Game Picks - Thursday: September 24, 2009

Two very good days in a row? Can you feel it? Is there a full moon? No. Are the planets aligned? No. Was it luck? Maybe. Whatever it is, it's time to bask a little in success, if only for a couple of days. Heck, the FlagrantFan is even in first place for the week on BallHype.com. That won't last though, not with their goofy scoring system. The only bumps on the road were another loss for Marquis (what's with that?) and the Blue Jays beating up on the Orioles (should have seen that coming).

And the good news is that Thursday is a short schedule so things can't go terribly wrong until Friday. Here's what little Thursday has to offer:

• The Reds over the Pirates: Arroyo should have little trouble here against Morgan and the light-hitting Pirates.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: Go Feldman, go! On the road? Check.
• The Dodgers over the Nationals: Padilla's freak side hasn't come out yet for the Dodgers. It will eventually. But not today.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Carrasco was the big pearl the Indians received in the Cliff Lee trade. But he's just been a big oyster so far. Verlander will get it done.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: Felix Hernandez needs two more good starts to stay in the hunt for Cy Young.
• The Phillies over the Brewers: Happ is pitching versus Suppon. Even as a rookie, Happ is the better pitcher.
• The Red Sox over the Royals: Buckholz is showing flashes of his hype. The Royals start Lerew which rhymes with - who?
• The Padres over the Rockies: Going with the young Richard over Hammel. Still say the White Sox were crazy for trading him.
• The Cubs over the Giants: Still can't believe Penny is doing this well for the Giants. Perhaps this will be the night he gets back to where he's been.

Yesterday: 11-4
Week: 38-18
Month: 172-133