Inside the Chalk

The New York Yankees’ bats were silent last night at Petco Park, except for Giancarlo Stanton’s, in their 7-5 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 2 of their Divisional Series matchup, but that won’t last. The Yankees lineup, 1 through 9, is lethal and the Rays are expected to turn to Charlie Morton to keep them in check. Morton has not had a stellar season, at 2-2, with a 4.74 ERA, and he has not pitched in 11 days so could his rhythm be off tonight? Absolutely. Masahiro Tanaka is expected to get the nod for the Yanks. He was roughed up in his last turn against Cleveland but has been lights out in his career against the Rays, with a record of 11-5 and a 3.31 ERA. Tampa owned New York this year in the regular season but let’s not forget the Bombers were missing their heavy hitters for most of those matchups.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

Game 1 of the NL Divisional Series between the Miami Marlins and the Atlanta Braves will have two aces opposing each other with southpaw Max Fried getting the nod for Atlanta and Sandy Alcántara for Miami. Alcántara, who throws heat on every pitch, was dominant against the Cubs in the first game of the NL Wild Card. He is 4-2, with a 2.77 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and allowed just 1 run on 3 hits over 6.2 innings of work, resulting is a 5-1 Marlins win. Fried, who has yet to lose with a mark of 7-0, a 2.00 ERA, and a 1.06 WHIP, was also throwing flames in his last turn against the Reds. He threw 7 scoreless innings with no walks resulting in a 1-0 win for Atlanta. The Braves won 4 of the last 5 meetings this year against the Marlins, outscoring them 56-22 during that span. Miami’s record against left-handed starters is not good, at 5-12 in their last 17, and with Fried on the hill…good luck.
TODAY’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The AL Divisional Playoffs will get underway today at Dodger Stadium with the Houston Astros facing the Oakland Athletics. Oakland will be considered the home team in the opener and is the superior team in this series. The Athletics finished 36-24 in the regular season and are expected to send Chris Bassitt to the hill. He has been exceptional. Bassitt is 6-2, with a 2.19 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP, and was lights out the last time he faced the Astros, pitching 7 scoreless innings resulting in a 6-0 Athletics win. The Astros were 29-31 in the regular season and as of now Lance McCullers, Jr. is slated to get the start, but don’t be surprised if Dusty Baker makes a switch to Zack Greinke. McCullers is 3-3 with a 3.93 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Oakland owned Houston this year, going 7-3 overall, and down the stretch they won the last 3 meetings.
TODAY’S PICK: OAKLAND ATHLETICS

It’s do or die today for the Chicago Cubs and they will turn to Yu Darvish to throw strikes when they square off against the Miami Marlins in a matinée at Wrigley Field. Darvish has been on his mark, with a record of 8-3, a 2.01 ERA, and a WHIP of just 0.96. Miami will counter with the rookie Sixto Sánchez, who has pitched well at 3-2 with a 3.46 ERA and a WHIP of 1.21, but he had issues in his last 2 turns, surrendering 9 runs in 7 innings of work. The Marlins could be without Starling Marte, and despite Wednesday’s win, they are 2-9 in their last 11 against Chicago. Rizzo and company will come to play.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Milwaukee Brewers will have to click on every cylinder when they open their Wild Card matchup at Chavez Ravine against the best team in baseball, the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Brewers have no right being in the postseason with a record of 29-31. The Dodgers finished a League best 43-17 and have beaten the Brew Crew 4 out of the last 5 meetings. Walker Buehler is expected to get the nod for the Dodgers and when he is healthy (which he is) he delivers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS