4/10
Reds ML
Homer Baileys best work as an SP happens on the road, although his ERA is high at Busch stadium. He is coming off 6 solid shutout innings at home against a very good Nats offense. Jake Westbrook is coming off a bad outing in which he allowed 6 walks. The Reds are averaging almost 4 walks per game, but also seem to strike out a good amount as well. If the Reds stay patient in this game I'm sure they can get to Westbrook. I also like the Reds bullpen better than the Cards.
DBacks RL
Jonathan Sanchez is god awful at Chase field in his career. He has been pretty terrible in recent seasons, as well. There is no real reason to believe he will turn it around soon, especially playing for a poor Pirates team. Wade Miley is coming off a solid start at Milwaukee and theres no reason to believe he cant match those numbers facing the Pirates.
Giants ML
Zito is coming off an effective start at home against a better Cardinals lineup. Zito owns Tulo, who is hitting a whole .146 w/ 8 k's in 46 AB's. Pagan, Posey, and Sandoval all fair well against Francis in the past. Hunter Pence has been hot as of late, especially in the last 2 games at home agianst the Rockies.
Phillies ML o8.5
No current Mets have had much success against Kendrick in the past, except David Wright who has 11 hits (2HR) in 31 AB's against Kendrick. He has faired well against Ike Davis in the past. I'm not high on either SP in this game, however, based on trends I feel like this could be a very short outing for Jeremy Hefner, especially because he does poorly against lefties. So his case is not helped by the fact that he is facing a lefty heavy lineup in the Phillies.
Marlins RL
The Braves are by far better than the Marlins, but Mike Minor is just not good on the road in his career. However, in his last 5 road starts he has faired significantly better averaging 6 2/3 IP per game and less than 3 earned runs, but he has also had his share of poor run support on the road. Giancarlo Stanton owns him, 2 HR in 6 AB's, including 3 BB. The Marlins are going to have to get out in front quickly. If they are trailing after the 6th, it's over, but the +1.5 runs should help out.
Dodgers ML
This is not a homer pick I swear! Billingsley has pitched well against the Padres in the past and has done well at Petco also. No current Padres have hit him well in the past. Combine that with a poor Padres lineup and it's a recipe for success. Eric Stults is extremely good vs lefties. I dont like the Dodgers against lefties though, usually becuase that means awkward swings from Ethier and Juan Uribe in the starting lineup. Both are terrible to watch. Props to Uribe for being a great defender, but his whole approach to batting is something you show little leaguers so they NEVER duplicate it! -__-
Blue Jays/Tigers o8.5
I simply do not care for Rick Porcello. Mark Buehrle is coming off a terrible start in his Blue Jays debut, but over his career he has actually pitched fairly well against the Tigers, even though most players in the tigers lineup seem to hit Buehrle well. Go figure.
Red Sox ML o9.5
Slight edge to the Red Sox here only because Arrieta just hasn't proven to be effective at the big league level. The Red Sox should tee off on Arrieta again in this game. Dempster probably wont fair much better because he just isn't a good fit in Boston, but that slight edge makes the difference.
Angels RL
Blanton seems like a good fit for the Angels. He is a solid pitcher. Doesn't walk many batters at all. In 48 IP at Angel stadium in the past, Blanton has only given up 1 HR and sports a 2.61 ERA. Tommy Millone is a solid pitcher as well, but I feel like this Angels lineup will get to him. In a small sample size of AB's most of the Angels offense has hit Milone well.
