Inside the Chalk

The flame throwing southpaw Chris Sale will take the hill for the Chicago White Sox today to face Marcus Stroman and the hard-hitting Toronto Blue Jays. Sale has a stellar record. He is 12-2 on the season with a 2.83 ERA and a WHIP of just 0.99. On the flip side, Stroman is 6-3 on the season, with an ERA of 5.23 and a 1.38 WHIP. Sale faced the Jays on April 26th in Toronto and he was dominant, yielding 1 run with 4 hits in 8 innings of work, capping off a win for the White Sox. The White Sox are 7-1 in Sale’s last 8 home starts and they are 13-3 in his last 16 overall. The Jays are 2-5 in their last 7 at US Cellular Field.

Today’s pick:

Chicago White Sox

Tampa Bay has lost 8 in a row and they’re going to snap it today when they send Matt Andriese to the hill. He has a perfect record of 6-0, a 2.88 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP. Baltimore will counter with Kevin Gausman, who is 0-5 on the season, with a 4.37 ERA and a WHIP of 1.35.

Washington snaps their 6-game losing streak today. I’m not a big fan of Gio Gonzalez but they are facing Matt Garza. The Nationals should be able to capitalize on Garza.

Today’s picks:

Tampa Bay Rays
Washington Nationals

The Minnesota Twins will take their 8-24 road record into the Bronx tonight to face Masahiro Tanaka and the New York Yankees. Tanaka is 4-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.91 and has owned Minnesota. He has a career record against them of 3-0 with a nasty ERA of 1.96. New York is 8-0 in Tanaka’s last 8 starts against a team with a losing record, 5-1 in his last 6 home starts and 4-0 when he has 6 days rest. Tommy Milone was called back up from AAA and was 0-1 on the season with a 5.79 ERA before being sent down. The Twins have struggled in the Bronx, going 13-40 in their last 53, and 14-44 in the last 58 meetings. The line is high but the Bombers should coast tonight.

Tonight’s pick:

New York Yankees

After being swept at Wrigley, the Chicago Cubs will try to right the ship when they head south to Florida to take on the Miami Marlins. Two lefties will face each other tonight, John Lester for the Cubs and Wei-Yin-Chen for the Marlins. Lester is having a stellar year, owning a 9-3 record with a 2.06 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP. Chicago boasts a road record of 22-12. They are 5-0 in Lester’s last 5 starts and 5-1 in his last 6 road starts. Miami’s Wei-Yin-Chen is 4-2 on the season, with a 5.22 ERA and a 1.34 WHIP. Chen was nailed in his last outing, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits in just 2-1/3 innings against Colorado. The Cubs have had success on the road against southpaws, going 11-2 in their last 13. Anthony Rizzo is not expected in lineup tonight for the Cubs.

Tonight’s pick:

Chicago Cubs

The lefty Cole Hamels gets the call tonight when his Texas Rangers play host to Dan Straily and the Cincinnati Reds in Arlington. Hamels is 7-1 on the season with an ERA of 2.88 and has been dominant against the Reds. In Hamels’ run with Philadelphia, he had 14 starts against Cincinnati, posting a record of 9-1 with an ERA of just 1.96. Cole was throwing flames in his last outing, yielding a meager 3 hits in 7-2/3 innings in a 1-0 win over St. Louis. Straily on the other hand, was lit up in his last contest, giving up 6 runs on 7 hits in 4-1/3 innings of work. Straily is 4-3 on the season with a respectable ERA of 3.66. Joey Votto sat out last night’s game with an illness and is questionable for tonight. The Reds were 8-22 in their last 30 against southpaws, and they are 1-8 in their last 9 interleague games against a team with a winning record.

Tonight’s pick:

Texas Rangers

The Toronto Blue Jays will try to get back on track when they host the hot Arizona Diamondbacks tonight at Rogers Centre. Marco Estrada is expected on the hill tonight for the Jays. Estrada is having a quality year with a 5-2 record, an ERA of 2.58 and a WHIP of just 0.98. Toronto is 10-4 in Estrada’s last 14 home starts and 4-1 in his last 5 interleague starts. Patrick Corbin is expected to get the start for the Diamondbacks and he is 3-6 on the season with a 4.76 ERA and a 1.35 WHIP. Arizona has struggled in interleague play, going 2-6 in their last 8 and they are 1-4 in Corbin’s last 5 starts. Toronto should get this one.

Tonight’s pick:

Toronto Blue Jays

The Houston Astros will send Doug Fister to the mound tonight when they open a 3 game set against the Los Angeles Angels at Minute Maid Park. Over his last 3 outings Fister has been delivering, going 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and a WHIP of just 1.03. The Angels will counter with Jhoulys Chacin who is 1-1 with an ERA of 7.04 and a 1.83 WHIP over his last 3. Houston is 9-0 in Fister’s last 9 starts and the Angels have struggled at Minute Maid, posting a dismal record of 3-9 in their last 12. Altuve has been red hot for the ‘Stros with a batting average of 3.93 in the month of June and is he is .351 lifetime against the Angels.

Tonight’s pick:

Houston Astros