It is fitting that I start September 4th on a 4 streak. Jose Squared (Abreu & Reyes) each ripped two base hits yesterday to double my score. Both my picks tonight don't share a name, but they will share the same field. The bitter rivals, Boston and New York, take the field for what will surely be a four hour game or longer. The two players I chose, Brett Gardner from the Yanks and Allen Craig from the Sox, aren't having particularly great years but have good matchups this evening. Gardner hit only .213 in August but he has three multi-hit games against Boston this season. Brandon Workman has the charge of getting Gardner out today. His 4.93 ERA and 1-8 record show that he hasn't been markedly good at doing such in 2014. Allen Craig has had even a rougher go of it than Gardner. He's been battling injuries all year in both St. Louis and his limited time in Boston. For all his woes though, including being 4 for his last 36, Allen Craig owns Yankees' starter Chris Capuano. He is 8-for-14 lifetime against the left hander including 2 home runs and 6 runs batted in. I applaud fans of either team for watching this one from start to finish. I hope Craig and Gardner get their hits out of the way early so I can turn the Gamecast off. Hopefully I have a 6 streak on the 5th.
After a hot start, my Streak for the Cash picks have gone ice cold. After the latest Brad Peacock fiasco, the Philippines blew a lead against Puerto Rico and the San Francisco Giants got rocked by the Rockies. Instead of panic picking today, I am going to keep a cool head and go with what I feel is the surest thing on the board. The Tigers have been a roller coaster ride as of late but even among the chaos Max Scherzer's dominance. He was roughed up for five earned last time out but he still K'ed 11 White Sox. The man opposing him at 7:05, Cleveland's Trevor Bauer, gave up five runs three starts ago but none in his last two. He has just one win in a month though due to bullpen woes. Detroit's pen has been miserable too but I think Scherzer will go deep enough into the game to limit their chances to blow it for him. HAPPY STREAKING EVERYBODY!
Image Credits: Gardner/Craig (mlb.com), Streak picks (espn.com)