Inside the Chalk

Are the Baltimore Orioles going to be swept at home by the San Diego Padres? I don’t think so. Baltimore is in a bit of funk right now, but they are still the best in the very competitive AL East. Today’s pitching matchup favors the O’s. Albert Suárez is on the hill for the Orioles. He is 5-4 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. The Friars are expected to start Randy Vásquez. He is 3-5 with a 4.17 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP.
TODAY’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The Detroit Tigers will have the best pitcher in the majors, southpaw Tarik Skubal, on the bump when they host the Minnesota Twins tonight at Comerica Park. Skubal takes no prisoners. He is 11-3 with a 2.34 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and over his last 3 turns Scary Tarry is 2-0 with a 1.89 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP. The Twins are expected to hand the ball to Joe Ryan, who has been getting lit up. Over his last 3 starts, Ryan is 1-1 with a 6.35 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP.
TONIGHT’S PICK: DETROIT TIGERS

The Philadelphia Phillies are the best in the business and will open a 3-game set tonight at home against the Cleveland Guardians. The Phillies are 37-16 at Citizens Bank Park and will have Christopher Sánchez on the hill. Sánchez is 8-0 in his last 8 home starts. Enough said.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Tampa Bay Rays will play the rubber game of their 3-game set today in a matinée at Rogers Centre. The Jays and Rays are similar in many ways (runs scored, batting average and team ERA) but today the edge goes to Tampa because they are expected to have their young flamethrower on the hill, Taj Bradley. To say Bradley has been dominant would be a gross understatement. He is 5-4 with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.05 WHIP, and it gets better. In his last 8 starts, Bradley has allowed 2 runs or fewer. In his last outing against the Bronx Bombers on Saturday, he held Judge and company to just one hit over 7 frames and the Rays went on to a 9-1 rout, and I’m not done yet. Over his last 3 starts, Bradley is 2-0 with an ERA of only 0.45 and a 0.85 WHIP, and that is not a typo. On the flip side, the Jays are expected to hand the ball to Chris Bassitt, who is not the dominant pitcher he was when he tapped the rubber for Oakland. C Bass is 8-8 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Over his last 3 turns, it’s been ugly. Bassitt is 1-2 with a 6.48 ERA and a 1.74 WHIP. All the Rays have to do today is muster up a few runs and Bradley will take care of the rest.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY RAYS

Round 1 of the Baltimore Orioles and the Miami Marlins 3-game set went the Marlins way with the Fish winning 6-3 but I expect the American League’s best, Orioles, bounce back tonight. The 36-65 Marlins are expected to give the nod to Edward Cabrera and the O’s should be licking their chops. Cabrera has only one win on the season and that was against the Chicago Cubs back in April. He also has a bloated ERA of 7.36 and a 1.67 WHIP. The 60-40 Orioles are expected to send Chayce McDermott to the hill for his big league debut but not to worry, Miami ranks 29th in the league in runs scored and Brandon Hyde would not send him out there if he wasn’t up for the task. The Orioles have been in a bit of a funk, going 3-7 over their last 10, but it’s just a matter of time before their prolific offense explodes. Tonight should be that night.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The best in the AL, the Baltimore Orioles, and the worst in the NL, the Miami Marlins, will open a 3-game set tonight in south Florida. Baltimore was off yesterday after taking 2 out of 3 from the World Champion Texas Rangers so they will be well-rested going into tonight’s matchup. The Oriole’s expected starter is Albert Suárez and he has been dealing, with a record of 5-3, a 2.82 ERA, and a 1.22 WHIP. The Marlins just wrapped up a tough 4-game set yesterday with the New York Mets. They will probably go with a bullpen game and that could be trouble. The Marlins’ starters did not go deep in the series with the Mets, and they had to call on their bullpen too often, so their arms are tired and that is not good against the Orioles. Baltimore is an offensive machine, averaging just shy of 5 runs per game and lead the league in homers with 157. The O’s are the side to consider.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BALTIMORE ORIOLES

The Pittsburgh Pirates are starting to click on every cylinder. The Bucs just took 2 out of 3 from the best in the Majors, the Philadelphia Phillies, and have won 6 of their last 7. Tonight, they will open a 3-game set with the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park. With a double-header Saturday, St. Louis has played 3 games in 2 days so fatigue could be an issue for the Red Birds tonight. St. Louis is expected to hand the ball to Andre Pallante who is 4-4 with a 4.21 ERA, a 1.38 WHIP, and the Cardinals are just 1-5 in his last 6 starts as the underdog. The Pirates are expected to counter with Mitch Keller. He is 10-5-with a 3.46 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. Advantage Pittsburgh.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PIRATES