Game Picks - Saturday: May 28, 2011

A couple of stupid picks early were erased by a solid swing through the West Coast. The late success helped lead to a very successful day of picking. Let's face it, picking the Tigers over the Red Sox was just plain stupid. Tim Wakefield got another victory and pitched well. Rick Porcello did not. Ballgame. The Mets pick didn't look stupid until K-Rod imploded in the ninth to allow the Phillies to win with five straight hits. Nice. Kyle Drabek kept the Blue Jays in the game despite five more walks. The bullpen for Toronto on this night was very good and the Blue Jays proved they can score without big Bautista homers. Picking against David Price sure seems stupid in retrospect. And the Milwaukee pick looked good until Shaun Marcum coughed up a grand slam to Brandon Crawford, who hit the big bomb in his first major league game. Wow! But other than that, it was all aces for this picker.

A good week is ensured, but why not have one last big day this week? Here are Saturday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Cubs: First off, Paul Maholm has pitched much better than his 1-7 record. The Pirates have only scored 13 runs for him all season. Second, the Pirates should score because Randy Wells is making his first start after a long stint on the DL and will probably only go four or five innings.
• The Nationals over the Padres: Jordan Zimmermann has been pitching really well. Tim Stauffer has not. Plus, Morse has been on fire for the Nats with homers in four straight games including last night's walk off job.
• The Blue Jays over the White Sox: Carlos Villanueva nuffed the Yankees in his last outing and the White Sox aren't better than the Yankees. The Blue Jays, meanwhile, will get to Edwin Jackson.
• The Bay Rays over the Indians: Did this Fan really pick against the Bay Rays yesterday? Must have been sleeping at the wheel. James Shields has been terrific. Carlos Carrasco has not been terrific. Sam Fuld is back?
• The Brewers over the Giants: Jonathan Sanchez has been homer-prone in May. Randy Wolf has to come up big again for the Brewers.
• The Astros over the Diamondbacks: Zach Duke? Seriously? No, can't do it. Going with Bud Norris and the Astros.
• The Angels over the Twins: Liriano was scratched leaving the Twins in the hands of Anthony Swarzack ack ack. Should be an easy win for Jared Weaver.
• The Red Sox over the Tigers: Clay Buchholz goes for the Red Sox. If that isn't bad enough for the Tigers, the Red Sox get to feast on a young pitcher, Andrew Oliver, making his first start of the year. Oh boy.
• The Reds over the Braves: The Braves have nothing going on offense. That helps Bronson Arroyo and not Derek Lowe.
• The Phillies over the Mets: The Mets had their shot yesterday and blew it. Cole Hamels shuts them down to win over Mike (ollie ollie in) Pelfrey.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: Juan Nicasio makes his major league debut and looks tough with a 99 MPH fastball. But Jaime Garcia is a proven entity. Cardinals win.
• The Athletics over the Orioles: Okay, so Josh Outman might be pretty good. Brad Bergesen is certainly not good.
• The Dodgers over the Marlins: The Marlins are going to have relief day with Brian Sanchez starting and hoping to go three or four innings. Hiroki Kuroda will bounce back from his last start.
• The Mariners over the Yankees: The Yankees don't hit Felix Hernandez well and must hope for a good game from Ivan Nova. Doesn't seem like a winning combination.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Rangers over the Royals: Order is restored as Matt Harrison takes care of the Royals while Sean O'Sullivan gets pounded by his former team.

Yesterday: 10-5

Week: 49-29

Month: 194-165

Season: 409-342

Games of the Day: 32-26

That many sure things make for a scary day, no?