Last week was my worst week of the season, racking up one win with seven losses. There were two pushes due to Washington and Washington State postponing both of their Monday games.
In the Pac-10, the Beavers remained on top of the standings despite dropping a game to the Washington State Cougars on Saturday. In Berkeley over the weekend, te Sun Devils moved into 2nd Place behind Oregon State after sweeping the California Golden Bears.
Now we enter a new week, with two great series featuring Stanford @ Arizona State and Oregon State @ UCLA.
In case you missed our first posts, I'll be predicting every Thursday-Monday Pac-10 game throughout the season, and I'll keep the records of everyone who joins in at the comments section.
So, here's my Week 11 picks.
Washington (Friday-Sunday, @ Washington State)
Prediction : 1-2
The Apple Cup of Baseball takes place in Pullman this year, and I've got the Cougars winning the series due to having home-field advantage. All three games should be close though, and I could easily see Washington taking the series.
Washington State (Friday-Sunday, Washington)
Prediction : 2-1
Read above!
Oregon (Friday-Sunday, @ California)
Prediction : 1-2
The Ducks finally seem to be finding their game, but they will need a series win in Berkeley this weekend to keep their tournament hopes alive. I think Oregon gets at least one win over the weekend, but California will be hungary for a series win after being swept by the Sun Devils last weekend. All three games should be close, but I'm giving the nod to California in the Sunday rubber-match.
Oregon State (Friday-Sunday, @ UCLA)
Prediction: 1-2
It's tough for me not to pick Oregon State to win this series, but I think the Bruins pitching staff will be the deciding factor in this one. I've got Sam Gaviglio and the Beavers taking Friday's game, but I think the Bruins' Saturday and Sunday starters will be too much for a team that's struggling at the plate.
California (Friday-Sunday, Oregon)
Prediction: 2-1
Like I said above, the Golden Bears should come into this weekend starving for a win, and I think they take a close series against the Ducks.
More predictions after the break
Stanford (Friday-Sunday, @ Arizona State)
Prediction: 1-2
This should be the series of the weekend in the Pac-10, but I can't see the Cardinal going into Packard Stadium and taking a series from the red-hot Sun Devils. Stanford should put up a fight in all three games, and they should win one of them, but I love the baseball that ASU is playing right now.
USC (Friday-Sunday, @ Arizona)
Prediction: 1-2
This one should be a good series, but in the end, Arizona is just simply more talented. I like the Wildcats on Friday, USC on Saturday, and Arizona in the rubber game.
UCLA (Friday-Sunday, Oregon State)
Prediction: 2-1
Like I said above, I think that Oregon State has finally met their match in pitching matchups for a three game series. It should be a great series, but I like Adam Plutko and the Bruins in Sunday's rubber game.
Arizona (Friday-Sunday, USC)
Prediction: 2-1
The Wildcats will be starving for a win after losing a series at Oregon last weekend, and they should be able to win two against an under-matched Trojan team.
Arizona State (Friday-Sunday, Stanford, Monday, BYU)
Prediction: 3-1
The Wildcats should easily handle BYU on Monday, but before that they need to take care of the visiting Stanford Cardinal. It won't be an easy series for the red-hot Sun Devils, but I think home-field advantage will be the deciding factor in this series.
Record (Either a win, loss, or tie, based on correctly predicting that team's record for the weekend): 39-46-11