Inside the Chalk

The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the Atlanta Braves yesterday, 3-1, but the NL East leaders will bounce back tonight when they play the second game of their 3-game set at Truist Park. Aaron Nola is expected to toe the rubber for the Phillies. Nola has been delivering with a record of 11-6, a 3.45 ERA, and a 1.16 WHIP. The Braves are expected to hand the ball to southpaw Max Fried, who is 7-7 with a 3.63 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Philadelphia feasts on left-handed starters. They are 5-0 in their last 5 against southies.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Cleveland Guardians had better be sleeping with one eye open because the Kansas City Royals are just 2½ games behind them for the top spot in the AL Central. Tonight, Kansas City will be hosting one of the worst teams in the majors, the Los Angeles Angels. How Ron Washington still has a job is perplexing. The Halos are 53-72 and have lost 5 straight. After tonight, it will be 6.
TONIGHT’S PICK: KANSAS CITY ROYALS

It is crunch time in the majors and nothing will come cheap, so you have to buck up. Today the Arizona Diamondbacks will visit the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park. The Snakes are on the Dodgers tail, just four games back, and they will take care of business today against the lowly Marlins.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

Two lefties will oppose each other when the Oakland Athletics host the San Francisco Giants is an early one today at the Coliseum. The Giants have been one the best teams in baseball since the All-Star break and will have Blake Snell on the hill. He has been in the zone. Not only does Snell have a no-no in his back pocket this year but he is also 2-0 over his last 3 turns with a 1.27 ERA and a WHIP barely visible at 0.61. The bottom feeding Athletics will send JP Sears to the bump. Sears is 10-8 with a 4.32 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. The Giants still have something to play for and the Athletics don’t.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Today’s pick is the New York Yankees over the Detroit Tigers and this is why. The Bombers have won all four meetings with the Tigers this year and Carlos Rodón will be on the hill for New York. Rodón has been delivering. Over his last three outings, the southpaw is 3-0 with a 2.60 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Pittsburgh Pirates will look to snap their 10-game losing streak when they return home tonight to host the Seattle Mariners in game 1 of their 3-game set. If the Pirates are going to crawl out of their abyss it will be tonight because the rookie sensation, Paul Skenes, will be tapping the rubber for the Bucs. The NL Cy Young candidate is 6-2 with a 2.22 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.96. The Mariners cannot score, averaging under 4 runs per game, and were just swept by the Detroit Tigers where they mustered only 4 runs over their 3-game set. That doesn’t bode well for Seattle when you have a flamethrower like Skenes on the hill. The Mariners are expected to give the nod to Logan Gilbert. He is 7-8 with a 2.91 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.87, but over his last 3 turns Gilbert is 1-2 with a 4.60 ERA. Pittsburgh is not throwing in the towel just yet. The Bucs still have a shot at the last Wild Card spot, sitting 7½ games back, but time is of the essence and they know it. Pittsburgh gets back on track tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The Baltimore Orioles will open a 4-game set at Birdland tonight with their AL East rival, the Boston Red Sox. Tonight’s expected starters are Zach Eflin for the Orioles and Nick Pivetta for the Red Sox. Pivetta is 5-7 with a 4.44 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and rarely gets through 5 innings. Eflin is 8-7 with a 3.83 ERA, a WHIP of 1.15, and since jumping ship from the Rays to the Orioles last month he is a perfect 3-0. Baltimore has won 5 of the 6 meetings with Boston this year, outscoring them 48-17 over the 6 games.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES