Inside the Chalk

The Detroit Tigers are going for a sweep of the Kansas City Royals tonight and will have the best in the AL on the hill, Tarik Skubal. Skubal is going to win the AL Cy Young, that is given, and this is why. He is 16-4 with a 2.50 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.94 with 215 strikeouts. Forget about it.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The Los Angeles Dodgers had better be looking over their shoulder because the red-hot San Diego Padres are just 3½ games back of them for the lead in the very competitive NL West and they are not slowing down. Tonight they host the Houston Astros at Petco Park, where they are 41-35. Take the Friars.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The New York Mets fell to the Philadelphia Phillies yesterday, 2-1, but they will get back on track tonight when they return to Queens to host the Washington Nationals in game 1 of a 3-game set. The Mets are in a dog fight with the Atlanta Braves for the last NL Wild Card spot but should gain some ground with the Nationals. The Mets have won 3 straight this year against the Nats and 8 of the last 10. The expected pitchers today are Sean Manaea for New York and Jake Irvin for Washington. Manaea is 11-5 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. Irvin is 10-12 with a 4.19 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP. Advantage New York. Moreover, the Mets are 7-0 in Manea’s last 7 home starts and have the edge in all categories of baseball.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK METS

The Arizona Diamondbacks were bamboozled yesterday by the Milwaukee Brewers, 15-8, but they bounce back today. The D-backs ace, Zac Gallen, is expected to get the start for Arizona. Gallen is 12-6 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP. He was lights out in his last turn against the champion Texas Rangers, yielding just two hits, no runs, and the Snakes went on to a 6-0 win. The Brewers are expected to send DL Hall to the rubber. Hall is 1-1 with a 4.01 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. The Diamondbacks, who are the best in the business at scoring runs, are going to feast on this guy.
TODAY’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees are hot and will have their ace on the hill, Gerrit Cole, when they host the Boston Red Sox today in the Bronx. Enough said.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The 85-62 New York Yankees and the 74-73 Boston Red Sox will play the second game of their 4-game set tonight at the Stadium. The Bombers took game 1 last night in extras (2-1) and have now won 3 straight against their archrival. New York is expected to give the nod to Clarke Schmidt. Schmidt is 5-3 with a 2.34 ERA, a 1.13 WHIP, and was in the zone in his first start after being activated from the IL, yielding just 4 hits against the Cubs with no runs and the Yankees went on to a 2-0 victory. Boston is expected to counter with Tanner Houck, who has been getting lit up. Over his last 3 starts, Houck is 0-2 with an elevated ERA of 5.29 and a 1.29 WHIP. The best player in baseball, Yankee Aaron Judge, is homerless in his last 16 games but that ends tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Seattle Mariners will open a 4-game set tonight at T-Mobile Park with their AL West rival Texas Rangers. The 74-72 Mariners still have a shot of catching Houston for the top spot in the AL West, sitting just 3½ games back and will turn to Bryce Miller tonight to get the job done. Miller is 11-8 with a 3.18 ERA and over his last 3 he has been dealing. He is 2-1 with a 2.04 ERA, a WHIP of just 0.79, and in his last turn against the Cardinals he pitched 6 scoreless innings, yielding only 3 hits, resulting in a Mariners 6-1 victory. The 70-76 Rangers lost their last two games against Arizona and were outscored over that span, 20-4. Not good. Texas is expected to send Kumar Rocker to the hill. Rocker will be making his Major League debut. The Mariners swept the Rangers at T-Mobile back in June. They are 6-1 in the last 7 meetings and an impressive 42-29 at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS