Game Picks - Thursday: May 3, 2012

Congratulations, Jered Weaver! A no-hitter! And that's for making that pick correct. It might have made the difference in a day just barely over .500. But the Yankees lost again to a good, young pitcher, the Red Sox lost to a guy that should have been picked. You could see the conflict in the pick yesterday. Always stick with the gut reaction, William! Justin Verlander lost. Jeff Suppan won (what!?). The Indians continue to be the confusing team. And Clayton Kershaw gave up three homers. Oh, come now. And, finally, after coming around to finally pick Joe Saunders, his team loses!

Those bad picks masked some really good ones. The Blue Jays were a great pick as was Samardzija and the Cubs. The Astros over the Mets was a good pick. And the Braves over Doc Halladay was a good pick, though there was no clue such a donnybrook would break out.

Today is one of those intimate Thursdays with only nine games on the schedule, but five of them are day games. Love that. Here are today's picks:

• The Phillies over the Braves: Not a big believer here in Randall Delgado and Joe Blanton pitched well in his last outing. After getting piled on for his game-winning homer yesterday, Chipper Jones will probably sit today but that is just a guess. He does make a difference in that lineup.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Have not picked one Homer Bailey game correctly all season. He should win today. Ryan Dempster is coming off the disabled list to face him and that is always a concern.
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: The Cards are just too good a team for the Pirates. Jake Westbrook has been good. Erik Bedard has been decent for the Pirates but the Cards will get to him.
• The Marlins over the Giants: Two teams struggling offensively. The pick here is that Anibal Sanchez is a better pitcher than Ryan Vogelsong. Could the Marlins sweep a series?
• The Diamondbacks over the Nationals: Hate this pick. These are two of this Fan's favorite NL teams and two of the favorite pitchers are pitching in Ian Kennedy and Ross Detwiler. Sticking with Ian Kennedy.
• The White Sox over the Indians: Have no idea what to do with this series. The first two games resulted in bad picks. Justin Masterson has lost velocity. John Danks is up and down. Who the heck knows.
• The Yankees over the Royals: Nervous about Dan Duffy and that sore elbow. Also nervous about David Phelps getting his first start. The Yankees are beat up but the Royals are the Royals. Tough one.
• The Blue Jays over the Angels: Brandon Morrow is starting to put it together. And when he does, he is one talented pitcher. So is Dan Haren. But the Jays can hit better than the Angels. Another tough game to call.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Rays over the Mariners: The Rays never lose these days. The last time they did, Jeff Niemann was the pitcher. He pitches today, but has a good career track record against the M's (SSS). Kevin Millwood goes for the Mariners. Not making the obvious jokes here.

Yesterday: 8-7

Week: 28-27

Month: 14-15

Season: 203-164

Games of the Day: 16-11