Inside the Chalk

The Houston Astros are dangling by a thread, trying to get a wild card spot and if they lose today to the LA Angels, you might as well put a dagger in their heart, however there is still life. The Astros will send the kid from El Cajon California to the hill today, Joe Musgrove. Musgrove is 3-4 on the season, with a 4.42 ERA, a WHIP of 1.24 and has been lights out at Minute Maid Park, going 2-1 with a stingy ERA of 1.86. Daniel Wright will take the hill for the Angels today and he has been struggling. Wright is 0-2 on the season, with a 7.36 ERA, a 1.57 WHIP and in his last outing he did not look good, surrendering 5 runs on 9 hits in just 4-2/3 innings of work. The Angels are 6-15 in their last 21 in Houston.

Today’s pick:

Houston Astros

It’s a sad day today. We lost José Fernández. RIP, José.

The San Francisco Giants cannot afford to keep losing to a team like the San Diego Padres, who have won 7 of the last 8 contests, if they want to keep playing in October. Fortunately for the Giants, one of their wild card foes, the St. Louis Cardinals are playing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley and that helps. San Francisco will send their ace Madison Bumgarner to the hill tonight at Petco Park. Bumgarner lost his last 2 outings to the Padres but the All Star is still 14-9 on the season, with an ERA of 2.57, a WHIP of 1.02, and has a career best 241 strikeouts. Jarred Cosart gets the start for the Pads and he has been awful. Cosart is 0-4, with an ERA of 5.63, a WHIP of 1.70, and in the month of September he is 0-3, with a bloated ERA of 11.12, and that’s not a typo. To make matters worse, Cosart is 0-2 lifetime against the Giants, with an ERA of 10.80, and Buster Posey is 4-4 against him and Brandon Belt is 4-5. I see the Giants nailing Cosart and Bum pitching a gem.

Tonight’s pick:

San Francisco Giants

The Texas Rangers’ magic number to clinch the American League West is 1 and they will try to do that tonight when they travel to Oakland to open a 3-game set. The leftie Cole Hamels takes the hill for the Rangers and he will try to redeem himself after getting beat up in his last start against Oakland. Hamels is 14-5 on the season, with an ERA of 3.42, and a WHIP of 1.32. Texas is 33-9 in Hamels’ last 42 starts and 16-6 in his last 22 road starts. Oakland’s Kendall Graveman gets the nod tonight for the Athletics and he is 10-10, with an ERA of 4.21 and a WHIP of 1.33. Oakland is 0-5 in Graveman’s last 5 starts against the American League West, 0-6 in their last 6 home games and 17-9 in their last 26 against southpaws. Texas should clinch the West tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

Texas Rangers

After being swept at home by the Atlanta Braves, the New York Mets stay in Queens and open a 4-game set tonight against the Philadelphia Phillies. The Mets will try to right the ship when they send Seth Lugo to the hill. Lugo is 4-2 on the season, with an ERA of 2.35, a WHIP of 1.04 and the Mets are 5-0 in his last 5 starts. The southpaw Adam Morgan gets the start for Philadelphia and he is 2-10, with an ERA of 5.57, a 1.46 WHIP and the Phillies are 1-6 in his last 7 road starts. Morgan has pitched a career 8-2/3 innings against the Mets and has yielded 11 runs on 15 hits in that short span. Head to head, Philadelphia is 16-38 in the last 54 meetings and 4-12 in their last 16 at Citi Field. New York is 4-0 in their last 4 when facing lefties. The Mets are tied with the Giants and Cards in the wild card hunt and cannot afford another performance like the one against the Braves.

Tonight’s pick:

New York Mets

The Washington Nationals will look to Max Scherzer tonight to end their 4 game skid, when they play the final game of a 3 game set against the Miami Marlins in South Florida. Scherzer is the league leader in strike outs with 259 and over his last 3 starts he is 2-0, with an ERA of 1.74, and a WHIP of 1.11. The Nats are 10-1 in Scherzer’s last 11 starts and 5-2 in his last 7 against the Marlins. Tom Koehler will take the mound for Miami and over his last 3 outings he is 0-1, with an ERA of 3.38, and a WHIP of 1.31. The Marlins are 0-5 in Koehler’s last 5 starts and 1-5 in his last 6 against the Nationals. Washington’s Bryce Harper is in a major slump and rumor has it he is suffering from a bad shoulder so let’s see what he does tonight. The Nationals magic number to clinch the National League East is 4. I think after tonight, it will be 3.

Tonight’s pick:

Washington Nationals

The Washington Nationals took a thumping yesterday from the National League’s worst team, the Atlanta Braves, but I don’t see that happening again today. The Nats have dominated the Braves, winning 36 of their last 51 meetings and are 7-2 in their last 9 in Atlanta. Joe Ross takes the hill for the Nationals and he is 7-4, with a 3.49 ERA, and a 1.26 WHIP. The Braves counter with Matt Wisler, who is 6-12, with an ERA of 5.00, a WHIP of 1.33, and the Braves are 1-4 in Wisler’s last 5 home starts. Andy Fletcher is calling today’s game and the Braves are 2-6 with Fletcher behind the dish.

Today’s pick:

Washington Nationals