Inside the Chalk

The San Diego Padres will still be considered the visiting team when they wrap up their 3-game set with the Seattle Mariners in a matinée today at Petco Park. San Diego has not been to the postseason since 2006 but a win today will put an end to that. The Mariners are expected to send the promising rookie, Justin Dunn, to the rubber and he has pitched well. Dunn is 3-1 with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP but was yanked in the second inning in his last turn after surrendering 5 walks to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Padres have their ace, Dinelson Lamet, slated to get the start and he is pitching like the Cy Young candidate that he is. Lamet is 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA and a stingy WHIP of only 0.89. The Padres flamethrower has struck out 11 batters in each of his last 2 starts and is 1-0 in his career against the Mariners with an ERA of 2.25. San Diego’s already potent offense has some more ammo, with the return of Eric Hosmer and Tommy Pham. The Friars are 9-4 in their last 13 meetings with the Mariners and are 7-1 in their last 8 following a loss.
TODAY’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

It wasn’t as easy as the previous three but the New York Yankees won again, beating the Boston Red Sox in extra innings last night, 6-5. The Yanks will seek their tenth straight win tonight when the archrivals play the second game of a 3-game set at Fenway. The Yankees’ bats have exploded, scoring a ridiculous 49 runs over their last 4 games, and expect more of the same tonight when they face Chris Mazza who is slated to start for the Red Sox. Mazza (1-1, 5.57 ERA, 1.67 WHIP) was lit up in his last turn against the Yankees, yielding 4 runs on 8 hits in just 3 innings of work. The Yankees are expected to turn to lefty J.A. Happ to throw strikes. Happ (1-2, 3.96 ERA, 1.18 WHIP) has been delivering over his last 5 turns with a 2.54 ERA. He has been a Red Sox killer in his career, with a record of 12-4 and an ERA of only 2.95. New York has won 11 straight meetings with Boston, 22 of the last 27, and are 4-0 in their last 4 trips to Fenway.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

Two southpaws are expected to oppose each other tonight when the NL East leading Atlanta Braves visit Citi Field to open a 3-game series with the New York Mets. The Mets have Steven Matz slated to take the hill and he is having a year he would like to forget. Matz is winless at 0-4 with a bloated ERA of 8.63 and a 1.50 WHIP. Max Fried is scheduled to start for the Braves and he is a perfect 6-0 with an ERA of only 1.98 and a 1.06 WHIP. Atlanta is 8-3 in their last 11 road games and have won 5 of the last 6 meetings with the Mets. New York has not fared well against left-handed starters, going just 4-11 in their last 15, and the way Fried throws flames, good luck.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ATLANTA BRAVES

The Cleveland Indians cannot catch a break, losing another one last night in extras, 3-2, to the Chicago Cubs. Tonight they will turn to their ace, Shane Bieber, to stop the bleeding when they head to the Motor City to open a 4-game set with the Detroit Tigers. Bieber has been nothing but spectacular. He is 7-1 with a 1.53 ERA, a 0.87 WHIP, and in his last turn he reached 100 K’s for the season in just 62-1/3 innings of work. Scary. Detroit is expected to give the nod to the rookie, Casey Mize. He was the Tigers #1 pick in 2018. Mize is 0-1 with a 5.85 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP but looked sharp in his last outing against the powerful Chicago White Sox, when he pitched 5 scoreless innings before being yanked in the sixth after surrendering a double and a walk. Keep an eye on this guy in the coming years. The Indians have won 22 of their last 27 at Comerica Park and the last time Shane Bieber faced the Tigers, he pitched 7 scoreless innings with 11 strikeouts, and he is 4-1 lifetime against Detroit with an ERA of 1.82.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

The Cleveland Indians are desperate for a win and will try to avoid losing 8 in a row when they wrap up a quick 2-game set with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. The Indians lost a close one yesterday, 6-5, thanks to reliever Nick Wittgren hitting Cameron Maybin in the ninth to bring in the winning run. That hurts. Tonight the pitching matchup is expected to be Aaron Civale for the Indians and lefty Jon Lester for the Cubs. Neither pitcher is having a steller season. Civale is 3-5 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Southpaw Lester is 2-2 with an elevated ERA of 5.05 and a 1.34 WHIP – slight edge to Cleveland. The Indians have played well on the road, at 14-11, and despite being 3-7 in their last 10 against the Cubs they are 4-1 in their last 5 trips to the North Side. Cleveland needs to get back on track now and they know it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

The New York Yankees sit just a half game back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the second spot in the AL East and will have a chance to gain some ground when the two teams open a 3-game set tonight in the Bronx. Deivi García is expected to get the nod for New York. García (1-1, 3.06 ERA) last faced Toronto in Buffalo where he allowed just 2 runs in 7 innings, snapping their 5 game skid. The Blue Jays are expected to counter with Taijuan Walker. The ex-Mariner (3-2, 2.95 ERA) pitched well the last time he faced the Yanks, yielding just 2 hits, but he walked 5 and is 0-2 lifetime with a 3.06 ERA against New York. The Yankees are a force at home, with a record of 18-7, and the Jays have had issues at Yankee Stadium, with a dismal record of 26-55 in their last 81. Consider the Bombers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Los Angeles Dodgers must be feeling the heat from the smoking hot San Diego Padres who sit just 2.5 games back of them for the NL West lead. The Pads will have a chance to gain some ground on their archrivals when they open a 3-game set tonight at Petco Park. San Diego is coming off a sweep of a very good San Francisco team and have now won 7 straight. The Friars boast a home record of 18-6 and will have their best flamethrower on the hill tonight, Dinelson Lamet. Lamet is 2-1 with a 2.24 ERA, a WHIP of just 0.92, and was spectacular in his last outing against the Rockies, pitching 7-2/3 innings of scoreless ball in a 1-0 Padres win. The Dodgers are coming off a split with the Astros and the starter for tonight’s game is still up in the air but it will probably be Clayton Kershaw or Julio Urías. LA is a force and that is a given. They have won 7 of their last 8 trips to Petco Park but these are not the same old Padres. The Friars are hot. Ride them ’til they’re not.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES