Game 97

Brewers are playing for a split in the series against the lowly pirates. Gallardo makes his return. He was injured last game before the all star break.

Brewers will probably lose today. Based on the Brewers most recent streak, Gallardo will give up 10 in the first couple of innings and the Brewers will become the first team since before 1936 to have 5 starter who have given up 10 runs in a game.

Game 94

Today the Brewers start a four game series at the Pirates. With the way the Brewers have been playing against the Pirates, I can definitely see them taking 3 out of 4.

Capuano was called upon to start today. He faces Karstens, who is not a dominant starter by any measure. Karstens has a 4.87 ERA in 77.2 innings, while walking 22 and striking out 41. He also has allowed 16 HR.

Expect the Brewers to smack a couple over the fence today. The Brewers will win big. Capuano will go 5-6 strong innings, making a case to rejoin the actual rotation. Hopefully this will be the one I get right. Right now I am 0-4, while the Brewers in that span are 2-2.

Game 92

After a big win yesterday, the Brewers look to guarantee at least a split in the series against the Braves today. Doing that today will be tough since the Brewers are facing all-star pitcher Tim Hudson. With Narveson pitching today, the Brewers will need some good offense and definitely some luck. Good news for the Brewers though, in their last 5 games they have hit.300 and scored 25 runs. Also Braun has hit .381 and 3 HR in that span.

I think the Brewers will lose a squeaker 3-2 tonight, but based on my previous luck, the might win 10-4.

Game 91

After a disappointing loss yesterday, the Brewers and Braves play game 2 tonight at 6:30. Randy Wolf faces Tommy Hansen.

Wolf has not quite lived up to the hype he got during the off-season, but the again Tommy Hansen has not dominated this season. Hansen has had a slightly better ERA than Wolf this year, 4.13 to 4.56. But after his 8 run blowup against the Cubs, Wolf has lowered his almost a full run, from 5.31 to 4.56. This season Wolf has already walked as many as he did last year, in almost 100 fewer innings.

Well after yesterday, the road seems like an offensive black hole. The Braves with their 31-10 record at home just seem like too good of a team to be beat right now. Unless Wolf has a dominant performance, the Braves will take the second game of this series also. My bet is a score of 5-3, Braves.

Game 90

Today is the first game after the All-Star break. The Brewers play the Braves. Bush vs Jurrjens. As I write this, Ken Macha is the manager for the Brewers, meaning another day of not utilizing the speed of the lineup and leaving pitchers in after their arms fall off.

On paper, this looks like a good game to take for the Brewers. Bush is having a career year, especially since the meltdown in Minnesota, having his lowest ERA since his rookie year in Toronto. Brave's Starter, Jurrjens had an amazing year last year, going over 200 innings with an ERA of 2.60, but his year has been hampered by an extended injury. Jurrjens, has only made 7 starts this years, averaging 5 innings per.

For the Atlanta, rookie sensation Jason Heyward can come off the DL for the game. He definitely has some pop in his bat, but similar to all rookies, he goes through major up and down streaks.

For my prediction, I expect the Brewers to strike early, with a long ball in the first. Then the bats will die down for the Brewers. They will get a couple more in the later innings. In the end the Brewers will win 5-2 with Hoffman getting the save, moving him within 3 saves of 600.

All Star Game

The 2010 All Star Game is today with Hart, Braun, and Gallardo all selected/voted in. Gallardo however will not be participating either the 2010 or 2011 All Star Game. It is his own personal boycott of the Arizona Immigration law. Below are the starting lineups.

NL
1. Hanley Ramirez - SS
2. Martin Prado - 2B
3. Albert Pujols - 1B
4. Ryan Howard - DH
5. David Wright -3B
6. Ryan Braun - LF
7. Andre Ethier -CF
8. Corey Hart -CF
9. Yadier Molina - C
SP. Ubaldo Jiminez

AL
1. Ichiro Suzuki -RF
2. Derek Jeter-SS
3. Miguel Cabrera-1B
4. Josh Hamilton-CF
5. Vlad Guerrero-DH
6. Evan Longoria-3B
7. Joe Mauer-C
8. Robinson Cano-2B
9. Carl Crawford-LF
SP. David Price

For the first time in almost 3 decades, the brewers have two position players starting the game. The last time this happened was 1983. Also expect either Braun or Hart to be the first Brewers ever to record multiple hits in an All-Star game. My money is on Braun.

For my prediction, I expect the AL to jump out to an early 2-0 lead ofter the first. By the third the NL will get one back to make it 2-1. By the 9th I expect it to be tied 3-3. In the end, the NL will come out victorious with a tight 4-3 victory.

Home Run Derby

Today Corey Hart will compete in the Home Run Derby. By some miracle of the baseball gods, Hart is actually having a good season with 21 home runs already. He only needs three to tie his own personal record.

AL Hitters

1. Miguel Cabrera - 22
   
2. David Ortiz - 18
3. Vernon Wells - 19
4. Nick Swisher -15

NL Hitters

1. Corey Hart - 21
2. Matt Holiday - 16
3. Chris Young - 15
4. Hanley Ramirez - 13

The selections for the competition are odd to say the least. A perfect example is choosing Nick Swisher over Joey Bautista of the Tampa Bay Ray. Bautista wasn't even invited even though he leads the league in HR with 24. Another good example is Ramirez over Ryan Howard who as a grand total of 17.

My picks to advance to the final are Cabrera and Hart, mostly due to sentimental reasons, with Cabrera over Hart.