Monday, August 11, 2014

Nick's Pick's: Yankees VS Orioles 8/11/14

Isn't it amazing how baseball works; so full of unpredictability. Who could have scripted losing two of three to the struggling Indians and yet win the series of the Cy Young's by going 3-1. I certainly did not predict it as I had the Yankees sweeping this weekend series. That is behind us though, and we need to brush that off and worry about the true test; beating the Orioles. This three game set is going to be huge, and anything less than a series win will be unacceptable. Tonight marks the start of a make or break series for the pinstripes. As the Orioles look to distant themselves the Yankees look to pull close, and remind them how wide open this division really is this year. 

Tonight we see Chris Capuano against Bud Norris. Both pitchers are coming off of huge games as Capuano pitched a strong 6 2/3 against the Tigers and looks to be solid against an Orioles lineup that has not faced the lefty too much. Norris, who was a bit shaky against the Blue Jays in his last start, has been amazing since the All-Star break and should not be taken lightly.



The picks tonight hopefully reflect a better outcome than I had predicted over the weekend. Also, with the boost of getting Michael Pineda back for Wednesday, the offense needs to wake up and solidify this stretch run. 

Top Pitcher: How can you not pick Capuano in this game, especially after his last outing against a more formidable Tigers offense. The Orioles will come at him hard, but the lefty is good at keeping hitters off balanced and guessing. I predict Capuano to go seven strong innings giving up two runs and striking out six.

Top Hitter: Carlos Beltran has faced Norris more than any other Yankee, so I am going with the hot hand. Hopefully Beltran can get some runners on ahead of him and really ignite this offense. I see Beltran going 2-4 with a double and driving in a couple runs. 



Clutch Performer: I think that Gardner is also going to do some work at the top of the lineup. As much as I would love for him to get on base and really make things work with his legs, I am pretty sure he will be typical Brett Gardner and hit in the clutch. Gardner is going to come up big with a few key hits en route to a late inning victory. 

Let's hope that tonight things finally click and the Yankees can show the Orioles that this is far from over. I predict a Yankee win tonight in the later innings, let's say 6-3. Remember YCPB! Let's go Yankees! 






 

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)