Inside the Chalk

Jon Lester will be on the hill tonight for the Chicago Cubs when they host the Milwaukee Brewers and he has been delivering. Over his last three turns, Lester is 1-1, with a 0.50 ERA, and a WHIP of only 0.78, and you can’t get much better than that. The Brewers will counter with the ex-Padre, Jhoulys Chacín, and he has been steady, with a record of 1-1, a 3.60 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP, but Milwaukee is just 1-5 in their last 6 against the National League Central. Chicago is 5-1 in Lester’s last 6 starts against the Brewers so consider the Cubs.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Washington Nationals took game one of a 4-game set last night against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chavez Ravine but I expect the Dodgers to bounce back tonight. Two veteran hurlers will oppose each other tonight. Aníbal Sánchez will be tapping the rubber for Washington and Kenta Maeda will take the hill for LA. Sánchez has yet to get a win this season, at 0-5, with a 5.15 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP, and the Nats are winless in his last four road starts. On the flip side, Maeda is 3-2, with a 4.66 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, and the Dodgers are 9-4 in his last 13 home starts against a team with a losing record. Washington has struggled against Los Angeles, going 1-5 in the last 6 meetings and they are just 16-35 in their last 51 at Dodgers Stadium. I like the Dodgers in this situation.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS

Last night the Seattle Mariners put the screws to the New York Yankees, throttling them 10-1, but don’t expect the same result tonight when the two teams meet again in the Bronx. Don’t lose sight of the fact that the Mariners are just 2-8 in their last 10 overall and the reason for that is they are the worst defending team in the league. Tonight Seattle will send Mike Leake to the hill. Leake is 2-3, with a 4.91 ERA, a 1.51 WHIP, and the Mariners are 0-4 in his last 4 starts. Aaron Boone is expecting to send the lefty, J.A. Happ, to the mound. Happ is off to a slow start, at 1-3, with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP but he will come around. The Yankees are 13-6 in his last 19 starts. New York has owned Seattle, winning 23 of the last 31 meetings and 7 of the last 8 at the Stadium.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Cleveland Indians will have payback on their minds after being humiliated in front of their home crowd last night by the Chicago White Sox, 9-1. The two teams will meet for the second leg of a 4-game set tonight at Progressive Field and Cleveland will turn to Jefry Rodríguez to even the score. Rodríguez has pitched well despite being 0-1. His ERA is only 2.13 with a stingy WHIP of 0.79. Chicago will give the nod to Lucas Giolito, who is 2-1 but has an elevated ERA of 5.32 with a 1.44 WHIP. Giolito was 0-2 last year against the Tribe, with a 7.36 ERA, and that ‘s not good. Despite last night’s loss, the Indians are 24-9 in their last 33 against the White Sox and 10-3 in their last 13 meetings against them at Progressive Field. The Tribe bounces back.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CLEVELAND INDIANS

It took the Atlanta Braves extra innings yesterday to dispose of the Miami Marlins and then they had to board a flight for Los Angeles to open a 3-game set with the Dodgers which is always difficult to do. Atlanta will send Kevin Gausman to the rubber. Gausman is 1-2 with a 4.83 ERA and will be working on just two days’ rest after being ejected in Friday’s game with Miami after 1-2/3 innings of work. Los Angeles will have Walker Buehler on the hill. Buehler is 3-0, with an ERA that could be better at 5.22, but the Dodgers are still 6-2 in his last 8 starts. Head to head, Los Angeles has had their way with Atlanta, winning 28 of the last 39 meetings and 21 of the last 29 at Chavez Ravine.
TONIGHT’S PICK: LOS ANGELES DODGERS