Tuesday’s MLB Picks
The MLB Season continues to wind down as teams fight for playoff spots. Our team of writers and handicappers hand out three picks for Tuesday’s games.
Chicago Cubs (95-60) at New York Mets (88-74)
The New York Mets hope their last few days in Shea Stadium won’t result in another demoralizing late-season homestand that keeps them out of the postseason.
The Mets turn to ace Johan Santana to help them avoid a fourth straight loss and maintain their NL wild-card lead as they face the playoff-bound Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night in a preview of a potential NL divisional series matchup .
After going 1-6 at home during the final week of 2007 that completed a monumental collapse where they squandered a seven-game cushion with 17 to play and missed the playoffs, New York (88-74) opened the final homestand at Shea with a 9-5 loss to the Cubs on Monday night.
The Mets hope Santana (14-7, 2.65 ERA) doesn’t follow the trend as he tries for his eighth consecutive win. He allowed one run and eight hits while striking out eight in seven innings of a 7-2 win over Washington on Thursday to improve to 7-0 with a 2.26 ERA in his last 15 starts.
Looking ahead to the postseason, Chicago’s Sean Marshall (3-4, 3.62) takes the mound in place of Rich Harden, who will pitch Thursday after Carlos Zambrano throws Wednesday.
Marshall, 1-4 with a 4.24 ERA in six starts, allowed one run and three hits in six innings, but failed to earn the decision in a 4-3 loss at Cincinnati on Sept. 7.
The left-hander gave up five earned runs in 5 1-3 innings of a 13-7 loss to the Mets on July 16, 2006, in his only previous start versus them.
Pick: NY Mets – View game matchup | Best line -190 SBG Global
Pittsburgh Pirates (65-91) at Milwaukee Brewers (85-71)
The reeling Milwaukee Brewers need some help in the final week of the regular season if they’re going to win the NL wild card, but they first need to take care of their own business.
Fortunately for Milwaukee, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates hasn’t been a problem.
The Brewers look to win their 10th in a row against the NL Central’s last-place team on Tuesday when they open a three-game set with the Pirates at Miller Park.
Milwaukee (85-71) trailed the division-leading Chicago Cubs by 4 1/2 games to start September, but possessed a 5 1/2-game lead in the wild card race, looking poised to end the franchise’s 25-year postseason drought.
Dave Bush (9-10, 4.22 ERA) will start Tuesday for Milwaukee. The Pittsburgh native has owned the Pirates in his last three starts against them, going 2-0 with a 2.08 ERA.
Bush’s last win came against Pittsburgh on Aug. 29. Since then, though, he’s 0-1 with a 4.88 ERA in four starts. The right-hander didn’t get a decision Thursday in Chicago, giving up two runs over five innings of a game the Brewers lost 7-6 in 12 innings.
He’ll be opposed by Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (2-6, 4.37), who has lost six straight starts since winning his first two outings of the season. He gave up five runs – two earned – and a career-high 11 hits in five innings of Tuesday’s 6-2 defeat to Los Angeles.
Karstens allowed three runs over 6 1-3 innings in a 7-0 home loss to Milwaukee on Aug. 31, when CC Sabathia pitched a one-hitter to earn the victory.
The Pirates have dropped five of their last seven games overall, including a 6-2 defeat in their home finale Sunday against Houston.
Pick: Milwaukee – View game matchup | Best line -190 SBG Global
Colorado Rockies (71-85) at San Francisco Giants (70-86)
Neither the San Francisco Giants nor the Colorado Rockies will be making a playoff push in the season’s final week, but Tim Lincecum can make his case for the NL Cy Young Award.
The Giants send Lincecum to the mound for his first of two scheduled starts this week when they open a three-game home series against the Rockies on Tuesday.
Lincecum (17-4, 2.46 ERA) has been one of the few bright spots in an otherwise dismal season for San Francisco (70-86). The right-hander leads the NL in ERA and opponents’ batting average (.220), and has given up three earned runs or fewer in 26 of his 31 starts.
He was scheduled to make his final start of the season Wednesday, but Giants manager Bruce Bochy took advantage of Monday’s off day to move Lincecum up a day – giving the 24-year-old ace an additional start in Sunday’s season finale against Los Angeles.
Although Lincecum has thrown 215 2-3 innings and 3,477 pitches – second-most in the NL behind teammate Matt Cain – Bochy is not worried about the extra workload.
Lincecum, 2-1 with a 3.31 ERA in five starts versus Colorado this season, will be opposed by Ubaldo Jimenez (11-12, 4.12). The right-hander is coming off an excellent outing last Tuesday, when he limited San Diego to two runs and three hits over seven innings of a 10-3 victory.
Jimenez has been dominant in three starts versus San Francisco this season, posting a 0.93 ERA, but hasn’t recorded a decision in those outings.
The Rockies (71-85) dropped their final two home games of the season, including a 13-4 defeat to Arizona on Sunday. Colorado still managed to go 43-38 at Coors Field in 2008.
Pick: San Francisco – View game matchup | Best line -160 SBG Global
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