5-9 Predictions

After the catastrophe that was yesterday it is time to get back on that horse.  Got another 15 games today so let's get right to it.

Away	Home	Time (ET)	Away Probable	Home Probable
Reds	Brewers	1:10pm	Cueto (4-0)	Greinke (3-1)
Braves	Cubs	2:20pm	Hudson (1-0)	Maholm (3-2)
Rockies	Padres	3:35pm	Friedrich (0-0)	Bass (1-3)
Blue Jays	Athletics	3:35pm	Morrow (3-1)	Ross (1-2)
White Sox	Indians	7:05pm	Peavy (3-1)	Gomez (2-1)
Mets	Phillies	7:05pm	Gee (2-2)	Lee (0-1)
Rays	Yankees	7:05pm	Niemann (2-3)	Phelps (0-1)
Rangers	Orioles	7:05pm	Lewis (3-1)	Chen (2-0)
Nationals	Pirates	7:05pm	Detwiler (3-1)	Bedard (2-4)
Marlins	Astros	8:05pm	Johnson (0-3)	Harrell (2-2)
Angels	Twins	8:10pm	Santana (0-6)	Pavano (2-2)
Red Sox	Royals	8:10pm	Lester (1-2)	Chen (0-4)
Cardinals	D-backs	9:40pm	Lohse (4-1)	Miley (3-0)
Tigers	Mariners	10:10pm	Smyly (1-0)	Vargas (3-2)
Giants	Dodgers	10:10pm	Lincecum (2-2)	Billingsley (2-2)

Reds (Cueto) vs Brewers (Greinke)

Uh-oh.  These are 2 pitchers that I usually pick because they have been dominating so far this year.  Now they are facing off against each other.  Greinke had that one start where he got rocked and Cueto has barely been touched this year.  Because of that I am going to take Cueto but I am not overly-confident in this pick.  Reds win.

Pick: Reds

Braves (Hudson) vs Cubs (Maholm)

Tim Hudson against Paul Maholm?  Hudson will take that bulldog mentality that Ryan Dempster showed yesterday and go the next step.  These 2 guys are so similar.  I do not care that Maholm is 3-2 I still don't think he is a good pitcher.  I think Hudson will get the win here and the Braves will beat the Cubs today.

Pick: Braves

Rockies (Friedrich) vs Padres (Bass)

The San Diego Padres are going for a sweep of the Colorado Rockies today.  I can't believe that they have scored enough runs to win 2 games in a row.  This offense now gets to face a pitcher who is making his 2012 debut.  I predict that the padres will get the sweep, Kevin Bass will get the win, and they will score more than 3 runs today.

Pick: Padres

Blue Jays (Morrow) vs Athletics (Ross)

Brandon Morrow is now pitching like the fifth overall pick in the draft.  He has been dominating hitters with his fastball and his curve ball is making hitters look foolish.  I predict that Morrow will get the win and Yoenis Cespedes will strike out at least twice today.  he is getting better with the amount of strikeouts but Morrow will get him a couple times.

Pick: Blue Jays

White Sox (Peavy) vs Indians (Gomez)

Jake Peavy is my lock of the day. I know that Indians are playing good baseball but Peavy is pitching like it is 2007 all over again.  Because of that, and the fact that he is staying healthy, I like Peavy and the White Sox to win this game and split the series.

Pick: White Sox.  This is my lock of the day.

Mets (Gee) vs Phillies (Lee)

We got Gee vs Lee today as the Phillies try to stop the bleeding and beat the Mets for the first time in this series.  Both yesterday and the day before the Phillies gave up runs late to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.  Now they have Cliff Lee back from the disabled list and throwing today.  As much as I don't want to do to it, I am going to pick the Phillies to win.

Pick: Phillies

Rays (Niemann) vs Yankees (Phelps)

The Yankees finally beat Tampa Bay for the first time in 4 tries this season, and it was behind the pitching of Ivan Nova.  Now they send out David Phelps trying to make it 2 in a row.  Phelps replaced Freddie Garcia in the rotation and has already looked better than him.  I like the Yankees in this one to beat the Rays again because they don't have the albatross that is Freddie Garcia starting in this spot anymore.

Pick: Yankees

Rangers (Lewis) vs Orioles (Chen)

Baltimore can't compete with the elite teams in this league.  That is never been more evident than the last 2 days, where the Texas Rangers have outscored them 24-5.  The Rangers will continue to dominate them and get the win again today.

Pick: Rangers

Nationals (Detwiler) vs Pirates (Bedard)

Ross Detwiler has an ERA of 1.59 and the Pirates can't score a lot of runs.  After getting the win yesterday the Pirates will not get the win today.  Detwiler will shut them down and even though his ERA might rise because he might give up a run, he will still have a quality start and help the Nationals get back in the win column.

Pick: Nationals

Marlins (Johnson) vs Astros (Harrell)

Because the Marlins got the win in Josh Johnson's last start I can pick him to win a game at some point this year.  It won't be today.  I like this Astros team because they know they aren't as talented as everyone else but the play twice as hard.  Playing hard is always on the mind of Marlins fans because of Jose Reyes and Hanley Ramirez.  I think tha tAstros play harder than the Marlins today and get the win.

Pick: Astros

Angels (Santana) vs Twins (Pavano)

Ervin Santana is 0-6.  If he gets to 0-7 with a loss against the Twins today I don't know if I can pick him anymore either.  I don't think that will happen.  I like the Angels in this one.  

Pick: Angels

Red Sox (Lester) vs Royals (Chen)

The only bigger train wreck right now than the Boston Red Sox is the fact that Bruce Chen is still pitching for a major league team.  Chen is 0-4 for the Royals and I can't bring myself to pick him against any team that has some semblance of an offense.  The Red Sox may not be able to pitch very well but they can still hit, which is why they will win this game.

Pick: Red Sox

Cardinals (Lohse) vs Diamondbacks (Miley)

Even though Kyle Lohse got roughed up a little bit in his last start he still has pitched very well for the Cardinals this year.  The St. Louis bats are warming up again, especially Carlos Beltran, and I don't trust Wade Miley.  I like the Cardinals to keep hitting the ball well and for Lohse to calm back down and beat the Diamondbacks today.

Pick: Cardinals

Tigers (Smyly) vs Mariners (Vargas)

The Mariners are playing the Tigers tough this year, with a 4-1 record and even giving Justin Verlander a run for his money last night.  I like Seattle in this won to hit the rookie hard and win the series.  It seems like if they played Detroit 162 times a year they would be a playoff team.  They always seem to give the Tigers trouble and I think that continues today.

Pick: Mariners

Giants (Lincecum) vs Dodgers (Billingsley)

One day after the ace for the Dodgers pitched, it is now the turn for the ace of the Giants.  Even though Lincecum has not pitched like an ace so far this year, he is starting to find his groove and pitches well against the Dodgers.  I think that trend will continue and the San Francisco Giants will beat their rivals today.  

Pick: Giants