St. Louis vs San Diego (Carpenter/Peavy) 4:05 EST
Game 1 pits both clubs #1 hurlers against one another. However, both have had rough patches throughout their season, and both have been really roughed up at times. Carpenter comes into this one 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA his L/3 starts and has given up 26 hits in 22 innings of work. The Padres roughed him up for 6 earned runs on 12 hits in his last start of the regular season. Jake Peavy has been quite the enigma this season. He owns a respectable 3.75 ERA in Petco this year, but he's been blown up during the day evidenced by his bloated 6.12 ERA and the 70 hits he's surrendered in only 64 innings of work.
The Padres secured their second straight NL West Title on the last day of the season by knocking off the D'Backs, while the Cardinals limped their way into the post-season after the Astros fell short in Atlanta. These clubs met in last years divisional series, and you can bet your bottom dollar that the Padres will be out looking to seek redemption. Both pitchers look susceptible to a couple big innings in this one, and I'm looking for each team to score enough runs to push the combined number 'Over'.
Free Baseball Picks: Take the OVER 7.5
Detriot Tigers (Robertson) vs. New York (Wang) 8:00 EST
The Tigers certainly haven't played their best ball down the stretch, but I certainly foresee them as having a great shot of upsetting the Yankees. Game 1 pits Nate Robertson vs. Chen Mien Wang in what looks to be another classic pitchers duel. As good as the Yanks are at hitting lefties, Nate Robertson has fared very well against them. In the 40 innings pitched against the Bronx Bombers in his career, he's only surrendered 20 earned runs while striking out 23 and walking 12. He's squared off against Wang at Yankee Stadium twice in his career lost both games by 1-0 and 2-0 counts.
He'll certainly be hoping the third times the charm when he toes the rubber tonight in this crucial Game 1 match-up. Even though Detroit fizzled towards the end of the season, I still believe they'll have a major say in what this post-season will determine. This is a very fine ball club that does all the little things very well, has the better overall pitching staff, and is managed by one of the best in baseball. I'm expecting Robertson to put forth another solid effort, and for them to be in this one the whole way through if not win it SU!
Free Baseball Picks: Take the Detroit Tigers Run Line
