Skenes Hosts The First-Place Dodgers And Cole Returns To National TV On The MLB Tuesday Board

The national TV window on TBS and Prime Video sends Gerrit Cole back to a marquee stage against the AL Central-leading Guardians. Cole has been everything the Yankees hoped for since debuting May 22 following his Tommy John rehab, sitting 1-1 with a 2.00 ERA and a 0.89 WHIP across three starts with his velocity back up at 98 to 99 miles per hour. New York, 39-26 and chasing Tampa Bay in the East, is a minus-123 favorite with Cleveland at plus-102 and the total at 8.5, but the Yankees are doing it without Aaron Judge, who is on the injured list with a stress fracture in his right rib.

Cleveland, 37-31 and the surprise leader of its division, counters with right-hander Slade Cecconi, who is 3-5 with a 4.92 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP but has trended upward after a rough April, piling up 54 strikeouts on the year. The Guardians have leaned on pitching and timely contact all season, and against a Yankees lineup missing its best hitter, Cecconi has a real chance to keep his team in it. The subplot is Cole testing his rebuilt arm against a disciplined Cleveland offense in a building that has given the Yankees fits before.

This is the best pure pitching matchup outside of Pittsburgh. Zack Wheeler has been otherworldly for Philadelphia, carrying an ERA around 2.31 with a 0.83 WHIP and 48 strikeouts to just 12 walks across eight starts, recently named an NL Pitcher of the Month as he picks up right where he left off before shoulder surgery. The Phillies, 36-30 and chasing Atlanta in the East, are minus-115 favorites with Toronto at minus-112 and the total trimmed to 7.5, a number that screams respect for both arms.

Toronto answers with Dylan Cease, who is being activated off the injured list specifically to make this start after a left hamstring strain and one rehab tune-up at Triple-A Buffalo. When healthy, Cease is a strikeout machine at 3-3 with a 3.05 ERA, a 1.21 WHIP, and 92 punchouts, with Max Scherzer slated to follow him in the series on Wednesday. The question is whether Cease has his command and stamina out of the gate against a patient Phillies lineup, or whether the layoff shows early. With two arms this talented, the 7.5 total reflects a market bracing for a low-event, swing-and-miss night in the dome.

The best record in baseball comes to the South Side, with Atlanta sitting at a remarkable 45-21 and rolling into Chicago as a minus-157 road favorite over the White Sox at plus-130, with the total set at 9. The Braves hand the ball to Grant Holmes, who has been a steady mid-rotation arm at 4-2 with a 3.86 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP across 12 starts, racking up 57 strikeouts while giving Atlanta length and keeping the ball in the yard.

Chicago has been the better story than its record suggests at 34-31, hanging around the AL Central race behind young pitching and a scrappy offense, and the White Sox will counter with a left-hander out of their rotation looking to slow a Braves lineup that punishes mistakes. The gap in the line is about Atlanta's complete-team dominance more than any single matchup edge, and the White Sox path to the upset runs through keeping the Braves' big bats in the park and scratching across enough early to make it a game.

Seattle, 35-32 and leading the AL West, sends out Logan Gilbert in a strong spot at Camden Yards. Gilbert is 4-4 with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP, with 77 strikeouts against just 17 walks over 73.2 innings, and he is coming off a dominant six-inning, one-hit, nine-strikeout effort against the White Sox. The Mariners are minus-126 favorites with Baltimore at plus-103 and the total at 8.5.

The Orioles, 31-36 and buried in the AL East, are in a rough spot on the mound with Trevor Rogers, who has collapsed to a 6.29 ERA and a 1.51 WHIP, posting an ugly 11.84 ERA across his last five starts while rarely getting through four innings. That is the mismatch driving the price. Baltimore still has the lineup talent to do damage in a hitter-friendly park, but it needs Rogers to find something he has not shown in weeks, because handing Seattle's offense a short start against a tired bullpen is the fast track to a long night at Camden.

The Mets host the Cardinals in a matchup that pits a struggling New York club against a steadier St. Louis team. New York, just 29-36 and scuffling near the bottom of the NL East, is nonetheless a minus-134 home favorite with St. Louis at plus-114 and the total a modest 8, and the reason is on the mound: Freddy Peralta has anchored the Mets rotation at 4-4 with a 3.63 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and 74 strikeouts over 72 innings since arriving in a January trade.

St. Louis, the better team at 35-28 and in the thick of the NL Central race, counters with right-hander Dustin May, who is 3-6 with a 4.59 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP over 12 starts, a quality-stuff arm whose results have lagged his profile. The contrast is a confident Cardinals club trying to expose a fragile Mets offense, against a New York team leaning on Peralta to keep it close in a pitcher-friendly number. If May limits the damage early, St. Louis has the more reliable lineup to take advantage.

The late-night West Coast highlight is Reds rookie Chase Burns, who has been one of the best stories in the sport. Burns is 7-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a sub-1.00 WHIP, fanning 72 hitters and pitching his way into the early Cy Young conversation. Cincinnati, 31-34, leans on that arm as a minus-125 favorite at Petco Park against the Padres at plus-104, with the total a tight 7.5.

San Diego, 34-31 and very much in the NL West and Wild Card mix, counters with veteran Lucas Giolito, who has had control trouble at 2-1 with a 4.96 ERA and a bloated WHIP, struggling to work deep into games. That puts pressure on a Padres bullpen and asks the lineup to solve a phenom who has barely been touched. The intrigue here is whether a veteran-laden San Diego order can be the team that finally makes Burns look like a rookie, or whether the kid keeps carving through one of the most patient lineups in the league.

The thin air of Coors Field hosts the highest total on the board at 12.5, with the Cubs heavy minus-162 favorites over the 24-42 Rockies at plus-134. Chicago, 34-32 and hovering around the NL Central race, sends out Colin Rea, a 5-3, 4.59-ERA right-hander whose contact-prone profile is exactly the kind of arm altitude can punish, which is part of why even a road favorite carries an inflated number here.

Colorado counters with Tomoyuki Sugano, who has quietly been the Rockies' most dependable starter at 5-4 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP across 12 starts, no small feat for a pitcher making half his starts a mile above sea level. The Rockies own the worst record in baseball, but Coors flattens a lot of edges, and the over/under tells the real story of this one. Any total in the teens at altitude is a live wire, and both bullpens figure to be tested before the night is over.

Miami draws a surprising line as a minus-132 home favorite over Arizona at plus-112, with the total at 7.5, and the reason is the pitching matchup. The Marlins send out Max Meyer, who has been excellent at 6-0 with a 2.81 ERA, finally delivering on the promise that made him a top prospect and giving a rebuilding Miami club a genuine front-line arm to build around.

Arizona, 34-31 and hanging in the NL West and Wild Card picture, counters with Zac Gallen, who has endured a frustrating season at 3-5 with a 5.32 ERA that sits far below his established standard. The Diamondbacks are also without Corbin Burnes, lost to a long-term injury, which has thinned their rotation and put more weight on Gallen to rediscover his form. This is a classic spot where the records say one thing and the matchup says another, with Miami's hot young arm the clear reason the home team is laying a sizable price.

Beyond the marquee arms, the Tuesday board fills out with six more games. Boston visits a Tampa Bay club back home at Tropicana Field in an AL East matinee-turned-nightcap, with the Rays sitting atop the division at 38-25 and the total set at 7.5 in a near pick'em. Minnesota travels to Detroit, where the Tigers are minus-124 home favorites with the total at 8.5, and Texas heads to Kansas City as a minus-130 favorite with the number up at 9.5.

Out west, Houston visits the Angels in a late 9:38 PM ET first pitch with the Astros laying minus-120, Washington and San Francisco play a tight one at Oracle Park where the Giants are a slim home favorite, and Milwaukee, owners of the NL Central lead at 41-23, closes the night against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in Sacramento with the highest non-Coors total on the board at 11.5. From PNC Park to Sacramento, it is a true 15-game Tuesday with an ace on nearly every marquee mound.