Inside the Chalk

The Boston Red Sox are clicking on every cylinder. With last night’s 6-3 victory over the New York Mets, they have now won 6 straight. The Red Sox will go for their 7th tonight in the final game of their 2-game set with the Mets. The expected starters are lefty Chris Sale for Boston and Taijuan Walker for New York. Sale has not missed a beat since returning from Tommy John surgery. The future Hall of Famer is 4-0 in 6 starts with a 2.40 ERA and Boston is 6-0 in his last 6 starts at Fenway. New York, on the other hand, is moving in the opposite direction. The Mets have lost 6 of their last 7, are 0-7 in Walker’s last 7 starts against a team with a winning record, and 0-5 in their last 5 meetings with Boston.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The Los Angeles Dodgers will have the potential NL Cy Young winner on the hill tonight, Julio Urías, when they face the 70-79 Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. Urías has the most wins in the Majors at 18, possesses an ERA of just 2.99 and a 1.01 WHIP. The Dodgers have won 8 of their last 10 and are 5-1 in their last 6 in Colorado. This is a perfect situation for the Dodgers to gain some ground on the NL West-leading Giants, who will have their hands full over their next 3 games with the San Diego Padres.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

The Atlanta Braves stopped their 4-game skid yesterday with a 3-0 win over the San Francisco Giants and will now move on to some easier competition when they open a 4-game set in the desert against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Braves should be able to pad their slim two game lead over Philadelphia for the top spot in the NL East. Arizona owns the worst record in the senior circuit and are just 1-5 in their last 6. The expected starter for the D-backs, Humberto Mejía, was just recalled from AAA Reno. Mejía is 0-1 in the Bigs with a 4.91 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Huascar Ynoa is expected to get the nod for the Braves. Ynoa is 4-5 with a 3.26 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. Atlanta has played well on the road, at 40-34. They are 5-1 in their last 6 in Arizona and 40-17 in their last 57 as a road favorite.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

With last night’s 7-3 loss at home to the Minnesota Twins, the Toronto Blue Jays have now lost 8 straight games to the Twins at Rogers Centre but trends do end. With both the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox winners yesterday, the Jays find themselves the outsider looking in for a Wild Card spot in the AL. They need to take care of business at home against a non-contender like Minnesota and they will. Following a loss, the Jays are 4-0 in their last 4 and after allowing 5 runs or more, they are 5-0 in their last 5. Toronto will send lefty Steven Matz (12-7, 3.87 ERA) to the hill. The Jays are 3-0 in his last 3 starts. The Twins will counter with Bailey Ober, who is 2-2 with a 4.12 ERA. Minnesota is 3-6 in their last 9 overall and just 8-18 in their last 26 following a win.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Boston Red Sox return home tonight, after taking 2 of 3 from the Seattle Mariners, to open a 3-game set with the Baltimore Orioles. Boston’s starter for tonight has yet to be confirmed but it should be lefty Chris Sale who was cleared to return from COVID-19 protocol. Sale has been dominant as usual, at 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and is 9-2 lifetime against the Orioles with a 2.63 ERA. Baltimore is expected to turn to southpaw Keegan Akin to throw strikes and that is something that has eluded him all season. Akin is 2-9 with an elevated ERA of 6.83 and a 1.56 WHIP. Regardless who takes the hill for both sides, Boston should come out on top. They have won 3 straight against the Orioles and 9 of the last 10.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BOSTON RED SOX

The San Francisco Giants’ lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers shrank to 1-1/2 games yesterday with their 9-6 loss to the San Diego Padres but no worries. The Giants rarely lose two in a row and will bounce back today in the final game of their 4-game set with the Pads. Kevin Gausman will toe the rubber for San Fran and he has been delivering all year. Gausman is 14-5 with a 2.65 ERA and in his last 8 starts, he is 5-0 and has dominated San Diego this year. In his 3 starts against the Friars, he is 2-0 with a 2.22 ERA. San Diego will have to turn to a bullpen session, with two of their starters on the IL, and they had better be dealing. The Padres are just 1-11 in their last 12 as a road dog, 2-7 in their last 9 following a win, and 1-4 in their last 5 at Oracle Park.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS