Inside the Chalk

The Central leading Milwaukee Brewers fell to the bottom dwelling Kansas City Royals yesterday, 5-2, but they bounce back today in an early one at American Family Field. The Royals’ season is over and they know it, with a record of 38-55, and they will have Brad Keller on the hill who is 6-9 with a 5.97 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. Not good. Milwaukee is expected to counter with lefty Eric Lauer. He might be upside down in the Win column at 3-4, but his ERA is 3.83 and he has a 1.31 WHIP. The Royals are just 3-7 in their last 10 and 1-5 in their last 6 road games against a left-handed starter. The Brewers get it done today.
TODAY’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

Yu Darvish is expected to tap the rubber tonight for the San Diego Padres when they take on expected starter southpaw Kyle Muller and the Atlanta Braves. The Padres are 5-1 in their last 6 as a road favorite and 12-4 in their last 16 against a left-handed starter. Darvish delivers. That is a given. He is 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Muller comes in at 1-2 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. San Diego is 5-1/2 games back of the San Francisco Giants for the top spot in the West and cannot afford to lose to a team like Atlanta if they want to contend, and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The Chicago White Sox should have a walk in the park today when they host the Minnesota Twins on the south side, in Game 1 of a doubleheader. The White Sox have won 7 of their last 8, are 7-0 in their last 7 against the Twins at home, and 13-3 in their last 16 meetings overall with Minnesota. Griffin Jax is the expected starter for Minnesota and his numbers are ugly. He is 1-1 with a bloated ERA of 8.66 and a 1.70 WHIP. The Sox are expected to counter with Lance Lynn and he has been throwing flames. Lynn is 9-3 with a stingy ERA of 2.08 and a 1.05 WHIP. The La Russa boys get it done today.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO WHITE SOX – GAME 1

They are going to double it up in Buffalo today. Nothing has changed since yesterday’s pick.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS – GAME 1

The Toronto Blue Jays are the real deal. The young guns pounded Texas yesterday, 10-2. Expect more of the same today.
TODAY’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The Seattle Mariners took 2 out of 3 against the Los Angeles Angels at T-Mobile Park heading into the All-Star break and tonight the venue switches to Angels Stadium where the two clubs will open a 3-game set. Chris Flexen is the expected starter for Seattle. Flexen has been rock solid, posting a record of 8-3 with a 3.51 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP. The expected starter for LA, southpaw Andrew Heaney, has been just the opposite. Heaney is 5-6 with a 5.38 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. The Mariners are 5-2 in their last 7 games as a road dog and 10-2 in their last 12 against a left-handed starter.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will kick off the second half of the MLB season when they meet tonight in the Bronx in Game 1 of a 4-game set. This is a critical series for the Yanks, who trail Boston by 8 games, and they know it. Boston has won all 6 meetings with New York this year but it appears the Yanks have turned things around. Going into the break, they took 2 of 3 from the Mariners and, if not for a total meltdown in the 9th against Houston, they would have swept the Astros. Boston on the other hand stumbled into the break, losing two in row and 4 of their last 5. The Red Sox are expected to send lefty Eduardo Rodríguez to the hill and he has been average at best. Rodríguez is 6-5 with an elevated ERA of 5.52, a 1.37 WHIP, and was not sharp in his last turn, surrendering 9 hits and 4 runs in 5 innings of work resulting in a 4-5 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. The Yankees have not released their starter for tonight but it will probably be southpaw Jordan Montgomery. Montgomery has not brought the house down, at 3-4, with a 4.16 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP, but is an Impressive 11-6 in his career at Yankee Stadium with an ERA of 3.36 and a 1.17 WHIP. New York is 6-2 in their last 8 against a left-handed starter and although the Red Sox have owned the Yanks of late, trends end.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES
UPDATE: It is confirmed that Domingo Germán, 4-5 with a 4.44 ERA and 1.22 WHIP, will get the start for the Yankees which means this could possibly be a bullpen game for the Bombers. The pick hasn’t changed.