MLB Prediction Contest: Week Two

As promised, Week Two of our MLB Prediction Contest is here! If you missed last week's guesses, you can see them here. That being said, here we go with this week!

Standings through Week One:

1) Mackenzie Kraemer: 5-2

2) Ben Weixlmann: 3-4

T-3) Andrew Kneeland: 2-5

T-3) Joe Willett: 2-5

T-3) Michael Hicks: 2-5

Tuesday, July 15th

National League vs. American League

Ben W.: American - The NL hasn't won since Charles Nagy got the start, and damn, that's a long time ago (1996). That losing streak won't end in Yankee Stadium, but Albert Pujols will go deep.

Mackenzie K.: American - The NL all-star team is more talented, but until the AL loses this game, it's foolish to go against them.

Andrew K.: American - Gotta go with historical dominance here. That's all I have to say about this game, unless someone brings up it's value and the voting system. Then you won't be able to shut me down.

Joe W.: American - The stars for the American League seem to be so much ahead of the National League and I don't think that the NL has the star power to take the win.

Thursday, July 17

Detroit at Baltimore:

Ben W.: Detroit - The Tigers have been awfully good of late, and they aren't really showing signs of slowing down. Who cares if they're on the road, I'm taking the Tigers.

Mackenzie K.: Detroit - Baltimore starter Garrett Olson will be batting practice for this Detroit lineup that feasts on lefthanded pitching (18-7).

Andrew K.: Detroit - The Tiger bats have been incredibly hot, and the pitching has been great too. While I think it will die down eventually, I doubt it will cool off completely by Thursday.

Joe W.: Detroit - The Tigers need to come out swinging in the second half to keep up the momentum that they just acquired in the last few weeks. If they can keep it up, they should be dangerous.

Friday, July 18

San Diego at St. Louis

Ben W.: St. Louis - I think this is pretty obvious. The San Diego Padres are as bad as the AL All-Stars are good. Enough said, Cardinals win this one.

Mackenzie K.: St. Louis - San Diego just might be the worst team in baseball. Their lineup is awful outside of Adrian Gonzalez. St. Louis takes it.

Andrew K.: St. Louis - The Padres have been struggling to overtake a Diamondbacks team that is also struggling to stay above the .500 mark. I think they continue to struggle against a good St. Louis team.

Joe W.: St. Louis - The Cardinals need to start playing at a higher intensity level. Their 4.5 game deficit in the NL Central could become 10 games pretty fast.

Saturday, July 19

Boston at LA Angels

Ben W.: Los Angeles - Boston is doing what? Oh traveling 2,000 miles? I'll take the red-hot Angels.

Mackenzie K.: Los Angeles - Boston is awful on the road, and LA is as far from Boston as it gets. LA should win this one.

Andrew K.: Boston - Boston is once again the best team in the league, in my opinion. They have outstanding pitching, and a great lineup. The only real question mark is the bullpen, which is fine. This should be a very fun game to watch, but I think Boston comes out ahead.

Joe W.: Los Angeles - The Angels are pretty close to the Red Sox and I think it will be a close series. I am going to take the Angels because these games are going to be really close, and I really expect all these games to be a toss up.

Sunday, July 20: Texas at Minnesota

Ben W.: Minnesota - This is a very intriguing matchup, but I have to like how the Twins have been playing lately. They win this one by a hair.

Mackenzie K.: Minnesota - Texas has had 12 different starting pitchers this season, and who knows who they'll start Sunday? Go with the home team.

Andrew K.: Minnesota - Gotta go with my team here. Texas has scored a ton of runs, but their pitching has been questionable of late. I think, and hope, that Minnesota makes them pay both through the starting pitching and the faulty bullpen.

Joe W.: Minnesota - With the Twins slipping, I think the Rangers will take this as a chance to get some wins. Also, with the way that the Twins bullpen has been playing, no lead is safe for them.

We shall see how the three-way tie for third plays out with this week's picks!