PICK: Tampa Bay Rays
Ubaldo Jimenez is a dumpster fire ready to explode. In his past four starts, the righty has given up TWENTY runs (yes, 2-0) in nineteen innings of pitching requiring manager, Buck Showalter, to relieve him of his duties prematurely in each start. God only knows why the O’s have elected to keep him on the rubber, but in #BPS that’s not our problem. We’re all about acquiring the W’s and that’s exactly what the Rays will do for us today. Tampa Bay takes control of the series and sends Ubaldo to the dugout early.
PICK: New York Yankees
Plain and simple: the Reds are hot garbage and the Yankees are unstoppable at home. Judge & Co. homer all over Bailey this afternoon (pun intended….get it? The pitcher’s name is Homer Bailey..HA!). Yankees finish this short two game series with a sweep.
PICK: Arizona Diamondbacks
If I had to guess what the conversation was like in the Braves clubhouse last night after trading away ace, Jaime Garcia, to the Minnesota Twins it probably went something like this:
Person A: “Well Garcia’s gone…he was scheduled to start Wednesday’s game against the Diamondbacks…what do we do now?”
Person B: “Who cares, we’re the Braves…just close your eyes and pick a name from the bullpen”
Person A: (Shrugs shoulders), “Here goes nothing! … Blair…A-Aron Blair”
Conclusion: Braves get clobbered this afternoon. The Diamondbacks are one of the best teams in baseball; they’re sending Aaron Blair to the moon. Arizona wins 100-0, even with wildcard, Patrick Corbin on the mound.
PICK: Boston Red Sox
WHAT A SHOWDOWN THIS IS GONG TO BE! Cy Young hopeful, Chris Sale takes on the hot Seattle Mariners. This is without a doubt the best game of the afternoon, and I don’t expect it to be as big of a blowout as this line is indicating. The Seattle offense contains heavy hitters like Robinson Cano, Kyle Seager, & Nelson Cruz which should keep this game interesting, but in this day in age, baseball games come down to pitching, and I don’t think Seattle will have enough of it. Seattle puts up a valiant effort against one of baseball’s best, but ultimately, Boston’s offense takes advantage of Andrew Moore and the Mariners relatively weak pitching staff.
PICK: Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pirates look great. Even after a tough 11-3 loss last night to Madison Bumgarner and the Giants, Pittsburgh has still managed to rattle off wins in 7 of their last 10 games. Their offense is gelling and their bullpen is keeping them in games. No one does well against Bumgarner, so don’t read too much into last night’s game. In a matchup where neither pitcher holds an advantage over the other, expect the Pirates to bounce back and win today’s #BPS finale.