Game Picks - Saturday: June 25, 2011

Yesterday was yet another day under. 500 as interleague play continues to bamboozle this picker. The Red Sox lost their third straight, this time to the Pirates and Paul Maholm. The Yankees lost to Ubaldo Jiminez and the Rockies. The Diamondbacks were way down after a predictably poor performance by Zach Duke but came roaring back to beat the Tigers. Wandy Rodriguez (and the Astros) was a dumb pick. The Royals proved more inept than the Cubs as Chris Getz made a costly error in the ninth. The Padres crushed Derek Lowe and the Braves. If the Mariners score five runs, they are going to win. King Felix was great and Olivo was the hitting star. Carlos Carrasco was again brilliant but an error by Carlos Santana at first cost him the ballgame. And so it went. Each one of the games above describes how a pick went awry.

Even the games that were picked correctly weren't easy. Jose Bautista clubbed a homer off of the Cardinals' closer in the ninth. Drew Storen ruined Jordan Zimmermann's brilliant start only to see the Nats pull the game out in extras. The Phillies and their opponent managed only six combined hits in nine innings and no runs until Ben Francisco had the walk off hit. The Orioles had to go twelve innings to get that pick right. Picking these games between teams that rarely play each other is difficult. At least that's the excuse this picker is sticking with.

The Fan needs a big Saturday or this week will be in the red. Come on Saturday picks!

• The Dodgers over the Angels: The teams play at 1:00 ET or 10:00 PT. Yikes! Hiroki Kuroda should be slightly better than Tyler Chatwood.
• The Giants over the Indians: The Indians had their chance last night and didn't get it done. Justin Masterson is good, but Matt Cain should be better.
• The Rangers over the Mets: Jonathan Niese sure is difficult to predict. Going with Alexi Ugando and the Rangers' offense.
• The White Sox over the Nationals: The Nats are on a roll, but shouldn't win with Tom Gorzelanny on the mound. John Danks gets the job done for the win.
• The Tigers over the Diamondbacks: Yes, it's hard to pick against Josh Collmenter, who is now a legend. But Justin Verlander is the bomb.
• The Pirates over the Red Sox: Okay, let's get giddy here and give this pick to Jeff Karstens, who has given up one earned run in his last three outings. Tim Wakefield gets the start for Boston.
• The Reds over the Orioles: Bronson Arroyo is one tough son of a gun. He usually has nothing, but battles all the way. He beats Brian Matusz.
• The Phillies over the Athletics: Trevor Cahill seems to be back to his masterful self. But he's up against Cole Hamels, who isn't a slouch himself. Phillies squeak out the win at home.
• The Rays over the Astros: The Rays simply hit better on the road. Wade Davis has looked better. Bud Norris with the hard luck loss.
• The Cubs over the Royals: This picker simply can't waste any more picks on the Royals until they start winning some games. Carlos Zambrano over Danny Duffy.
• The Brewers over the Twins: The Twins are suddenly going in the wrong direction again. Yovani Gallardo needs a good game at home though. Francisco Liriano is capable of anything.
• The Cardinals over the Blue Jays: Jaime Garcia is a power lefty. No chance for the Blue Jays' offense. Carlos Villanueva with the hard luck loss.
• The Braves over the Padres: Jair Jurrjens better be more effective than Lowe was. Dustin Moseley goes for the Padres.
• The Mariners over the Marlins: Yeah, Jack McKeon is fun, but the Marlins still have to score. They won't against Jason Vargas. Chris Volstad loses.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Yankees over the Rockies: C. C. Sabathia at home against Aaron Cook seems like a no-doubter.

Yesterday: 7-8
Week: 36-39
Month: 175-151
Season: 611-518
Games of the Day: 54-32