Inside the Chalk

With last night’s 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, the New York Mets continue to surge and have now won 10 of their last 11. Tonight they will go for a series win when the two clubs meet in the second game of the 3-game set. The 79-65 Mets, who have a one game lead over the Atlanta Braves for the final NL Wild Card spot, will turn to David Peterson to keep it rolling and he is up to the challenge. The left-handed flamethrower is 9-1 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. In his last outing against the Boston Red Sox, Peterson allowed just 1 run on 6 hits with 11 strikeouts and the Mets cruised to a 7-2 victory. The 68-77 Blue Jays have had yet another disappointing season. With all their talent they should not be in this situation, but they are, and the problem is obviously manager John Schneider who needs to go. Tonight, they will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt has not lived up to his potential. He comes in at 9-13 with a 4.30 ERA, a 1.43 WHIP, and in his last start against the Phillies, Bassitt gave up 4 runs on 10 hits resulting in a 10-9 Jays’ loss. New York has played well on the road with a record of 39-31 and Toronto will be without Bo Bichette and probably slugger Vlad Guerrero.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The NL East leading Philadelphia Phillies will look to get back in the Win column when they host the Tampa Bay Rays tonight in the start of a 3-game set at Citizens Bank Park. The 85-58 Phillies were embarrassed over their last two games by the inept Miami Marlins, losing both by a combined score of 19-6. Tonight however they get back on track. The 71-72 Rays have lost their last three meetings with the Phillies and are expected to give the start to Cole Sulser for the first leg of which will probably be a bullpen game for Tampa. Sulser is 0-0 with a 4.35 ERA, a 1.35 WHIP, and he had better be in the zone or Harper and Schwarber will make him pay. Philadelphia is not in the habit of losing three straight and the Phillies’ expected starter, lefty Christopher Sánchez, will make sure of that. Sánchez is 10-9 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. He was sharp in his last outing against Toronto where he yielded 6 hits and 2 runs over 7 innings, resulting in a 4-2 Philly victory. Philadelphia is an impressive 47-25 at The Vault and are 10-1 in Sánchez’s last 11 home starts against a team with a losing record.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The New York Yankees will go for a series sweep of the Chicago Cubs when they wrap up their 3-game set this afternoon at Wrigley. The Cubs have yet to score a run over the first two games and it won’t get any easier today when they face the reigning AL Cy Young winner and New York’s ace, Gerritt Cole. Cole has been dealing. Over his last 3 starts, he is 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA, a 1.08 WHIP, and is 11-3 in his career against the Cubs with a 2.61 ERA. Chicago will counter with ex-Yankee Jameson Taillon. Taillon is 1-1 over his last 3 turns with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. The Bombers have played well on the road with a record of 45-29. They are also 5-0 in their last 5 interleague games against a team with a winning record and 5-0 in Cole’s last 5 starts in game 3 of a series. With the Baltimore Orioles just a half game back of the Yankees for the lead in the AL East, the Bombers need this one and they should get it.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The 82-60 Baltimore Orioles dominance over their AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays continued last night when they took game 1 of their 3-game set, 2-0, at Birdland. The Orioles have now won 7 of their last 8 meetings with the Rays, outscoring them 40-14 over the 8 games. Today, the Al East’s best will send the ex-Ray, Zach Eflin, to the hill. He is 10-7 with a 3.60 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Since being acquired from Tampa in July, Eflin is 5-0 with an ERA of only 1.95. He last faced his old team in St. Pete back in August where he threw 7 shutout innings and Baltimore cruised to a 4-1 victory. The 69-72 Rays are not going to the post-season, that’s a given, so they are playing just to be a nuisance to front runners like the O’s. Tonight they are expected to give the nod to Ryan Pepiot. He comes in at 7-6, with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, and last faced Baltimore in June where he yielded 9 hits, 4 runs, and the Orioles went on to a 5-2 victory. Baltimore is by far the better team on the field today and the side to consider.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

Two very hot teams, the 76-64 New York Mets and the 68-73 Cincinnati Reds, will open a 3-game set tonight at Citi Field in Queens. The Mets are smoking hot, winning 7 straight and outscoring their opponents 34-12 over that span. The Reds have won 4 straight and are expected to have Fernado Cruz tapping the rubber. Cruz’s numbers are nothing to write home about, with a record of 3-8, a 4.99 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP. New York is expected to hand the ball to Sean Manaea and he has been in the zone. The lefty is 11-5 with an ERA of 3.35, a 1.12 WHIP, and it gets better. Over his last 3 turns he is 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.53. New York is deadlocked with Atlanta for the final Wild Card spot in the NL. They need to take care of business at home this weekend and they will. The Mets took 2 out of 3 from the Reds back in April, in Cincinnati, and have the edge in runs scored, run differential, batting average, hits, and homers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The best in the NL East, the Philadelphia Phillies, will head south tonight to open a 4-game set with the worst in the NL East, the Miami Marlins. The 83-56 Phillies are heating up, winning 4 straight and 8 of their last 10. Philadelphia is expected to have southpaw Ranger Suárez on the bump. Suárez is 11-6 with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP over 128.1 innings of work but has been a little shaky over his last few turns, however when he is on there is no one better and I expect he will be in the zone tonight. The 52-87 Marlins, who are a dismal 26-45 at LoanDepot Park, are expected to give the nod to Adam Oller. He is 1-1 with a 3.31 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 16.1 innings of work. Philly could be without superstar Bryce Harper, who was hit by a pitch in the elbow yesterday, but even without the slugger they have plenty more weapons to pull up the slack. The Phillies have the edge in runs scored, batting average, hits, homers, etc., etc.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Arizona Diamondbacks almost blew a 7-2 late lead to the San Franciso Giants last night at Oracle Park but held on to win game 1 of their 3-game set, 8-7. Tonight the D-backs are expected to send their ace, Zack Gallen, to the hill. Gallen has not been as sharp as he usually is, but the flamethrower is still 10-6 with a 3.87 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and is due for a dominant outing. On the flip side, the Giants are expected to have Hayden Birdsong tapping the rubber. Birdsong is at 3-4 with a 5.14 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. Edge Snakes. Arizona is in a dog fight with San Diego for a Wild Card spot and winning the division is not out of the equation, sitting 6 back of the Dodgers for the lead in the NL West. San Francisco on the other hand is done for the season and they know it. The Giants have nothing to play for except pride. The D-backs have won 5 of the 8 meetings with the Giants this year and are #1 in the majors in runs scored, averaging over 5.4 per game.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS