Game Picks - Wednesday: September 21, 2011

Yesterday's picks slogged through the mud on the biggest baseball day of the season (17 games!) to finish just barely above water. The day started at 1-3 on those double-header picks. The Phillies were predicted to win both and won neither. Then Bud Norris got hurt by the second inning and that pick went bye-bye. Then the Red Sox lost (seriously?). The Pirates slowed down the Diamondbacks who have suddenly lost their bats. The Twins lost (okay, that was a dumb pick). And finally, the Royals behind Eric Hosmer's big night walloped the Tigers. It seems the bad Penny always turns up.

All through the losses, the wins started to climb. The Yankees won behind Ivan Nova. The Dodgers won behind Clayton Kershaw (the Game of the Day). The Padres won behind Matt Latos. The Cardinals won in a come-from-behind fashion. The Braves won. By the time the Rangers won their game, the picks finally climbed out of the hole, thank goodness.

It's sad knowing the regular season is winding down. The day to day routine of baseball is so enjoyable. It will be missed. Here are Wednesday's picks:

• The Astros over the Reds: Wandy Rodriguez holds the Reds' offense in check while Bronson Arroyo continues to have one of the worst seasons ever by a starting pitcher.
• The Bay Rays over the Yankees: The Yankees aren't sure if Phil Hughes can make his start today. James Shields goes for the Rays. They should win this one.
• The Cubs over the Brewers: Matt Garza has been terrific and has an outside chance to even his record with two more starts to the season. Randy Wolf goes for the Brewers.
• The Padres over the Rockies: Anthony Bass wins another one as Aaron Cook gets the start for the Rockies. The Rockies don't have much left on the field.
• The Diamondbacks over the Pirates: Ross Ohlendorf came back pretty well in his last start after some disasters to begin his short season. But Wade Miley and the D-backs come to life in this one.
• The Indians over the White Sox: Ubaldo Jimenez has been anything but a lock this season. But Mark Buehrle has put together some ugly starts lately.
• The Yankees over the Bay Rays: The Yankees win the second game by getting to Jeremy Hellickson. C.C. Sabathia hopes to reverse a losing trend of late to win his 20th.
• The Phillies over the Nationals: Leave it to Vance Worley to get the Phillies back on track. John Lannon goes for the Nats.
• The Angels over the Blue Jays: Dustin McGowen is a nice story, but he won't be able to match the zeroes thrown up there by Dan Haren if Haren is on that is.
• The Marlins over the Braves: Has Derek Lowe stunk lately or what? Meanwhile, Javier Vazquez is talking about retiring and is going out in style.
• The Royals over the Tigers: The Royals have been awfully fun to watch lately. Hosmer is over .300 now and the Royals are flourishing. Felipe Paulino is starting to harness his stuff. Max Scherzer is another reason why the Tigers are not a mortal lock come playoff time. You never know what you're going to get with him.
• The Mariners over the Twins: Carp might be the hottest hitter on the planet right now. Michael Pineda is certainly not a lock. But Kevin Slowey has not looked good and the Twins find creative ways to lose every day.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: Jaime Garcia shouldn't have any trouble beating youngster, Chris Schwinden, who is already 0-2 in spot starts this season.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: Brandon McCarthy has become the ace of the A's this season, but he hasn't fared well against Texas. The Rangers go with their ace, C.J. Wilson.
• The Dodgers over the Giants: The Dodgers are trying to finish the season above .500 and pitch Dana Eveland tonight. He's been a nice story for them. Ryan Vogelsong is slowly coming to earth for the Giants.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the Orioles: Tommy Hunter isn't a bad pitcher, but Josh Beckett gets the job done.

Yesterday: 9-8

Week: 25-18

Month: 166-103

Season: 1297-1013

Games of the Day: 107-62