Inside the Chalk

The Houston Astros will open a 3-game set tonight with the Baltimore Orioles at Minute Maid Park. The ‘Stros should have no problem taking care of business tonight. Not only do they have the best record in the American League, at 81-45, they are also hot, winners of their last 4. Lance McCullers Jr. is expected to tap the rubber for Houston. He is 1-1 with a 2.46 ERA and a 1.45 WHIP. The 65-59 Orioles are expected to send Kyle Bradish to the hill and his numbers are not good. Bradish is 1-5 with a bloated ERA of 6.25 and a 1.65 WHIP.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The AL East-leading New York Yankees will take their 3-game winning streak west tonight to open a 4-game set with the Oakland Athletics. The A’s are the worst team in the American League and are a pathetic 20-41 at The Coliseum. If the Yankees can’t win this one, they’ve got issues. Tonight’s expected starters are Jameson Taillon for New York and James Kaprielian for Oakland. Taillon is 11-4 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Kaprielian is 3-7 with a 4.29 ERA and 1.33 WHIP. The Yankees could get a boost to their offense tonight with the expected return of their superstar, Giancarlo Stanton.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs will play the fourth game of their 5-game series tonight at Wrigley Field. The two clubs played a double-header yesterday with the Cards pounding the Cubs in the second game, 13-3. St. Louis is starting to click on every cylinder. They are 9-1 in their last 10, 71-52 on the season, and will have Miles Mikolas tapping the rubber tonight. He comes in at 10-9 with a respectable ERA of 3.32 and a 1.02 WHIP. The 53-70 Cubs are expected to send Luke Farrell to the hill, who was just called up from AAA-Iowa. In the minors, he had an elevated ERA of 5.03 over 59 innings of work. The Cards should get to him tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS CARDINALS

The Toronto Blue Jays will open up a 3-game series against the Boston Red Sox tonight at Fenway. The pitching matchup will be Ross Stripling for the Jays and Josh Winckowski for the Red Sox. Stripling is 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Winckowski is 5-6 with a 5.19 ERA and a 1.48 WHIP. Edge Toronto.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Tampa Bay Rays will open a 4-game set tonight at The Trop with the Los Angeles Angels. Two southpaws will oppose each other with Jeffrey Springs getting the nod for the Rays and Tucker Davidson for the Halos. Springs has been hitting his mark. He is 5-3 with a 2.52 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Davidson, on the other hand, is a different story. He is 2-3 with a 6.75 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. The Rays have won 2 straight, 7 of their last 9, and are 9-3 in their last 12 against LA at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

The Minnesota Twins should have no problem with the Texas Rangers today at Target Field. Texas will have Kohei Arihara tapping the rubber and he has issues. In 10 starts in the majors, he is 2-4 with a 6.64 ERA. Enough said.
TODAY’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS

The New York Yankees keep spiraling out of control, losing again last night to the visiting Toronto Blue Jays, 4-0. If they are going to get back on track, it will be today in the third game of their 4-game set at The Stadium. Gerrit Cole, the Yankee ace, will be tapping the rubber. He is 9-5 with a 3.31 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and is 5-1 in his career against the Jays.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES