Pitching Matchups; Game of the Day 5/2/11

6:15pm
Toledo Mud Hens (Charlie Furbush 2-1, 1.90)
vs. Pawtucket Red Sox (Brandon Duckworth 2-1, 3.22)

6:35pm
Richmond Flying Squirrels (Daryl Maday 0-2, 3.80)
vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Deolis Guerra 2-2, 9.18)

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Rey Gonzalez 2-1, 1.88)
vs. Reading Phillies (Ryan Edell 2-0, 4.44)

7:05pm
Portland Sea Dogs (Brock Huntzinger 2-2, 6.61)
vs. Trenton Thunder (Craig Heyer 1-2, 2.08)

Game of the Day – Mud Hens vs. PawSox – Pawtucket is hoping to avenge two 4-3 losses at the hands of the Med Hens over the weekend. Unfortunately Toledo gets the added protection of one of baseball’s best hitters in their lineup, as old friend Victor Martinez is set to begin a rehab stint with the Mud Hens tonight. Charlie Furbush, the #26 prospect in the Detroit Tigers system according to Baseball America, hits the hill tonight for Toledo. The Portland, Maine native is coming off of two very strong starts in which he pitched 14 innings, allowed only 2 earned runs and struck out 20 batters while picking up victories in both. Furbush is currently second in the International League with 32 Ks on the season, sixth in ERA (1.90) and first in WHIP (0.85). Brandon Duckworth gets the nod for Pawtucket and after three solid outings to start the season, he was brought back to earth with a hellish go ‘round in Lehigh Valley last Wednesday. In that game Duckworth didn’t make it out of the 4th inning as he allowed 6 hits and 5 walks, leading to 7 earned runs and his first loss of the season. The PawSox have lost three straight and have dropped to third place in the North Division after rocketing up to first in mid-April. The Mud Hens are riding a seven game win streak and have lifted themselves over .500, good enough for third place in the West. Unfortunately for the Mud Hens, the first place Columbus Clippers are running away with that division thanks to an 11 game streak. So whose streak will break first here?

Side note prediction – Thanks to Yangervis Solarte extending his hitting streak to nine games, I have picked up my first win in the prediction department and have pulled to .500 with a 1-1 record since we’ve started this. Tonight I'm going with the GotD and predicting a PawSox victory, snapping their losing streak and Toledo's win streak...and righting the ship a bit.

Feel free to play along at home and post your own daily predictions below.