Sunday ended up being a 10-5 day which erased some of the bad taste of Saturday. The Orioles moved closer to the inevitable division crown as did the Dodgers, Cardinals, Tigers and Nationals. With "magic numbers" now on the standings, it won't be long until some of these teams can start resting people and set up their post season runs.
Clayton Kershaw continued his fantastical season. The A's and Jon Lester took care of the Mariners with ease. Three blown saves actually helped my picks in two of them. Things are becoming clearer all the time with only two weeks left in the season.
I forgot one thing yesterday. Every win streak has been stopped at ten games. The Angels headed into yesterday at ten games. I should have known.
Twelve games are on the Monday schedule. Let's get to them:
- The Orioles over the Blue Jays: The O's have been swatting aside pretenders all season and Wei-Yin Chen has had a great season. The last time he faced the Blue Jays, however, he got cuffed around a little bit. But here is my final logic on the way the game goes: Marcus Stroman, who has been terrific, pitched a complete game his last time out. I have noticed all season that pitcher who do so have little success in their very next outing.
- The Mets over the Marlins: Jacob deGrom and Jarred Cosart have been very successful in their last two months. So who to go with? My rule has always been when both offenses cancel each other out and the pitching match-up cancels each other out, go with the home team.
- The Rays over the Yankees: Chris Capuano has fallen on hard times. Alex Colome is nothing great shakes, but he will look like Roger Clemens against the Yankees' offense. The Yankees hate playing in that trash dome.
- The Braves over the Nationals: Stephen Strasburg never pitches well in Atlanta. Never. Plus, he is weaker on the road than at home. Double whammy. Ervin Santana has had a nice season.
- The Reds over the Cubs: This game all depends on how well Alfredo Simon pitches. You know Travis Wood will give up three or four runs or more. So Simon is the key to the game.
- The Royals over the White Sox: I can't ever pick the White Sox with John Danks pitching. The guy sure is a mystery and he has been bad for a long time. How much longer will he keep getting the ball? James Shields needs to pitch well.
- The Astros over the Indians: I have had good success with Collin McHugh and if he can pitch through the sixth or seventh, he has been golden. Zach McAllister has not fared as well.
- The Rockies over the Dodgers: The Dodgers are likely to have a bit of a letdown after their big series against the Giants. Besides, Roberto Hernandez in Coors is scary. Christian Bergman goes for the Rockies.
- The Giants over the Diamondbacks: The Giants aren't dead despite their series loss to the Dodgers. They are only three back and also in the wild card hunt. Ryan Vogelsong is a weak link in their rotation, though. Wade Miley is unpredictable.
- The Angels over the Mariners: Hisashi Iwakuma is very good. But so is Matt Shoemaker and the Angels have the better offense. I'm going Angels here.
- The Phillies over the Padres: Andrew Cashner cannot seem to put it together after the Padres counted on him so heavily. Jerome Williams is just a fill-in pitcher for the Phillies, but if his sinker is on, he can be too.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Tigers over the Twins: Max Scherzer should have a good day today and Anthony Swarzak has spent most of the season in the Twins' bullpen. That's not a good combination.
Yesterday: 10-5, Sept.: 115-79, Games of the Day: 94-63 (+2), Season: 1245-1013
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