Inside the Chalk

Anthony Rizzo is already paying dividends for the New York Yankees. Since coming over from the Chicago Cubs, the Yankees are 5-1, he is batting .400 with 3 homers, and the Bombers’ offense has exploded, scoring 23 runs in their past two victories over the Baltimore Orioles. Tonight they will host the Seattle Mariners in Game 1 of a 4-game set. New York has already taken 2 of 3 from the Mariners this year at T-Mobile and will turn to southpaw Nestor Cortes, Jr. to throw strikes. He has made just 3 starts for the Yankees this season and has yet to record a win but Cortes has excellent numbers, with an ERA of just 1.93 and a stingy 0.95 WHIP. Seattle is expected to have newly acquired lefty, Tyler Anderson, toe the rubber. Anderson is nothing to write home about. He is 5-8 with an elevated ERA of 4.39 and a 1.20 WHIP. The Yankees are 6-1 in their last 7 home games, 5-1 in their last 6 at the Stadium against a left-handed starter, and 8-1 in their last 9 meetings with the Mariners in the Bronx.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The San Francisco Giants had a rare loss to the lowly Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday but expect them to bounce back tonight when they play the third game of their 4-game set at Chase Field. The NL West leading Giants are expected to send Kevin Gausman to the hill. Gausman has not pitched well of late but he still commands a 9-5 record with a 2.35 ERA and won both his starts this year against the Snakes. Arizona is expected to have Zac Gallen toe the rubber and the Giants should be able to light this guy up. Gallen is a dismal 1-5 on the season with an elevated ERA of 4.61 and his lone win came way back in the month of April. The Giants are a resilient team. Following a loss, they are 5-1 in their last 6 and get back on track tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

With last night’s 6-2 victory over the bottom-dwelling Pittsburgh Pirates at American Family Field, the Milwaukee Brewers have now won 4 straight against the Bucs, 11 of the last 14 this season, and expect more of the same tonight. Milwaukee should be able to light up Pittsburgh’s expected starter, Max Kranick. He is 1-2 with a bloated ERA of 7.31 and a 1.63 WHIP. The Brewers are expected to counter with Adrian Houser and when he gets the start good things happen. Houser is 7-5 with a 3.69 ERA, a 1.36 WHIP, and Milwaukee is 13-5 in his last 18 starts. The Brewers are starting to run away with the NL Central, with a 7-1/2 game lead over the Cincinnati Reds and are hot, winning 8 of their last 10.
TONIGHT’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Seattle Mariners will be a big dog tonight when they head east to open a 3-game set with the red hot Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa has won 4 straight and are coming off a 3-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox, but hold on a minute. Seattle has had the Rays number. The Mariners swept the Rays at T-Mobile Park earlier this year, outscoring them 23-13 over the 4-game series. Seattle is also 14-5 in their last 19 in St. Pete and 21-8 against Tampa in their last 29 meetings overall. The pitching matchup also favors the Mariners. The expected starters are Michael Wacha for the Rays and Chris Flexen for the Mariners. Wacha is 2-2 with a 4.79 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. Flexen is 9-5 with a 3.81 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. The Mariners are worth a shot.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The Philadelphia Phillies are just 4-1/2 games back of the New York Mets for the top spot in the NL East but need to get back on track today and avoid being swept by the lowly Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park. Pittsburgh is expected to have Mitch Keller on the hill. How he keeps getting called back up to the Bigs is beyond me. Keller is 3-7 on the season with a 7.04 ERA and a 1.77 WHIP. In his last outing on June 10th against the Dodgers, Keller lasted just 2-2/3 innings where he gave up 4 runs and 5 hits. Not good. Philly will counter with Kyle Gibson, who they just acquired from Texas, and he has been delivering all year, with a record of 6-3, an ERA of just 2.87 and a 1.18 WHIP. Consider Philly.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

Domingo Germán is the expected starter for the New York Yankees tonight when they play the second game of their 3-game set with the Miami Marlins at LoanDepot Park. The 54-48 Yankees won the opener, 3-1. They have now won 3 of their last 4 and are 4-0 in their last 4 interleague games. Germán’s numbers are not terrific, at 4-5 with a 4.45 ERA, but when he is on, he is lethal, and that was evident in his last turn against Boston, where he yielded just 1 hit and struck out 10 in 7 innings of work. The 44-59 Marlins are obviously in a rebuilding mode after trading away their entire starting outfield and have yet to name a starter for tonight’s game but whoever it is, he will have his work cut out for him. Not only will he have to face the newly acquired Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo, but then there is Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu, and the list goes on.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

With last night’s 4-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels, the Oakland Athletics have now won 6 straight against their AL West rival, outscoring them during that span, 36-14. That’s dominance. Tonight they will play the second game of their 4-game set at Angel Stadium. The A’s are expected to send Chris Bassitt to the hill, who has been dominant all year. He is 10-3 with a 3.46 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP, and won both his turns this year against the Halos. Bassitt is 5-3 lifetime against Los Angeles with a 3.88 ERA. Lefty Patrick Sandoval is expected to get the nod for LA. He is upside down on the season, at 3-4, with a respectable 3.52 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, but the Athletics have feasted on the road against left-handed starters, going 46-19 in their last 65.
TONIGHT’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS