MLB Picks: June 14th 2012
Philadelphia Phillies vs. Minnesota Twins
Pick: Minnesota Twins -137
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We won with the Phillies last night but it certainly wasn’t without drama. They scored six runs in the first and chased P.J. Walters after just four hitters but they had to hold on for the one run victory. Chances of getting a big lead tonight are slim so scoring runs could be a struggle. Philadelphia did improve to 18-15 on the road so it has been playing well away from home but the situation tonight is a tough one. The win was good but the Phillies are still 2-9 in their last 11 games overall.

The Twins lost for just the fourth time in their last 14 games so they have been on a solid run after a very bad start to the season. The good news is that the American League Central has been mediocre thus far so they trail Cleveland by 8.5 games which at this point of the season is far from unattainable. Minnesota has the second worst scoring differential in all of baseball and the pitching can be blamed but that should not be an issue tonight. The Twins are 45-17 in their last 62 Interleague games as a favorite.

Scott Diamond gets the call for Minnesota and he has been one of the few bright spots in the starting rotation. He is 5-1 with a 1.61 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in seven starts with the Twins going 6-1 in those games. He has been even better at home, going 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in four starts with all of those resulting in Minnesota victories. Those four wins represent one-third of the total wins at home for the Twins so his contributions have been huge.

The same cannot be said for Joe Blanton who has really struggled after a slow start to the season. He had a 2.96 ERA through mid-May but he has blown up since then, positing a 9.91 ERA over his last five starts. Three of these poor outings have taken place on the road and those resulted in a 10.13 ERA. He is coming off his best start of those, allowing five runs in 6.2 innings, which shows how bad the other ones were. The Phillies have gone 1-4 in Blanton’s last five road starts against teams with a losing record. 3* (918) Minnesota Twins -Matt Fargo