We are in the last mile of our baseball marathon. Time to put that last bit of effort in to secure your championship or win some money. With only a week left, many teams are mailing it in and couldn’t care less if they win or lose (Orioles, Mets, Nationals) and should be avoided if possible. Others have their playoff tickets punched and they can coast during the last week (Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees, Cardinals). These teams will jumble their rotation to make sure their best guys are lined up to start the postseason. Their ace might only go five innings and their closer might not come in for a save situation to make sure they are fresh for the playoff opener. Some teams are playing for pride and play like there is nothing to lose and are a very dangerous opponent (Royals, Pirates, Padres). And other teams are fighting for their playoff lives and will give you every ounce of fight they’ve got this last week (Braves, Rockies, Tigers, Twins).
These pitchers are in line to get two starts this week, but you will want to double check all your resources to see if they are likely to pitch or sit:
American League
| BAL | Mark Hendrickson, Jeremy Guthrie |
| BOS | Josh Beckett, Taylor Buchholz |
| CWS | John Danks |
| CLE | Aaron Laffey, Justin Masterson |
| DET | Rick Porcello, Justin Verlander |
| KC | Luke Hochevar |
| LAA | Ervin Santana, Scott Kazmir |
| MIN | Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker |
| NYY | Chad Gaudin |
| OAK | Trevor Cahill |
| SEA | Felix Hernandez |
| TB | Jeff Niemann, Wade Davis |
| TEX | Tommy Hunter, Scott Feldman |
| TOR | Scott Richmond |
National League
| ARI | Doug Davis |
| ATL | Jair Jurrjens, Tim Hudson |
| CHC | Ryan Dempster |
| CIN | Homer Bailey |
| COL | Jason Marquis |
| FLA | Anibal Sanchez |
| HOU | Wilton Lopez, Yorman Bazardo |
| LAD | Hiroki Kuroda |
| MIL | Chris Narveson |
| NYM | Nelson Figueroa |
| PHI | Cole Hamels, J.A. Happ |
| PIT | Zach Duke, Kevin Hart |
| SD | none |
| SF | Jonathan Sanchez |
| STL | Joel Pineiro |
| WAS | Ross Detwiler, J.D. Martin |
Rick’s Picks (5 best bets for double-start pitchers this week):
1. Justin Verlander
2. Jair Jurrjens
3. Felix Hernandez
4. Tim Hudson
5. Scott Baker