The first month of the Major League Baseball season is now in the books. The standings show us that the Washington Nationals are in first place in the NL East. The Los Angeles Dodgers are firmly in control in the NL West. The Cleveland Indians are in first place in the AL Central and the new and improved Angels are playing .348 baseball. Who had those facts in your office pools? Despite the topsy-turvy nature of the season, the Game Picks finished the month forty picks above .500 and the month ended on a nice 8-3 day. The only regret from yesterday was not going with James McDonald as that is what the gut was saying and the gut was ignored. But otherwise, not bad.
A full fifteen games are on the schedule today. There is no double-header for the Royals - Tigers game that was rained out yesterday. That is a break for the Tigers and not the Royals as we shall see. Here are Tuesday's picks on this first day of May:
- The Nationals over the Diamondbacks: Jordan Zimmermann is really good. Trevor Cahill is really just sort of good. Should be a win for the Nationals at home.
- The Yankees over the Orioles: The Yankees have owned Brian Matusz. He can't get them out. Phil Hughes has not been very good. But tonight, he'll get the win if he can last five innings.
- The Tigers over the Royals: If these two teams had played yesterday, Luke Hochevar would have faced Duane Below and would have had the advantage. The rained out game gives the opportunity to skip that start and go with Rick Porcello instead. Advantage gone.
- The Rangers over the Blue Jays: The Rangers should have Drew Hutchison for supper and Neftali Feliz should do a decent enough job on the Blue Jays lineup. Jose Bautista has a triple slash line since September 1 of last year of .226/.379/.378. Have pitchers found something on him?
- The Cubs over the Reds: Jeff Samardzija has been very good. Bronson Arroyo hasn't been as bad as expected. But going with Samardzija in this one.
- The Red Sox over the Athletics: This was one of the few clunker picks from yesterday. Won't make that mistake again. Felix Doubront should beat Jarrod Parker.
- The Braves over the Phillies: Brandon Beachy should not get too much resistance from the Phillies' lineup allowing the Braves to score two or three runs off of Cole Hamels to win the game.
- The Mets over the Astros: After looking at the Mets' box score yesterday, the first thought was, "who are these guys?" The trouble is, the same can be said for the Astros' lineup. Jon Niese over J.A. Happ.
- The Indians over the White Sox: You have to like the way Chris Sale is pitching for the White Sox. But the feeling here is that Ubaldo Jimenez has a good outing and out pitches Sale. Not overly confident of this pick.
- The Cardinals over the Pirates: The Cardinals are holding steady despite some injuries. Charlie Morton will get his share of hitters to pound the ball into the dirt, but Adam Wainwright is going to win his first game of the season today.
- The Dodgers over the Rockies: This one will depend on how well Ted Lilly's stuff translates at Coors Field. But Kemp and company should score their share against Jhoulys Chacin.
- The Brewers over the Padres: The Brewers are familiar with Edinson Volquez and should score. Though the first two spots in the lineup of Weeks and Morgan really need to get going. Braun can't do it all by himself. Well, he did yesterday. But anyway, Shaun Marcum will be good enough to win.
- The Angels over the Twins: It seems the Twins just keep sending Francisco Liriano out there to teach him a lesson. It's such an odd thing. Jerome Williams with the win.
- The Marlins over the Giants: Ricky Nolasco loves pitching in California and his record at AT&T Park shows it. Matt Cain won't be easy though.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Bay Rays over the Mariners: If the M's could not win with Felix Hernandez yesterday, they won't win with Hector Noesi today. Matt Moore gets his first win of the season.
Yesterday: 8-3
Week: 14-12
April: 189-149
Games of the Day: 15-10
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