Inside the Chalk

This is not a good time for the Toronto Blue Jays to start slumping but they are and now trail the New York Yankees by 2 games for the last spot in the AL Wild Card. Toronto will turn to their ace and AL Cy Young candidate, lefty Robbie Ray, to right the ship in Minnesota, where the Twins have won the first 2 games of their 4-game set. Ray has been delivering all year. He is 12-6 with a 2.72 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, and leads the AL in strikeouts, with 238. Minnesota will counter with John Gant. Gant is upside down, at 5-9, with a 3.76 ERA, a 1.45 WHIP, and the Twins are 1-4 in his last 5 starts. The Jays’ potent offense mustered just 4 runs during their 3-game skid so they are due.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The San Francisco Giants and the Colorado Rockies will open a 3-game set tonight at Coors Field. The Giants will send lefty Alex Wood to the hill and he has been dealing all year. Wood is 10-4 with a 3.99 ERA, a 1.20 WHIP, and is 2-0 this year against the Rockies with a 3.06 ERA. The Rockies are expected to hand the ball to Peter Lambert. Lambert has been on the shelf, recovering from Tommy John, and will be making his first start in over two years. The Giants swept the Rockies earlier this month at Coors Field, outscoring them 29-12 in the 3-game set and have won 6 of the last 7 meetings.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS

Despite winning 9 of their last 11, the Los Angeles Dodgers are 2 games back of the San Francisco Giants for the lead in the NL West so they need to keep winning and they will. The Dodgers fell to the Rockies, 10-5, yesterday but should bounce back today with Max Scherzer toeing the rubber. Scherzer has been lights out all year. He is 15-4 with a 2.08 ERA, a 0.81 WHIP, and since joining LA from Washington, he is a perfect 7-0 with a nasty ERA of 0.78. The Rockies always play well at home, that’s a fact, and are also playing great ball, going 8-3 in their last 11, but will be a heavy underdog today. They are 1-7 In their last 8 home games as a dog of +201 or higher. Lefty Kyle Freeland is the expected starter for the Rockies. Freeland has shown no consistency all year and will have his work cut out for him today. He is 6-8 with a 4.50 ERA, a 1.41 WHIP, and has not fared well in his career against the Dodgers. He is 3-7 with a 4.06 ERA and the Dodgers are 5-1 in their last 6 road games against a left-handed starter.
TODAY’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

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