Inside the Chalk

On the verge of losing six straight and being swept at home by the red-hot Cleveland Guardians, who have won seven in a row, the Baltimore Orioles will turn to Grayson Rodriguez tonight at Birdland to stop the bleeding. Rodriguez usually comes through when called upon and I expect he will do just that tonight. He is 8-3 with a 3.82 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. The veteran, Carlos Carrasco, is expected on the hill for the Guardians. Carrasco is not having a good year with a record of 3-6, a 5.40 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP. Gunnar Henderson and company should put up some runs on the struggling right-hander. The first two games could have gone either way with Baltimore getting the short end of the stick in both. Not tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The 43-37 Kansas City Royals finally got back on the rails last night, snapping their 3-game skid with a 4-1 victory over the 27-51 Miami Marlins at the K. Tonight in the second game of their 3-game set, the Royals will send Seth Lugo to the hill and he has been in the zone. Lugo is 10-2 with a 2.42 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. He is also an impressive 4-1 in his career against the Marlins with an ERA of 2.71 and KC is 8-0 in his last 8 starts against a team with a losing record. KC should be able to get to Miami’s expected starter Yonny Chirinos. This will be just his second start in the Bigs this year and he has a 3.30 ERA with an elevated WHIP of 1.60 over 5 innings of work. The Royals have the edge in runs per game, run differential, batting average, hits, homers, etc., etc.
TONIGHT’S PICK: KANSAS CITY ROYALS

The Philadelphia Phillies are back to doing what they do best and that is win baseball games. Tonight, they will take a 2-game winning streak to Comerica Park to open a 3-game set with the Detroit Tigers. The Phillies’ bats are hot and so is Bryce Harper who is riding an 8-game hitting streak. In their last two wins over the Arizona Diamondbacks, they had 25 hits and outscored the Snakes, 16-2. That doesn’t bode well for the Tigers’ expected starter, Casey Mize. He is 1-5 with that lone win coming back in April and has an ERA of 4.44 with a 1.45 WHIP. The NL best Phillies, who also possess the lowest ERA in the majors, are expected to send Aaron Nola to the hill. He is 8-3 with a 3.54 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. Nola is also 2-0 in his career against the Tigers with an ERA of only 1.40 and Philadelphia has won 6 straight against Detroit.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Pittsburgh Pirates will go for a series win over the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon at PNC Park. These two clubs are similar in many ways but not today because the Bucs are expected to have the rookie sensation, Paul Skenes, on the hill. He is a perfect 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.99 to go along with 53 punchouts. The Rays are expected to counter with Aaron Civale. He is having a disappointing year, with a record of 2-5, a 5.42 ERA, a 1.39 WHIP, and Tampa is 0-6 in his last 6 road starts.
TODAY’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES

The Philadelphia Phillies are in a bit of a tailspin, losing 2 straight and 6 of their last 9, but on the bright side they will have their ace on the hill, Zack Wheeler, when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Wheeler, who is 8-4 with a 2.84 ERA, was lit up in his last outing by the Baltimore Orioles but everybody has a bad day. In his career against the Snakes, Wheeler has produced, posting a record of 6-3 with an impressive 2.96 ERA. The red hot D-backs, who have won 2 straight and 6 of their last 9, will turn to lefty Tommy Henry to throw strikes. Henry is 2-2 with a 6.23 ERA and that is not good when you are facing guys like Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber. In his career against the Phillies, Henry is a dismal 1-1 with a bloated ERA of 8.79. Arizona has won 3 straight and 5 of the last 6 against Philadelphia but the Phillies get some payback today.
TODAY’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The 44-33 Seattle Mariners have lost their last two but a trip to south Florida to open a 3-game set with the 25-49 Miami Marlins might be just what the doctor ordered. Even though the AL West leading Mariners don’t score a lot of runs, they should get the Marlins expected starter tonight, Trevor Rogers. Rogers is just 1-8 on the season with an elevated ERA of 5.09 and a 1.59 WHIP. Seattle is expected to have George Kirby on the bump and he has pitched well. Kirby is 6-5 with a respectable ERA of 3.54, a great WHIP of 1.10, and the Mariners are 4-0 in his last 4 starts. The Marlins are just 14-26 at LoanDepot Park and the Mariners are 6-1 in their last 7 in game 1 of a series. Seattle is the side to consider tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SEATTLE MARINERS

The Minnesota Twins will go for a series win when they wrap up their 3-game set with the Tampa Bay Rays this afternoon at Target Field. The Twins lost yesterday, 3-2, in extras due to a throwing error but should come on out top today. Zack Littell is the expected starter for the Rays. Littell is 2-5 with a 4.25 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and Tampa is 0-4 in their last 4 following a win. On the flip side, the Twins’ expected starter is Simeon Woods Richardson. He is 2-1 with a 3.29 ERA, a 1.15 WHIP, and Minnesota is 4-0 in his last 4 home starts. The Twins are tough to beat at Target Field with a record of 23-15. They are 8-2 over their last 10 and also have the edge in every conceivable category.
TODAY’S PICK: MINNESOTA TWINS