MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: October 8, 2013

You could not ask for much more excitement than yesterday's playoff action. Four thrilling games in one day left my picks at 2-2. But seriously, who cares this time of year. It is all a crap shoot anyway.

The Dodgers could not do much with Freddy Garcia and fumbled a couple of unearned runs onto Clayton Kershaw's column. But Juan Uribe had another great post season in him and pushed the Dodgers into the NLCS.

The Cardinals won a thriller against the Pirates, who only tallied one hit the entire game. Michael Wacha was sensational and Matt Holliday took care of what offense they needed. That series is going to a Game 5.

The Red Sox and Rays probably played the most entertaining game in one that went back and forth until Jose Lobaton hit a homer into the rays tank off the best reliever in baseball to walk off a win and stay alive.

And the day started with the game that had the least amount of drama at least until Grant Balfour acted like the biggest jerk in the world in the ninth during his save as the A's beat the Tigers to go up 2-1 in that series.

Today's two games are going to seem like a letdown. But a lot can be decided in the two ALDS games. Either the Tigers and Rays will tie the series and send them to five games or they go home.

The picks:

• The Red Sox over the Rays: Jeremy Hellickson will have the shortest of leashes or the Rays will come back with Matt Moore. We will have to see as the day goes along. But either way, the Red Sox have shown the ability to hit both, so it should not matter. What does matter is what kind of game Jake Peavy pitches. This is why the Red Sox got the guy and he is the toughest of competitors. But that does not mean he will pitch well. And anything can happen in a ballpark that features rings of a dome that are in play or not. Jose Lobaton. I cannot get over that. Will that propel the Rays? It could. But I see a Red Sox win. They are clearly the better team. But the better team does not always win in a five-game series.

• The Tigers over the Athletics: The A's do not have an ace. Well, you could call Bartolo Colon the ace, but he is not really. So there is no question for them staying with the program and having Dan Straily, their fourth starter, pitch today. You never really know what to expect from Straily. Meanwhile, the Tigers will have a decision to make. Do they stick with Doug Fister today and save Max Scherzer for a Game 5 that may never come? Or do they pitch Scherzer on four days rest? If I were them, I would go with Scherzer and then you still have Verlander for Game 5 if they win. Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have been invisible in this series and Austin Jackson has been Curtis Granderson-like with all the strikeouts. It will be an interesting day in Detroit.

Yesterday: 2-2

Post season: 10-7

Season: 1384-1075