Streak for the Cash is finally back along with the start of college football. Its been a great last few days off, but I am very excited about getting back to this blog. I really love writing for you guys and helping streakers succeed. This month I actually have a more detailed idea of how I will format this blog, and how I will run it in general. Last month was a bit of a grey area in terms of blogging. I just have 1 pick up right now but I will have more to come as SM updates September 1st picks.
Lets get started...
Pick #1 Philadelphia Phillies
Don't let the records fool you. This game may be a closer than a lot of people realize. With that said however, I am still going with the sheep. Vance Worley has been great on the mound. Posting a 2.65 ERA, 9-1 record, 83 SO and 1.12 WHIP. No doubt he has been solid this season. However, his loss did come to the Reds back in May. Its not often you see a guy pitch a game with a 2.14 ERA and still lose. Ironically, it happened to Worley and even more ironic it was against the Reds. With that said, I still stand by the Phillies as much as I would even if Worley had won that game to the Reds back in may. I still think they are the pick here.
The Reds will bring out Mike Leake, with an ERA of 4.04, 11-8 record, 107 SO and 1.23 WHIP. The Reds have looked pretty good at home, but the Phillies have looked just as good on the road. I think it will be a close game but I like the Phillies in a close one.
Phillies batting ranks:
11th in runs, 17th in batting average, 10th on base and 15th in slugging %
Reds batting ranks:
4th in runs, 12th in batting average, 8th on base and 12th in slugging %
I just found out Accuscore has the Reds favored. This definitely isn't as much of a lock as people are hyping it up to be. But hey, its not like you have a streak to risk. Pick anything or anyone you want.
Pick #2 Texas Rangers (writeup will be up soon)
Texas (77-60, 43-28 home) will be looking to continue their journey to taking thier division today, as they host the Rays (74-61, 39-30 away) at home. C.J. Wilson will start for the Rangers today as he looks to makeup for his 5-4 loss to the Rays back in may. This year he has been pretty consistent for the most part (3.29 ERA, 13-6 record, 165 strikeouts, 1.23 WHIP). The Rays will place Jeff Niemann on the mound who has put up similar numbers (3.46 ERA, 9-5 record, 89 strikeouts, 1.18 WHIP). One thing that worries me about Niemann is his ability to win on the road. Which he has done pretty well this year.
My conclusion with this pick is Texas. Home feild advantage and batting are the biggest factors. Both pitchers are about even to me. Texas ranks 3rd in runs, 2nd in batting average, 5th on base and 3rd in slugging %. The Rays rank 14th in runs, 25th in batting average, 16th on base and 14th in slugging %.
Texas for the green.
More to come...
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Be sure to join my streakhelper group as well. I just realized I cant make 2 separate entries per month otherwise I am disqualified for SFTC (thank goodness my W12 didn't go anywhere big). So I won't be using my streakhelper entry except to give you updates on my group message boards.
