Inside the Chalk

The ex-Yankee Ivan Nova will take the hill for the Pittsburgh Pirates today as they try to make it two in a row against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Robby Ray is slated to start for Arizona and over his last 3 outings he has been mediocre at best, with a 5.09 ERA, a 1.30 WHIP and Arizona is 0-4 in his last 4 starts against the National League Central. Nova has been on his mark. In his last 3 starts he has a 2.53 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP and Pittsburgh is 11-4 in their 15 meetings with the Diamondbacks. Jerry Meals is behind the dish today and Arizona is 1-5 in his last 6 when he is pulling the strings. Good dog bet here.

Today’s pick:

Pittsburgh Pirates

I still like the Washington Nationals over the Philadelphia Phillies tonight. Refer to yesterday’s blog because nothing has changed except each team had an extra days’ rest. Tanner Roark is still expected on the hill for the Nationals and Nick Pivetta for the Phillies. The forecast for DC tonight is cloudy, with a temperature of 56, and winds out of the NNW at 10 mph. They will get this one in tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Washington Nationals

The game tonight between Philadelphia and Washington has been postponed.

The Philadelphia Phillies open a 3-game set tonight in Washington and the edge goes to the Nationals in this one. The Phillies are 5-11 on the road, 1-7 in their last 8 overall, and 1-5 in their last 6 trips to Washington. Nick Pivetta gets the nod tonight for Philadelphia and he is 0-2, with a 5.40 ERA, a 1.90 WHIP and faced the Nationals on May 5th, where he yielded 4 runs on 9 hits, 3 of which were homers, in 5 innings of work. The Nationals are at the top of the National League East at 22-12 and are 10-6 at Nationals Park. Tanner Roark will be on the rubber for Washington. Roark is 3-1, with a 3.46 ERA, a WHIP of 1.15, and the Nationals are 12-5 in his last 17 home starts. Washington will be well rested after last night’s rain out with Baltimore.

Tonight’s Pick:

Washington Nationals

Two southpaws will face each other tonight in Arlington when the San Diego Padres send Clayton Richard to the rubber to face the Texas Rangers’ Martín Pérez. Richard has struggled over his last 3 starts, posting an ERA of 8.36, a 2.21 WHIP and in 5 career appearances against Texas, he owns an ERA of 7.36. San Diego is 1-6 in their last 7 overall and 0-4 in their last 4 interleague road games. Pérez has fared better in his last 3 outings, with an ERA of 4.58 and a 1.64 WHIP. Texas is 4-1 in their last 5 interleague games and 5-2 in Pérez’s last 7 interleague starts. I like the home team here.

Tonight’s pick:

Texas Rangers

It looks as if Father Time has finally caught up to Bartolo Colón, but he will get the start tonight when the Atlanta Braves make a trip to Minute Maid Park to take on Charlie Morton and the Houston Astros. Colón is just 1-3, with an inflated ERA of 6.27, and was drilled in his last 2 outings, giving up 11 runs, on 17 hits, in 9 innings of work. Morton has been steady for the Astros, with a 3-2 record, a 3.97 ERA, and Houston is 4-0 in his last 4 home starts. Atlanta has dropped 4 in a row and are 6-10 on the road.

Tonight’s pick:

Houston Astros