Our 2012 MLB playoffs picks continue on Sunday night in Detroit, where the Detroit Tigers battle it out with the San Francisco Giants. Join us for our MLB predictions for what should be a remarkable Game 4 of the World Series.

Detroit now faces the dubious and seemingly impossible task of coming back from down 0-3 in the World Series to make matters close once again, and we think that it will at least cast the shadow of doubt in the minds of the Giants on Sunday night. Remember that the team came close to getting some runs on the board, and it might only take one clutch hit to turn the tide of this entire series. Luck has been on the side of the Giants in every crucial spot, and though they have clearly been the better team with the better pitching staff, that doesn’t mean that they are guaranteed to just close this one out without resistance, especially on the road.

We faded Matt Cain the last time that he was on the mound because he looked tired, and though he did pitch 5.2 scoreless innings in a 9-0 win, he still didn’t get through the sixth. There is a great chance that, in spite of his sparkling record and ERA this year, that Cain could get blasted at some point if he starts leaving balls up in the zone, especially against this high flying offense.

We also really like what Max Scherzer is bringing to the table in this game. The flame throwing righty has 18 strikeouts in just 11 innings of work here in the playoffs, and though he isn’t going to be expected to throw more than six innings or so, you know that those frames are going to include a lot of fastballs and a ton of strikes. The bullpen really hasn’t been the major problem for the Tigers, so we don’t feel like leaving the ball for the men in the back end of the staff will do much to hurt their chances on Sunday night. This might ultimately be nothing more than a consolation win, but we think that it will be a win more often than not nonetheless.

San Francisco Giants @ Detroit Tigers Pick: Detroit Tigers

Our 2012 MLB playoffs picks continue on Saturday night in Detroit, where the Detroit Tigers battle it out with the San Francisco Giants. Join us for our MLB predictions for what should be a remarkable Game 3 of the World Series.

The Tigers have to be scratching their heads right now, as they really don’t know what they are going to be able to do against the Giants in this series to figure out how to get back in it. Sure, you play the games one at a time, but when you just keep putting bagel after bagel up on the scoreboard, it has to kill your morale, especially of your pitching staff, which knows that it just cannot make a mistake.

For the third time in this series, the Tigers really feel like they are going to have the pitching advantage. Anibal Sanchez is coming off of the best and most important outing of his career (aside from his no hitter) when he threw seven scoreless innings in Game 2 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees. Just one problem with that: That was 13 days ago. All of the rest of the Detroit pitchers have at least shown a bit of rust thus far in the Fall Classic, and that was the problem last year against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS after sweeping the Yankees as well.

And then there’s Ryan Vogelsong, who could be argued as baseball’s version of Tim Tebow. All this guy does is win. He doesn’t blaze it up there at 95 MPH. His curve isn’t 9 to 5. His change isn’t electric. He’s just a decent pitcher that is figuring out how to win games left and right. And in the end, that’s truly what matters. Forget that Vogelsong went 13-9 in the regular season. Look at the fact that he led the team to a 19-12 record. In the postseason, he has allowed just a total of three runs in 19 innings. Those are great numbers regardless of how well you’re really pitching. And in the end, Vogelsong should do what he does best. In the words of the late Al Davis: Just win, baby.

San Francisco Giants @ Detroit Tigers Pick: San Francisco Giants +135

The World Series continues with Game 2 on Thursday, and that means that we are going to be making our baseball picks and playoff predictions for the game between the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers.

Pablo Sandoval is a hero. For a team that hit just 31 home runs at home all season long according to ESPN’s Jayson Stark, the Giants got three homers from their Panda in one game against the man that very well could end up being the best pitcher of our generation. It was a shock to see San Francisco run Justin Verlander out of Game 1 after just four completed frames, and now, there is a real concern as to whether Detroit is going to be able to get off of the mat and back into this series before leaving for Motown.

The best news is that the pitching matchup really does favor the Tigers on Thursday night, and that’s why they are favored on the World Series odds in this game. Doug Fister has pitched tremendously well over the course of the first two games here in the playoffs, and he has led his team to a pair of victories in as many starts. Meanwhile, the Giants only have five losses over the course of the postseason, and two of them are thanks to Madison Bumgarner, who is going to take the ball on Thursday night.

Though Bumgarner has pitched poorly, we do have to remember a very telling fact. The righty led his team to a 19-13 record in the regular season this year, and this is why he is in the rotation and not Tim Lincecum. Meanwhile, though Fister has pitched well of late, the Tigers only went 13-13 in his 26 starts this year. All things told, this really seems to add up to a game in which the Giants should be favored by a -130 margin or so, so getting +112 seems like a massive gift.

Detroit Tigers @ San Francisco Giants Game 2 Pick: San Francisco Giants +112

The 2012 World Series continue on Wednesday in San Francisco, where the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers are going to do battle with one another. Don’t miss our MLB playoff picks and our Tigers vs. Giants Game 1 World Series predictions for the baseball playoffs!

The Tigers are simply the team that has to be backed in Game 1 of the World Series, having absolutely zero to do with the fact that they have the better lineup or the better bullpen. It has nothing to do with the fact that San Francisco is tired or that there is no way that Barry Zito is going to be able to pitch another 7.2 scoreless innings like he did against the St. Louis Cardinals five days ago in Game 5 of the NLCS.

It’s all about Justin Verlander. Simply put, this man is unbeatable right now. He has taken the ball seven times since September 14th, and he has seven wins to show for his word. Verlander has pitched at least seven innings in all but one of those starts, and he has allowed a grand total of five runs, four of which have been earned. He has issued just 11 walks and 34 hits in 52.1 innings of work, and he has 52 strikeouts in that time. In case you’re wondering, we’ve done the math for you. That’s seven starts, a 7-0 record, a 0.69 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP, and a K/9 of 8.94. Ho hum.

It’s just too good. It doesn’t matter who Verlander has faced. It just hasn’t mattered. He pitched a complete game shutout against Oakland, and he followed that by nearly going the distance and holding the Yankees to just one run and three hits. He blanked the Twins, shut down the A’s, threw seven donuts up against the Tribe… it just doesn’t matter. Verlander is just that good. And we absolutely have to back him on Wednesday night under every circumstance.

Detroit Tigers @ San Francisco Giants Pick: Detroit Tigers -160