Tigers at Yankees The game one part two rematch between Ivan Nova and Doug Fister. Fister didn't pitch as bad as his game one line shows. He still got ground balls, and struck out six in 4.2 innings. I think that if Fister comes out and pitches like that again, he will win. I don't trust Ivan Nova the second time around this Tigers lineup. If Fister keep the ball in the park, and continues to not walk anyone, he'll win the game. I think to win the game, the Yankees are going to have to show their power and hit a few home runs. The Tigers aren't built on the long ball as much as the Yankees, and with Nova's strikeout rate of under 6 K/9, I think the Tigers will be able to string some hits together and score runs early, and run Nova from the game. If I'm Jim Leyland, I would get Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta in the top third of the lineup, and make sure Justin Verlander is ready for the eight and ninth inning. I know Leyland said Verlander won't be available, but Jose Valverde has been terrible. I would have Joaquin Benoit pitch the seventh inning, and then let Verlander get the last six outs for me. I wouldn't use Valverde in Yankee stadium with how poorly he's pitched against the Yankees, because with his comments about the series not coming back to New York, the fans are going to be all over him as soon as he starts to falter.
Diamondbacks at Brewers It's difficult to find a reason to pick the Diamondbacks in this game. The home team has won each game in the series so far. Each team has a good starter for this game, with Ian Kennedy going up against Yovani Gallardo. I could see either of these starters taking over the game and singlehandedly winning the game for their team. Barring that though, I believe that the Brewers have the advantage on offense, and in the bullpen. My original prediction was that the Brewers would win this series in five games, and I going to stick with that.
Cardinals at Phillies This game has a another great pitching matchup with both teams aces on the mound. I view this game as the St. Louis 25 man roster against Roy Halladay. I think that the Cardinals have the better offense in the series, and the better bullpen. In a single game, Chris Carpenter can be just as good as Roy Halladay. Carpenter didn't pitch very well in his first start in the playoffs, but that was on short rest, and he'll be on full rest tomorrow. He has virtually no platoon split over the season either, and if he can hold serve against Roy Halladay, I think the Cardinals would have a great chance to win. I also have more faith in the St. Louis bullpen that the Philly bullpen because most of the Phillies hitters have platoon split issues, and La Russa has used his bullpen to expose them in this series by playing match ups anytime after the fifth inning. The only way I see Philadelphia winning, is if Halladay gives them eight innings and leaves with the lead to give Ryan Madson the save chance. If St. Louis gets to him early, I think that they can end the game early. Jimmy Rollins and Chase Utley have been the total Philadelphia offense this series. If Carpenter can keep those two in check, he should be able to work through the rest of the order without much resistance. I picked Philadelphia in five games before the series started, and I'm not going to change when they have Roy Halladay on the mound for a series ending game, but I do see a way that St. Louis can win it.
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