4-29 Predictions

Alright everyone we are now more than 20 games over .500 and trending in the right direction.  15 games scheduled for today so let's get right to it.

Away	Home	Time (ET)	Away Probable	Home Probable
Angels	Indians	1:05pm	Santana (0-4)	Lowe (3-1)
Tigers	Yankees	1:05pm	Scherzer (1-2)	Sabathia (2-0)
Mariners	Blue Jays	1:07pm	Vargas (3-1)	Alvarez (0-2)
D-backs	Marlins	1:10pm	Miley (2-0)	Johnson (0-2)
Astros	Reds	1:10pm	Lyles (0-0)	Latos (1-2)
Cubs	Phillies	1:35pm	Garza (1-1)	Kendrick (0-1)
Athletics	Orioles	1:35pm	Colon (3-2)	Hunter (2-1)
Pirates	Braves	1:35pm	Correia (1-0)	Hudson (0-0)
Red Sox	White Sox	2:10pm	Beckett (2-2)	Floyd (1-3)
Royals	Twins	2:10pm	Chen (0-2)	Marquis (1-0)
Brewers	Cardinals	2:15pm	Greinke (2-1)	Garcia (2-0)
Mets	Rockies	3:10pm	Santana (0-2)	Moyer (1-2)
Padres	Giants	4:05pm	Richard (1-2)	Bumgarner (3-1)
Nationals	Dodgers	4:10pm	Gonzalez (2-0)	Capuano (2-0)
Rays	Rangers	8:05pm	Price (3-1)	Holland (2-1)

Angels (Santana) vs Indians (Lowe)

The last time that Ervin Santana faced the Cleveland Indians he threw a no-hitter.  I think that the Angels will be happy if he just keeps the team in the game.  He, like most of the Angels team, has not lived up to expectations this year.  I think that will continue today as Derek Lowe and the Indians will win the game and the series.

Pick: Indians

Tigers (Scherzer) vs Yankees (Sabathia)

Both Max Scherzer and C.C Sabathia have had success against the opposing teams, so this could be a low scoring affair.  If that is the case it would be different than the first 2 games of the series, both of which has seen the winning team score 7 runs.  Sabathia will pitch better than Scherzer today and the Yankees will get the win.

Pick: Yankees

Mariners (Vargas) vs Blue Jays (Alvarez)

Henderson Alvarez looks for his first win of the season against Seattle on  Sunday, as Toronto tries to take the series from the Mariners.  This game features 2 struggling #3 hitters, as Ichiro for the Mariners and Jose Bautista for the Blue Jays look to get back on track.  I predict that Vargas will stymie the Blue Jays and the Mariners will win.

Pick: Mariners

Diamondbacks (Miley) vs Marlins (Johnson)

The good news for Josh Johnson is that he hasn't gotten injured and we are almost to May.  The bad news for for Josh Johnson is that he has been terrible so far in April, which is usually his best month out of the year.  Johnson did pitch well in his last start but did not get a decision, and today he will continue his progress forward and get his first win of 2012.

Pick: Marlins

Astros (Lyles) vs Reds (Latos)

In his last start Mat Latos finally looked like the pitcher the Cincinnati Reds traded for.  Now he gets to face an offense that doesn't exactly intimidate anyone.  Houston will counter with Jordan Lyles, who his making his first start of 2012.  I like the Reds in this one because it looks like Latos has found whatever he had that made him successful in San Diego.

Pick: Reds

Cubs (Garza) vs Phillies (Kendrick)

The struggles of the Philadelphia offense are well documented, and now they face a pitcher in Matt Garza that has given them fits even at full strength.  Garza went 1-1 last year against the Phillies, but had a 1.29 ERA in those games.  I think that the Cubs offense will score a couple of runs and Garza will shut down the Phillies to get the win.

Pick: Cubs

Athletics (Colon) vs Orioles (Hunter)

I know that both of these pitchers are doing well to start the 2012 campaign, but I still don't trust either one of them.  It seems like Bartolo Colon has been in the league since 1972, and I have never been a fan of Tommy Hunter.  Both pitchers are off to good starts however, and I think that Hunter will fare better today and the Orioles will get the win.

Pick: Orioles

Pirates (Correia) vs Braves (Hudson)

Welcome back Tim Hudson!  After having off-season back surgery that sidelined him for the first month of the season, Hudson is back.  Hudson has got to be happy that his first start is against the Pirates, because they can't score any runs.  I think that Hudson will get the win in his first start and Atlanta will take the series from the Pirates.

Pick: Braves

Red Sox (Beckett) vs White Sox (Floyd)

Now that the Boston Red Sox are on a 6-game winning streak I can just picture the Boston fans clamoring that they are going to win another World Series.  This time last week the same Boston fans were clamoring for Bobby Valentines head.  There is no middle ground when it comes to the Red Sox, it is either dominance or destruction.  It will be dominance today as they win number 7 in a row and sweep aside Chicago.

Pick: Red Sox

Royals (Chen) vs Twins (Marquis)

This what I wrote yesterday:  "I still can't believe how well Bruce Chen is pitching so far for Kansas City.  He hasn't gotten a win because the Royals offense has scored no runs for him, but he has only allowed 7 earned runs in 25 innings.  He is facing an offense today that isn't exactly setting the world on fire.  I predict that Bruce Chen gets the win and the Royals keep on winning."  I am sticking with this pick

Pick: Royals

Brewers (Greinke) vs Cardinals (Garcia)

This is a tough game to predict.  Zack Greinke has historically pitched very well against St. Louis and he does already have a win against them this year.  Jaime Garcia also has a win against the team he is facing today, as won his lone start against Milwaukee this year.  I think that Greinke will get the win, but it will be a close hard fought game.

Pick: Brewers

Mets (Santana) vs Rockies (Moyer)

Johan Santana and Jamie Moyer are both exceeding expectations in 2012, especially since neither one pitched at all in 2011.  Another similarity between these 2 pitchers is that their best pitch is their changeup.  Both Santana and Moyer rely heavily on that pitch and he needs to be located correctly to be successful.  I predict that Johan Santana will be better than Jamie Moyer on this day and the Mets will get the win.

Pick: Mets

Padres (Richard) vs Giants (Bumgarner)

Madison Bumgarner is becoming one of my favorite pitchers in baseball, and it isn't because of his name.  He is still just a 22 year old kid who looks like he is having the time of his life every time he steps on a pitchers mound.  He also has dominating stuff and will continue to pitch well as the Giants will win today.  In fact San Francisco is my choice for lock of the day.

Pick: Giants. This is my lock of the day.

Nationals (Gonzalez) vs Dodgers (Capuano)

Now that the Bryce Harper hoopla has subsided and he has finally made his debut, the Nationals can go back to doing what they do best, which is pitching.  Gio Gonzalez has been money so far in 2012 and he will continue his dominant start today as the Nationals will beat Chris Capuano and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Pick: Nationals

Rays (Price) vs Rangers (Holland)

The Texas Rangers are the one team that David Price hasn't figured out how to beat yet.  He is 0-6 in 9 career starts against the Rangers, which are the only team from the American League he has pitched against and never beaten.  My prediction today is that the Rangers will get the win and keep Price winless against them.

Pick: Rangers

4-28 Recap

Since it is still April of course the weather is still playing a factor.  There was another rain-out today so only 14 games were played today. Let's see how they went.

Away	Home	Result	Winning Pitcher	Losing Pitcher
Angels	Indians	LAA 2, CLE 1	Haren (1-1)	Gomez (1-1)
Brewers	Cardinals	STL 7, MIL 3	Lohse (4-0)	Estrada (0-1)
Royals	Twins	Postponed
Tigers	Yankees	NYY 5, DET 7	Smyly (1-0)	Garcia (0-2)
Mariners	Blue Jays	TOR 7, SEA 0	Morrow (2-1)	Millwood (0-2)
Astros	Reds	HOU 0, CIN 6	Cueto (3-0)	Harrell (1-2)
Cubs	Phillies	PHI 5, CHC 2	Blanton (2-3)	Wells (0-1)
Athletics	Orioles	OAK 1, BAL 10	Chen (2-0)	Ross (1-1)
D-backs	Marlins	MIA 3, ARI 2	Cishek (2-0)	Ziegler (0-1)
Red Sox	White Sox	CWS 0, BOS 1	Lester (1-2)	Peavy (3-1)
Pirates	Braves	PIT 4, ATL 2	Bedard (1-4)	Delgado (2-2)
Rays	Rangers	TEX 7, TB 2	Lewis (3-0)	Niemann (1-3)
Mets	Rockies	NYM 7, COL 5	Gee (2-2)	Moscoso (0-1)
Padres	Giants	SF 2, SD 1	Lincecum (2-2)	Bass (1-3)
Nationals	Dodgers	WSH 3, LAD 4	Wright (1-0)	Gorzelanny (1-1)

Angels 2 Indians 1 (Win)

Holy cow the Angels won a game.  Dan Haren got his first win of the year and he decided to do most of it himself.  The Angels could only score 2 runs for him but it was enough as Haren shut down the Indians and snapped the losing streak for the Angels.  The difference in the game was a solo home run by Torii Hunter in the fourth inning.  Haren did the rest.

Cardinals 7 Brewers 3 (Win)

Kyle Lohse improved to 4-0 with a win today and the 3 runs he allowed in 6 innings was actually his worst start of the year.  He is pitching well and getting a lot of run support from his teammates on his way to a 4-0 start.  The Cardinals love playing against their division rivals as they are winning series and pulling away from the pack early.

Royals Twins 

This game was cancelled today due to inclement weather.

Tigers 7 Yankees 5 (Win)

Hahahaha.. Oh Freddie Garcia.  You just don't have it anymore.  Giving up more runs than outs?  That is never a good sign for a starting pitcher.  Today he only recorded 5 outs and yet he gave up 6 runs.  This game featured 5 home runs, which is further proof that the stadium the Yankees play in needs to have the fences moved back.

Blue Jays 7 Mariners 0 (Win)

Now that is the Mariner offense that we have come to know and love.  Seattle got 6 hits today but none of them were strung together to do any significant damage.  Once again Brandon Morrow shut down his former team.  The big blow in this game was a grand slam that Edwin Encarnicon hit to blow the game open.  

Reds 6 Astros 0 (Win)

Not a bad pick for the lock of the day.  Cueto did shutdown Houston and the Reds did dominate today as they won 6-0.  They scored 2 runs in the first inning and that was all Cueto needed.  The most important stat for him was that he only walked 1 batter.  He has had a problem with his control in the past but it wasn't an issue today.

Phillies 5 Cubs 2 (Loss)

I still maintain that the Phillies offense isn't that good, but if you only score 2 runs off of Joe Blanton you have some offensive issues of your own.  I should have known that Randy Wells was going to give up some runs because Randy Wells isn't any good, but I let my disgust for the Phillies offense cloud my judgement.  Won't happen again.

Orioles 10 Athletics 1 (Loss)

So ESPN has a system where each start is rated on a scale from 1-100.  Average start is a 50.  Tyson Ross's start today was rated a 4.  That is the worst I have ever seen.  Even Freddie Garcia's start was a 22 and he didn't make it out of the second inning.  Tyson you just need to forget about this start and move on to the next one.

Miami 3 Arizona 2 (Loss)

Anibal Sanchez allowed 2 runs by the Diamondbacks in the first inning and then completely flustered them the rest of the game.  Sanchez finished with 14 strikeouts in 7 innings and kept his team in contention.  Miami got 1 run in the seventh, 1 in the eighth, and 1 run in the ninth inning on a single by Hanley Ramirez to win the game.

Red Sox 1 White Sox 0 (Loss)

I was correct in my prediction that Jake Peavy would be good again today.  John Lester just pitched a little bit better. Lester and the Red Sox shut down the White Sox and got an RBI single from Adrian Gonzalez in the fourth inning.  After that it was a true pitchers duel as no team scored again.

Pittsburgh 4 Atlanta 2 (Loss)

Pittsburgh actually scored some runs for Erik Bedard.  For the first time this year Bedard got a few runs and was rewarded with his first win of the year.  He has pitched well enough to have a least 2 more wins but his offense hasn't done a thing for him.  Today they got a him a few runs and it is all he needed.

Rangers 7 Rays 2 (Win)

Colby Lewis was once again fantastic against the Tampa Bay Rays as Texas evened up the series with a win today.  Tampa Bay committed 2 errors and on both plays Texas scored.  You can't give this team extra outs or they will kill you.  Texas also got a 3-run home run from Adrian Beltre, his fourth of the young season.

Mets 7 Rockies 5 (Win)

In comparison to yesterdays wild affair this was a pitcher's duel that only had 12 runs scored and 22 hits, as opposed to the 27 runs and 36 hits yesterday.  The Mets got most of their prediction from the middle of their order as the 2-3-4 hitters each had 3 hits and the 5 hitter, Lucas Duda had a home run and 4 RBI's.

Giants 2 Padres 1 (Win)

It looks to me like Tim Lincecum is fully settled in after a rocky start to his season.  Lincecum went 8 innings and did not give up an earned run and earned his tenth win over the Padres in his brief but brilliant career.  Anthony Bass pitched a complete game for the Padres but because he got no offensive support he was the tough luck loser tonight.

Dodgers 4 Nationals 3 (Loss)

What an entertaining game this turned out to be.  You have 2 starting pitchers who both went 7 innings and gave up 5 hits and 1 run, you have a team in the Nationals that scored 2 in the top of the ninth to take a 3-1 lead only to lose it when the Dodgers scored 2 in the bottom of the ninth, and you have the great Matt Kemp hitting a walk-off home run that sent the Dodgers crowd into a state of delirium.  Plus you have the debut of Bryce Harper, the 19 year old phenom for the Nationals.  I can't believe people say this sport is boring.

Days Record: 8-6                  Overall Record: 167-145                Lock of the Day Record: 14-9