Inside the Chalk

The 60-49 San Diego Padres are starting to heat up, winning five straight and now are just three games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers for the top spot in the NL West. Tonight the Padres will open up a 3-game set at Petco Park with the 55-55 St. Louis Cardinals. The Cardinals and Padres met just last week at Busch Stadium, splitting a 4-game set, with San Diego winning the last two. Since then, the Padres went on to sweep a really good New York Mets team in San Diego, outscoring them 19-7 over the three games. Tonight’s expected starters are Nick Pivetta for the Padres and Matthew Liberatore for the Cardinals. The Padres ace Pivetta has been in the zone, posting are record of 10-3 with a 2.81 ERA and a WHIP of only 0.98. Liberatore is 6-8 with a 4.04 ERA, a 1.27 WHIP, and took the loss the last time he faced San Diego. The Friars are hot and are tough at home with a record of 34-18. They are the side to consider.
TONIGHT’S PICK: SAN DIEGO PADRES

The 57-52 Cincinnati Reds are a team to keep an eye on. They have one of the best skippers in the majors, Terry Francona, and are knocking on the door for the last wild card spot in the NL. They also have one of the best hurlers in the business, southpaw Andrew Abbott, who will be called upon tonight to throw strikes when the Reds host the 45-62 Atlanta Braves at Great American Ball Park. Abbott delivers every time he takes the hill. The lefty is 8-1 with a 2.09 ERA and a 1.07 WHIP. The Braves are expected to counter with the newly acquired ex-Yankee Carlos Carrasco. Before New York sent him down to AAA Scranton, Carrasco was 2-2 with a 5.91 ERA and a 1.53 WHIP. The Big Red Machine, who are 32-24 at home should take care of business tonight. The Braves are just 19-36 on the road. They have lost their last five against a team with a winning record, seven of their last eight overall, and that doesn’t bode well when you have to face flamethrower Andrew Abbott.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS

The 53-55 Los Angeles Angels will go for their fourth straight win and a 3-game sweep of the 56-52 Texas Rangers tonight at Angel Stadium. The Angels’ bats had better be clicking on every cylinder if they expect to get the sweep because the Rangers will have Nathan Eovaldi on the bump. Eovaldi’s numbers are off the charts. He is 8-3 with an ERA of only 1.50, a WHIP of 0.86, and it gets better. Over his last 3 turns, he is 3-0 with a 0.48 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. Texas is 4-0 in Eovaldi’s last 4 starts and the best skipper in the majors, Bruce Bochy, will have his boys ready.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TEXAS RANGERS

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays will play the second game of their 4-game set tonight at the Stadium. New York lost the opener last night, 4-2, but should even it up tonight with their ace on the hill, southpaw Max Fried. Fried was dealing with a blister on his left index finger in his last turn against Toronto which would explain his rare poor outing, but all is good for tonight. Fried has Cy Young-type numbers at 11-4 with a 2.62 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP over 127.1 innings of work. Tampa is expected to have Joe Boyle toeing the rubber. Boyle has good numbers, at 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA and a 0.63 WHIP but that is over just 19 innings of work. The Rays have not played well on the road, at 23-25, and they are 0-5 in their last five games against a left-handed starter. The Yankees are 31-22 in the Bronx and have the edge in runs per game, run differential, hits, and homers.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK YANKEES

The Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles will open a 4-game set tonight at Birdland with a doubleheader slated for tomorrow. The best team in baseball, the Toronto Blue Jays, will send Chris Bassitt to the hill. Bassitt is 11-4 with a 3.88 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. The last placed Orioles will counter with Zach Eflin and the Jays heavy hitters should be able to get to him. Eflin is 6-5 with a 5.78 ERA, a 1.37 WHIP, and Baltimore is 0-4 in his last 4 starts. The Orioles have won two straight but that was against the worst team in baseball, the Colorado Rockies, so don’t get too excited. Toronto is the better team on the diamond tonight and should come out on top.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TORONTO BLUE JAYS

The 61-43 Milwaukee Brewers are on the verge of being swept at home by the red hot 50-53 Miami Marlins when they play the final game of their 3-game set this afternoon at American Family Field. The Marlins have won four straight but streaks end and so will this one. Milwaukee is expected to have the veteran Brandon Woodruff on the hill, and he has been delivering. Woodruff is 2-0 with an ERA of only 1.65 and a WHIP barely visible at 0.55. Despite losing their last two to the Marlins, the Brewers are still a stout 33-19 at home and are 5-0 in their last five in Game 3 of a series.
TODAY’S PICK: MILWAUKEE BREWERS

The Cincinnati Reds and the Tampa Bay Rays will play the middle game of their 3-game set tonight at Great American Ball Park. The Reds cruised to a 7-2 win last night in Game 1 and should come out on top again tonight. The Big Red Machine will have their ace, Andrew Abbott, on the hill and he is throwing flames as usual. The 2025 NL Cy Young candidate is 8-1 with a 2.13 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, and it doesn’t get much better than that. Tampa is expected to counter with Ryan Pepiot. He is 6-8 with a respectable ERA of 3.59 and a 1.16 WHIP but over his last 3 turns he is 0-2 with a 5.00 ERA. The Rays have not been playing well on the road. They have lost 5 straight away from Steinbrenner Field and are 0-7 in Pepiot’s last 7 road starts.
TONIGHT’S PICK: CINCINNATI REDS