Inside the Chalk

The New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies will play the rubber game of their 3-game set in a late one tonight in Queens. New York has not lost a series this season and I don’t see that happening tonight.. Max Scherzer is slated on the hill for the Mets and Max has been throwing flames as usual. Scherzer is a perfect 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP, and in his career against the Phillies he has dominated, going 15-4 with a 2.47 ERA. Zach Eflin is expected to get the nod for the Phillies. He is 1-1 with a 3.20 ERA, a WHIP of 1.12, and had better go deep into the game because Philadelphia’s bullpen is depleted after using 6 pitchers yesterday in their 4-1 win over New York. The Mets are 6-3 at Citi Field and following a loss they are 5-0 in their last 5.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

With last night’s 7-3 victory over the 8-12 Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, the 14-7 San Diego Padres have now won 4 straight and 9 of their last 11. Tonight they will play the middle game of their 3-game set with the Bucs and are expected to send lefty Sean Manaea to the hill. Manaea comes in at 2-2 with an ERA of 3.47 and a 1.03 WHIP. Pittsburgh is expected to counter with J.T. Brubaker and he has yet to find his mark. Brubaker is winless at 0-2 with an elevated ERA of 6.46 and a 1.63 WHIP. San Diego is 5-0 in their last 5 as a road favorite, 6-0 in their last 6 against a team with a losing record, and 6-0 in their last 6 against the National League Central. Consider the Friars.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The New York Yankees will take a 6-game winning streak to Kauffman Stadium tonight to open a 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals. The Yankees can once again be dubbed the Bronx Bombers because their offense has exploded. Over their 6-game run they have outscored their opponents, 46-22, and are expected to turn to lefty Nasty Nestor Cortés, Jr. tonight to keep it going. Cortés has been the ace in the Yankees’ rotation. Over 15.2 innings of work, he has an ERA of just 1.15 and a 0.64 WHIP. The Royals are expected to counter with another lefty, Kris Bubic, and this guy has struggled. He is off to a 0-1 start with a bloated ERA of 14.14, a 3.00 WHIP, and that doesn’t bode well for the Royals. The Yankees are 9-1 in their last 10 road games against a left-handed starter and 6-2 in their last 8 at “The K”.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Houston Astros will go for a series win over the Texas Rangers today in a matinée at Globe Life Field. The expected starters for today’s matchup are Justin Verlander for the Astros and southpaw Martín Pérez  for the Rangers. Verlander is doing what he does best and that is deliver. He is 1-1 with an ERA of only 1.89, a nasty WHIP of 0.74, and has dominated Texas in his career, going 18-8 with an ERA of 2.71. Pérez is winless at 0-2 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP. Houston has feasted on left-handed starters, going 5-1 in their last 6, and they are 4-1 in their last 5 in Arlington.
TODAY’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS

The Detroit Tigers will be a big dog tonight when they play the middle game of their 3-game set with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. Ex-Twin Michael Pineda is expected to toe the rubber for Detroit. He will be out to prove that Minnesota made a mistake by not resigning him and he is up for the task. Pineda was lights out in his season debut against the Yankees, pitching 5 scoreless innings, allowing just 3 hits and walking none. Pineda was 22-13 in his 3 years with the Twins with a 3.80 ERA and they sent him packing. If that doesn’t give him incentive to throw flames tonight, what does? Joe Ryan is expected on the hill for Minnesota. Ryan has been dealing, going 2-1 with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP, but the last time he faced Detroit he was lit up for 6 runs on 6 hits in just 4-2/3 innings of work. The Twins have won 5 straight but were lucky to notch a win yesterday against the Tigers and all streaks must come to an end.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The San Diego Padres will head to Great American Ball Park to open a 3-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. The 10-7 Padres swept the 3-13 Reds just last week at Petco Park, outscoring them 16-3 over the 3-game set. Tonight’s expected starter for San Diego, Joe Musgrove, who is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.74 WHIP, was on the winning end against the Reds on Tuesday, pitching 6-1/3 innings, allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits in a San Diego 6-2 victory. His opposition in that game was Reiver Sanmartín, who is 0-2 with a 7.11 ERA and a 1.58 WHIP, and he is expected to take the bump tonight for Cincinnati. Sanmartín was lit up in Tuesday’s game for 5 runs on 8 hits in 5-1/3 innings of work. The Friars have won 9 of the last 10 meetings with the Reds and are worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Houston Astros snapped their 4-game skid with a dramatic 8-7 win in extras over the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday. They will carry that momentum to Arlington tonight when they open a 4-game set with the Texas Rangers. Houston has dominated Texas in recent years and are expected to turn to lefty Framber Valdez to throw strikes. Valdez is off to a 1-1 start with a 4.50 ERA and a 1.57 WHIP but don’t let the mediocre numbers sway you. This guy can throw flames. Texas is expected to counter with Dane Dunning who is 0-1 with a 5.68 ERA, a WHIP of 1.89, and he is a dismal 0-1 in his career against Houston, with an elevated 7.50 ERA. The Astros are 5-2 in their last 7 in Arlington and are catching a Rangers team that is just 1-5 in their last 6 at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: HOUSTON ASTROS