Sunday, October 09, 2011

Game Picks - Sunday: October 9, 2011

The Texas Rangers struck first yesterday. Able to push three early runs across on a somewhat ineffective Justin Verlander, the Rangers rode their bullpen to make those three runs stand up all game. The game was very reminiscent of the Cardinals' Game Two victory over the Phillies.

Unfortunately, this picker didn't see any of it. After no sleep the night before and a trade show all day yesterday, this picker crashed and burned with a NyQuil coma and slept ten hours. All of those facts don't erase that yesterday's only pick was incorrect. That's playoff baseball for you where anything can happen. There are two games on the schedule today. Here's the picks:

  • The Brewers over the Cardinals: These games are so hard to predict. Normally, Zack Greinke is really tough at home as are the Brewers. But there are times when he throws a clunker. Will today be that day? Jaime Garcia is a very fine pitcher who runs into trouble come the sixth and seventh inning. If he gets a hot start and builds some confidence through the Brewers' line up, he could throw a lot of zeroes. But the odds are against that and Greinke and the Brewers are the right picks.
  • The Rangers over the Tigers: The Tigers really needed that first game as the rest of their rotation isn't all that great, especially on the road. Derek Holland is a puzzle too. He's either lights out and pitches a nine inning shutout or he folds early. The Rangers better hope it's the former and the Tigers, the latter. Max Scherzer can be very good at times too. See how hard these playoff games are to pick? Any success or failure here will be pure luck. Enjoy the games!

Yesterday: 0-1
Last week: 8-7
Month: 12-7
Season: 1375-1072

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