The
last day of the regular season is here, and there's still a ton at stake for
certain teams. Races are still yet to be decided here on the final day, meaning
we're in store for a wonderful Wednesday of baseball action. Can we take
advantage with our MLB picks?
Houston Astros vs. Chicago Cubs
A miserable season for the Cubs has only gotten worse here
at the end as they've lost the first two games of this series with Houston and
are now a dreadful 2-13 over their previous 15 games.
Still, let's not lose sight of what the Astros have (not)
been able to accomplish this season. Even though they've won five of six,
they're 55-106 on the year, with a 20-60 mark on the road.
MLB odds makers currently favor the Cubs to the tune of -125. The total has moved from 8.5.
I'm not taken aback by what Edgar Gonzalez brings to the
table, either. Though his numbers are decent this season (3-1, 4.15 ERA), that's
from a very small sample size. His career numbers are 17-26 with a 5.79 ERA and
1.53 WHIP.
Gonzalez has yet to get out of the sixth inning in any of
his five starts this season and that means another long day for a Houston bullpen
that has a 4.49 ERA, the fourth-highest in baseball.
Travis Wood's numbers aren't earth-shattering by any stretch,
but he's been much steadier lately. In September, he went 2-2 with a 3.34 ERA
in six starts, lowering his ERA to 4.39 in the process.
Wood's also had tremendous success against the Astros
already this season. He's 2-1 with a 1.29 ERA against them in three appearances, and Houston's hitting just .129 against the southpaw in those outings.
The Cubs are not going to want to end the season by getting
swept in front of their beloved fans at Wrigley. Look for a prideful showing
out of Chicago as we take them to win with our first MLB pick of the day.
Pick: Chicago Cubs -120
Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees
In thrilling fashion, the Yankees beat the Red Sox, 4-3, last
night to keep their slim one-game lead over the Orioles intact.
The heroics were provided by Raul Ibanez, who first hit a
game-tying two-run home run to tie the game up at three, before winning the
game in the bottom of 12th inning with an RBI single.
This evening New York will try to close out the regular
season with a win and division championship. Fortunately for them,
they'll have Hiroki Kuroda on the mound while the Red Sox will be rolling with
the struggling Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Kuroda hasn't had the greatest of months, but he's still
dominant when on his game. Plus, he's been ridiculous at Yankee Stadium this
season.
The Japanese right-hander is 10-6 with a 2.73 ERA in 18
starts at home. Kuroda's pitched two complete games and is holding opponents to
a batting average of .216 in the Bronx. He's also faced Boston four times
already and has likely figured out what's working and what isn't.
As for Dice K, he's just waiting for the season to be over.
It couldn't have been a worse year after he dealt with injury problems and then
was terrible when coming back.
Matsuzaka is 1-6 with a 7.68 ERA and 1.64 WHIP on the
season. His road numbers are even worse though as he's gone 0-4 with a 10.89
ERA in five assignments outside of Beantown.
Tonight the Yankees control their own destiny and, helped by
a clear pitching advantage, I think they'll get the victory.
Pick: New York Yankees -1.5