Saturday, October 15, 2011

Game Picks - Saturday: October 15, 2011

Yesterday in this space, a nice piece was written about Jerry Hairston. Naturally, his costly error then helped lead the Brewers to a big loss last night in Game Five of the National League Championship Series. Isn't that just the way it goes? But Hairston wasn't alone. The Brewers made four errors last night and their starting pitcher, supposedly an ace, Zack Greinke, induced only two swings and misses the entire game. As @Bill_TPA of The Platoon Advantage said on Twitter last night, you can't just blame the defense. Greinke has to get some outs on his own and didn't. Not a single strikeout.

The series now moves to Milwaukee with the Cardinals holding a 3-2 game advantage. The Brewers are in deep trouble as Shaun Marcum is their Game Six starter and he hasn't been good in the post season at all. Home field advantage or not, the Brewers are on the edge of a cliff at the moment.

Speaking of cliffs, the Tigers avoided falling off theirs with their win in Game Five on Thursday. The series now moves to Texas where the Rangers are comfortable and cozy. One more win takes the series for the Rangers. But again, that's why they play the games. Anything can happen. So what's the pick then?

  • The Rangers over the Tigers: The odds are long against the Tigers. On paper, it's a good match up between Max Scherzer and Derek Holland. But Holland can be spectacular at home. But if he isn't, the day off gives the Rangers the full array of their mighty bullpen.  Anything can happen in these games of course. But this picker would be darned surprised if the Rangers don't put this one away tonight.

Yesterday: 0-1
Week: 4-5
Month: 16-12
Season: 1379-1077

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