Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs (115, 9)
Derrek Lee has had an interesting travel week. He was traded from the Cubs to the Braves on Wednesday and joined his new team in time for a road trip to Chicago.
Of course, Lee's seven years at Wrigley have been an odd detour too. His gameplan to take the Cubs to the World Series was a losing cause but he has a much better chance with the Braves, beginning against his barely former teammates.
"I'll probably have to stop myself from running to this dugout," Lee told the Chicago Tribune. "It'll be different but it'll be exciting. Sometimes it's even more fun to compete against your friends because you can talk a little trash afterward."
Maybe Lee can offer some advice about how to hit Ryan Dempster, who is 3-0 in his last three starts with a 1.40 ERA. But fellow righthander Jair Jurrjens has been similarly hot for the Braves, going 4-0 in his last six outings.
If pitching and defense are equal, the Braves bring a big edge in hitting into Wrigley Field. They have been batting at a .308 clip against righties in their last 10 games to a modest .251 for the Cubs.
The Cubs had lost three straight entering Thursday's game, scoring a total of six runs. The Braves had won four in a row, tallying a total of 30 runs. You do the math.
Pick: Braves
Los Angeles Angels at Minnesota Twins (-145, 8)
It's easy to say that Joe Mauer has put the Twins on his back during this playoff race and is carrying them to the AL Central title and perhaps beyond.
After all, he's hitting .442 with 15 doubles, four homers and 30 RBIs in the 28 games he's suited up for since the All-Star break. The Twins are 21-7 in those games.
But the truth is that all the position players have picked up the pace in the absence of Justin Morneau. Orlando Hudson, Jim Thome, Michael Cuddyer and Delmon Young are all contributing to the Twins' sudden surge.
"It's a different guy pretty much every night," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said of his offense. "You like for it to be moving around a little bit. Guys have been putting some pretty good swings out there."
The Twinkies have been hammering righties to the tune of .319 during their current 9-1 hot streak - bad news for Angels starter Dan Haren. The Halos are hitting lefties at a .250 rate this season and face surging southpaw Brian Duensing.
Pick: Twins
Jair Jurrjens (5-4, 3.92 ERA), Atlanta Braves
Jurrjens is part of a highly-effective, five-pitcher rotation for the Braves. The young righthander is proving that his wildly successful 2009 campaign was no fluke. He’s shown poise and command despite battling injuries at the start of season.
The Braves are 3-0 in his last three starts and the under is 5-2 in his last seven appearances.
Edwin Jackson (7-10, 4.67 ERA) Chicago White Sox
Most pitchers prefer playing in the National League but that hasn’t been the case for this flamethrower. Jackson underperformed for years coming up with the Dodgers before finally putting together back-to-back quality years with the Rays and Tigers.
And sure, he pitched a no-hitting with the Diamondbacks earlier in the year, but Jackson’s form has been much sharper since he rejoined the junior circuit.
The White Sox have wasted two of his three masterful starts since coming over from Arizona, but the under is still 3-0 in those games. Jackson owes a 1.35 ERA with 24 strikeouts compared to just five walks in his three appearances with Chicago.
Slumping
Armando Galarraga (3-5, 4.53 ERA) Detroit Tigers
You’ve got to wonder if Galarraga’s season would have played out differently had umpire Jim Joyce made the right call on the night of the near perfect game. Since that start, Galarraga has been floated around, unable to find the form he displayed that evening.
He’s walked four or more batters in two of his last three outings and has just one quality start in 10 trips to the hill. The slumping Tigers are just 2-5 in the big righty’s last seven appearances.
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