This picker was giddier than a school girl last night after watching Ian Kennedy mow down the Padres. What a season! There are just players in this game you root for and for this picker, one of them is Ian Kennedy. The man-crush knows no bounds. And it was perfect that his win for the Diamondbacks last night pushed the Game of the Day feature here to the one-hundred correct mark. Way to go, Mr. Kennedy. And while some may attempt to cheapen Kennedy's outing by saying it was against the Padres, well, the Padres have beaten Tim Lincecum this season and Matt Cain twice. But they didn't beat Ian Kennedy.
In other games, both of the leaders in the AL East lost. The Yankees had Ivan Nova on the mound and he left with the lead. But Rafael Soriano blew it and then Scott Proctor lost it. Scott Proctor? Why would anyone think that picking him up was a good idea? The Red Sox were simply out-played for a game by the Blue Jays. This picker had the Yankees and the Blue Jays, so that's a wash.
Two other incorrect picks included the Royals, who couldn't score off of Jason Vargas last night. The other is a bit controversial in this picker's mind. The Dodgers and Nats were supposed to play two games. This picker picked each separately. But since it was apparent that only one game would get in the books, the pitching lines were crossed. So the pitcher this picker thought would lose the second game pitched in the first game. Kind of unfair. But the only honest solution was to take it as an incorrect pick. No biggie.
And off we go to Friday and back to a full slate of games:
- The Marlin over the Pirates: The Marlins struggle offensively, so it's hard to make this pick. And Ricky Nolasco is inconsistent. But Ross Ohlendorf has gone 1-11 for the Pirates since the start of 2010. He hasn't fared well in his four games back from his lengthy DL stint this year.
- The Astros over the Nationals: Another tough game to pick. Bud Norris has had a solid season but the Astros don't score. Tom Milone hit a home run with his bat but didn't pitch all that well in his first big league start.
- The Twins over the Tigers: Kevin Slowey has actually pitched well in his last two starts and though he is 0-4, he's a decent hedge over Brad Penny who hasn't won at home since the middle of July.
- The Blue Jays over the Orioles: The Orioles have to be gassed after this week. But Jeremy Guthrie is so unpredictable. He can look brilliant in any given start. Brett Cecil is homer prone but not a bad pitcher for the Blue Jays. Blue Jays at home.
- The Bay Rays over the Red Sox: Don't like the Wade Davis match up against the Red Sox line up. But like the John Lackey match up even less.
- The Mets over the Cubs: Yuck. This game features Mike Pelfrey who has had bats in his Pelfrey most of the season, against Casey Coleman and his above six ERA. Coleman was good in his last outing though so we'll go with the Mets. Whuh?
- The Rangers over the Athletics: There sure is a lot to consider in this one. Brandon McCarthy has been terrific of late but has struggled historically against the Rangers. Colby Lewis has been really brutal lately and has a terrible home/road split with home being awful (and he's at home today). But Lewis has a perfect record against the A's. The head is spinning.
- The White Sox over the Indians: Just when this picker starts to fete Mark Buehrle's season, it starts to go downhill. Nice. And Jeanmar Gomez has won his last two starts. But just can't imagine the White Sox losing this game.
- The Phillies over the Brewers: Conflicted over this game. Shaun Marcum was great in his last outing and Roy Halladay has looked...well...almost human lately. Halladay's fastball and two-seam fastball have been down just a tick in velocity. Is that making a difference? But again, just can't imagine the Phillies losing this game.
- The Cardinals over the Braves: Edwin Jackson is enough to make anyone need some Excedrin when he pitches. But he's good more often than he's not. Randall Delgado is the puzzle in this pick. He needs to get ahead in the count to use his excellent change up.
- The Rockies over the Reds: This could be a high scoring game as Jhoulys Chacin might be weakened by his recent fever and tonsil inflammation. Homer Bailey, meanwhile, can't put batters away and has to pitch in Coors.
- The Diamondbacks over the Padres: Good match up of Matt Latos against Daniel Hudson. The Diamondbacks should keep rolling though.
- The Mariners over the Royals: Jeff Francis might be a tough match up for the Mariners, but Blake Beavan has been pretty tight for them and will keep the M's in the game long enough for the Mariners to take this one.
- The Dodgers over the Giants: Clayton Kershaw versus Tim Lincecum in a big time match up. The Dodgers have the better offense, so going that way.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Angels over the Yankees: The Yankees have played extra innings for two games in a row and lost them both. Then they had to fly to the West Coast and face the Angels' best pitcher in Jared Weaver. Bartolo Colon pitches for the Yankees. If Colon doesn't last six innings, this could get ugly.
Yesterday: 6-3
Week: 40-29
Month; 61-49
Season: 1193-949
Games of the Day: 100-57
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