Inside the Chalk

The Chicago Cubs are getting hot, and just at the right time, with three games left in the regular season. Today in an early one, they will host their arch-rival, the St. Louis Cardinals. One of the best in the business will tap the rubber for the Cardinals, Adam Wainwright. Unfortunately, Wainwright’s season has been plagued by injuries and he is 2-3, with a 4.08 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. Kyle Hendricks will get the nod for the Cubs. Hendricks, who always finds his mark, is 13-11 with a 3.49 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Chicago is 4-1 in his last 5 home starts and 7-0 in his last 7 turns against St. Louis. The Cardinals have struggled at Wrigley, going 4-13 in their last 17. Consider the Cubs.
TODAY’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Chicago Cubs bats finally woke up last night, resulting in a 7-6 win at Wrigley over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight they will go for a series split with the Bucs before hosting the St. Louis Cardinals for the final three games of the season. The Cubs hold a half game lead on the Milwaukee Brewers, who are idle today, so this is a chance for them to gain some ground. The pitchers opposing each other today will be the lefty Jon Lester for Chicago and Trevor Williams for Pittsburgh. Both have been hurling all season with similar numbers. Williams is 14-9, with a 3.04 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Lester is 17-6, with a 3.43 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. When Williams takes the hill against the Cubs, the Pirates are 1-4 in his last 5 starts and they have had issues on the road against lefties, going 8-22 in their last 30. On the flip side, the Cubs are 38-14 in Lester’s last 52 home starts and 5-1 in his last 6 turns against the Pirates. The Cubs’ fans will be in rare form tonight and with Lester on the hill, the home team is the play here.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS

The Colorado Rockies are on fire, outscoring the Philadelphia Phillies 20-4 in the first two games of their 4-game set at Coors Field. Colorado has now won 5 in a row and find themselves just half a game back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL West lead. The Rockies are expected to turn to Germán Márquez to keep it rolling. Márquez is 13-10, with a 3.91 ERA, and has been mowing them down with 210 strikeouts on the season. The Phillies have lost 6 in a row and are expected to give the nod to Nick Pivetta. Pivetta’s season is one he would like to forget, with a record of 7-13 and a 4.58 ERA. Pivetta is 0-2 in his career against the Rockies, with a bloated 16.43 ERA. Not good. The Rockies are 5-1 in Márquez’s last 6 home starts and the Phillies are 1-4 in their last 5 trips to Coors Field.
TONIGHT’S PICK: COLORADO ROCKIES

The New York Yankees opened a 4-game set last night at Tropicana Field against the Tampa Bay Rays, using the Rays’ tactic of starting relievers and it worked, resulting in a 4-1 Yankee victory. Tonight they will abandoned that and give the nod to their ace, Louis Severino. Severino, who is 18-8 with an ERA of 3.38 and a 1.14 WHIP, was spectacular in his last turn, allowing just one run in a 10-1 beating of the Boston Red Sox. Tampa’s first pitcher will be Jake Faria, who is 4-3 on the season, with a 5.17 ERA, a 1.40 WHIP, and the Rays are 2-5 in his last 7 home starts. Severino is 7-2 in his career against the Rays with a 3.06 ERA and the Yanks are 20-8 in his last 28 starts against the AL East. The Yankees are just 1-1/2 games up on the Athletics for the top Wild Card spot. They will have to take care of business in Tampa because it won’t be easy down the stretch when they finish the season against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Arizona Diamondbacks may be eliminated from post-season play but they would love nothing better than to put the screws to Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. Tonight they will have that opportunity when they open a 3-game set at Chase Field. We all know Kershaw’s track record and he has been delivering again with a record of 8-5, a 2.45 ERA, and a 1.02 WHIP. In his last 3 turns, Kershaw is 2-0, with a 2.84 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP however, the Dodgers have struggled at Chase Field, going 3-8 in their last 11 and are 3-8 in Kershaw’s last 11 starts in Arizona. The Diamondbacks will give the nod to Robbie Ray and he has been getting it done. Ray is 6-2, with a 3.92 ERA, and a 1.32 WHIP. In his last 3 starts, Ray is 1-0, with a 2.08 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.92. The Snakes are 4-1 in his last 5 turns and are 5-0 in his last 5 starts at home against the Dodgers. Good spot to consider the home team.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ARIZONA DIAMONDBACKS

The New York Yankees clinched a playoff berth yesterday but are just 1-1/2 games ahead of the Oakland Athletics for the right to host the Wild Card game, so they have to keep winning. Today the Yankees will host the Baltimore Orioles for the final game of a 3-game set and are expected to call on J.A. Happ to throw strikes. Happ is 16-6 on the season, with a 3.62 ERA, and a 1.13 WHIP. Since joining the Yanks from Toronto, Happ is still unbeaten, at 6-0, with a 2.39 ERA. Baltimore is expected to send Alex Cobb to the rubber. Cobb is 5-15, with an ERA of 4.90, a WHIP of 1.41, and has been fighting a blister on his throwing hand, which is never a good thing. The Orioles are just 1-5 in their last 6 road games against southpaws and 8-20 in their last 28 meetings with the Yankees. Consider the Bombers today in an early one.
TODAY’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Chicago Cubs had better get back on track soon because the Milwaukee Brewers are just 1-1/2 games back of them for the NL Central lead. That should happen tonight when the Cubs resume play on the southside against the Chicago White Sox. Southpaw Jon Lester will get the start for the Cubs. Lester is having another outstanding year, at 16-6, with a 3.43 ERA, a 1.31 WHIP, and the Cubs are 9-1 in his last 10 road starts. Lucas Giolito will get the nod for the White Sox and he has been struggling. Giolito is 10-11 on the year, with a 5.77 ERA, and is 0-2 in his last 3 turns with an ERA of 6.91. The White Sox are 1-5 in their last 6 home games and 0-4 in Giolito’s last 4 starts. Rizzo and company get it done tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CHICAGO CUBS