As expected, I was not going to replicate my torrid start to May in June. I am in the red in both Streak for the Cash and Beat the Streak. The Cleveland Indians push themselves nearer and nearer to the I Hate You Entirely Because Of Streak For The Cash Hall of Fame and a stupid Hydra joke backfired. Today I'm going to try to slow the pace a bit, especially with the NBA Finals starting up bringing back with it the Drive To The Finals game.
If I would have just stuck with my original solo pick of Dustin Pedroia, I'd be back on the good side of Beat the Streak. But noooooooooooo, I had to make a dumb pun and add Paul Goldschmidt to the mix. Granted, Goldschmidt had been bludgeoning people for a solid two weeks. He did just the opposite last night even though a late Diamondbacks rally gave him more opportunities than he normally would have had. Today I will be once again trotting out Jose Altuve. Now a six-time 2015 SIP selection, Altuve takes on Baltimore's Wei-Yin Chen this afternoon. Chen has been much better than his 1-4 record suggests, but Altuve is 6-for-13 lifetime against the Taiwanese left hander.
I'll be going for a delightful double today on Streak for the Cash. This afternoon my entry travels to the Ukraine for the finals of the Ukranian Cup. Shakhtar Donetsk takes on Dynamo Kiev, a battle of two of Ukraine's best sides. The two have gone back and forth with wins the last four games, but I think Shakhtar will buck that trend with a win today. In my late game, I'll be taking the Mets for the seventh time in 2015. It wasn't a Happy Harvey Day for me last time I picked the Mets with The Dark Knight on the mound. I lost a W12 on a bases loaded Jeurys Familia walk in the ninth inning. I'm hoping it won't come to that against the D'Backs this evening as Harvey faces off with Jeremy Hellickson. Hellickson has struggled for consistency although he's won his last two starts. One thing is consistent with Hellickson though. He doesn't go deep into games. That leaves a suspect Arizona pen to do more work.
The Finals are here which means Drive To The Finals has finally reached its destination. I have quite the roster left at my disposal for this series, but I'm playing it conservative in Game 1. I'm taking Golden State's Harrison Barnes as the Cavs and Dubs play that opening game of cat and mouse. As each side tries to slow the other's star, a guy like Barnes could slip through the cracks and easily get a 40 or so PRA game. Or he could be undercut by Matthew Dellavedova and his series be over. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!!!!
Image Credits: Altuve BTS (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com), Barnes DTTF (nba.com)