Opening Day 1986 - Play Ball!

[bernieh]

[i:c36122c4ac]by Adam DeCicco[/i:c36122c4ac]

Today’s combined AL/NL Beat (with game predictions) will cover the opening day match ups and what might be expected on Opening Day 1986!

<img src="http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/images/baseball/stratomatic/1986/story_photos/roger_clemens_1_150x191.jpg" align="left" style="margin-right: 10px;" /> [b:c36122c4ac]Red Sox @ Tigers[/b:c36122c4ac] (Clemens v. Morris) - The Rocket looks to be un-hittable this spring and the Tigers will be hard pressed to put runners on base. The Tigers are sporting some big bats in the line-up with home run power and will look to take advantage of the winds tonight. Opposing the Rocket is Jack Morris who has had a lot of success this spring getting out lefty hitters. With only 3 lefties expected in the starting lineup for the Sox, Jack could have those same Tiger Stadium winds working against him. [b:c36122c4ac]PREDICTION:[/b:c36122c4ac] Sox win 5-2 with both teams combining for 4 solo home runs.

[b:c36122c4ac]Indians @ Orioles[/b:c36122c4ac] (Candiotti v. Flanagan) - Gotta love that early season air as balls expect to fly out of Memorial Stadium this evening as well. Tom Candiotti hopes to keep the O’s at bay with his knuckle ball which gave hitters like Cal Ripken a tough time this spring. Should any birds get on base, the green light will be on to take advantage of the slow delivery of Candiotti. On the hill for the O’s will be Mike Flanagan who has improved from last year by cutting down on his home runs allowed this spring. Those Cleveland hitters like Joe Carter and Cory Snyder are not fooled by the off-speed pitches of southpaws and will look to show Mike an early shower. [b:c36122c4ac]PREDICTION:[/b:c36122c4ac] Cleveland wins 7-3 with Flanagan getting drubbed by the 4th inning.

<img src="http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/images/baseball/stratomatic/1986/story_photos/teddy_higuera_1_150x200.jpg" align="right" style="margin-left: 10px;" /> [b:c36122c4ac]Brewers @ White Sox[/b:c36122c4ac] (Higuera v. Bannister) - Battle of the lefties in Comisky. Higuera has looked extremely sharp this spring and has continued his innate ability to get out right handed batters. Brewers hitters have shown good resilience against lefties this spring, most notably Cecil Cooper who historically has had difficulty with south paws. Bannister looks revitalized this spring and hopes to be a good leader at the front of an aging starting five. White Sox hitters have not fared well this spring against lefties and Teddy is looking forward to putting the Sox lineup to bed early. [b:c36122c4ac]PREDICTION:[/b:c36122c4ac] Brewers rock the White Sox 6-0 on a complete game from Higuera.

[b:c36122c4ac]Phillies @ Reds[/b:c36122c4ac] (Ruffin v. Gullickson) - Watch out in Cincy tonight as Bruce Ruffin has been virtually perfect this spring at shutting down left handed hitting. Fortunately for the Big Red Machine, they feature a likely line-up of only two left handed bats, with one of them being Dave “Hitman” Parker who never backs down from a challenge. Bill Gullickson hopes to keep the Phillies at bay who have hit right handers well this spring. Weather doesn’t look to be a factor tonight and both pitchers should benefit from a cool crisp spring day. [b:c36122c4ac]PREDICTION:[/b:c36122c4ac] Reds pull out a win 6-5 in extra innings on an Eric Davis solo shot.

[b:c36122c4ac]Padres @ Dodgers[/b:c36122c4ac] (Show v. Valenzuela) - San Diego has a lot of improvement to do after last season’s disappointing performance. Padre hitters have faired well against lefties this spring, but none quite like Fernando. Eric Show and company should be able to keep the Dodger hitters off balance, but will the San Diego defense be able to not squander early inning leads with poor play. Steve Sax has been the only consistent hitter for LA this spring. Will his ability to get on base be enough to keep Dodger fans in their seats past the 6th inning? [b:c36122c4ac]PREDICTION:[/b:c36122c4ac] San Diego wins 4-2 in a late rally after some over-managing in the late innings causes the bullpen to blow a lead in the 7th.

[Proverbial Psalms]

Good preview of opening night... but you jinxed all of your predictions except that of your own team! With such a jinx in mind, whatever you do please make sure you predict that Minnesota will beat Oakland tonight :-)