-game set with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Mets, who had lost three straight, finally got back on track when they beat the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday at Fenway, 5-1. Griffin Canning is expected o get the start for New York and he has been delivering. Canning is 5-1 with an excellent ERA of 2.47 and a 1.29 WHIP. LA is expected to counter with future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw. Time catches up with everybody and that’s what has happened to the once dominant southpaw. In his season debut on May 17th against the Los Angeles Angels, Kershaw lasted just 4 innings, yielding 5 runs on 5 hits with 3 walks, and the Angels won 11-9. The Dodgers have not been playing well, going 2-4 over their last 6. The Mets have the best home record in the National League at 17-5. Juan Soto is in a major slump and it’s just a matter of time before he snaps out of it. Tonight might be that night with Kershaw on the hill.  
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Detroit Tigers will be hosting their AL Central foe, the Cleveland Guardians, tonight when they open a 4-game set at Comerica Park. Detroit has not forgotten last year’s AL division series with Cleveland so they will be out to prove they are the superior team this year. The best team in baseball owns a 33-17 record and is expected to send Jack Flaherty to the hill. Flaherty’s numbers are not great, at 2-5 with a 4.44 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP but in his career against Cleveland he is 2-2 with an ERA of only 1.96. The 26-22 Guardians are expected to give the nod to Tanner Bibee and his numbers are not great either. He comes in at 3-4 with a 4.06 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. In his last turn against Cincinnatti, Bibee was tagged for 5 runs on 10 hits and the Reds won 5-4. The Tigers average over 5 runs per game, own the best home record in the American league at 17-5, and are catching a Guardians team that has lost 7 of their last 10.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The 27-19 San Diego Padres have lost 4 straight but all teams hit a bump in the road and keep in mind, despite last night’s 0-3 loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto, they are still just 1.5 games back of the Dodgers for the top spot in the very competitive NL West. San Diego is a really good team. With that said, the Padres and Blue Jays will resume their 3-game set tonight at Rogers Centre. The 23-24 Jays are expected to turn to Kevin Gausman to throw strikes. He has not looked impressive at all. Gausman is 3-4 with a 4.59 ERA. In his last outing at home against a mediocre at best Tampa Bay Rays team, Gausman gave up 10 hits, 6 runs, 3 long balls, and the Rays won 8-3. The Padres are expected to counter with Randy Vásquez, who is 3-3 with a respectable 3.34 ERA. In his last turn against the Angels, Vásquez pitched 6 strong innings, allowing just 1 run on 4 hits, and the Friars went on to win, 5-1. By far, San Diego is the better team on the field tonight, with the edge in runs scored, run differential, hits per game, etc., etc., etc. They’ll get back on the rails.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The best team in all of baseball, the Detroit Tigers, fell to the red hot St. Louis Cardinals last night, 11-4, at Busch Stadium but they should get back on track when they resume their 3-game series tonight. The reigning AL Cy Young winner, southpaw Tarik Skubal, is expected to get the start for the Tigers. Skubal is having another stellar year with a record of 4-2, a 2.67 ERA, and a WHIP of only 0.88. It doesn’t get much better than that. The Cardinals, who have won 13 of their last 15, are expected to hand the ball to Erick Fedde, who is 3-3 with a 3.44 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. In his last turn against Philadelphia, Fedde was dealing, yielding no runs and just 3 hits over 5-2/3 innings of work but for some reason skipper Oliver Marmol thought he should be pulled, and the bullpen blew it; the Cards lost 2-1. It won’t be easy for Detroit with Fedde on the hill but the Tigers are not in the habit of losing two in a row. They have the edge in runs scored, run differential, homers and Skubal is on the hill.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Mets will open a 3-game set tonight at Fenway. The struggling Red Sox have lost 5 of their last 6 and will be without their skipper tonight, Alex Cora, who is taking the night off for a personal matter. Boston is expected to send Hunter Dobbins to the hill. His numbers are decent at 2-1 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP but Dobbins did not look good in his last turn against the Detroit Tigers when he yielded 5 runs and Detroit went on to a 6-5 win. New York has won the last three meetings with Boston and is expected to give the nod to Kodai Senga, who has been dealing. Senga is 4-2 with a nasty ERA of 1.02, a WHIP of only 1.17, and in his last turn against the Pittsburgh Pirates he was sharp as usual, yielding just 1 run and the Mets went on to a 2-1 win. The Mets lost 2 of 3 over the weekend to the Yankees but should get back on track tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS