Game Picks - Friday: June 15, 2012

The game picks had another pretty good night. The Padres - Mariners game was the swing game as the last one to finish. And for a while it seemed that neither team was going to score. The Padres eventually won the game, 7-1, and that pushed the day into the pretty good category. Of the incorrect picks, two were improbable sweeps as the Reds finished off the Indians and the Royals finished off the Brewers. The two other incorrect picks were the Pirates as Erik Bedard had nothing to stop that rolling Orioles team, and the Twins as Scott Diamond couldn't stop Jim Thome and company.

Interleague play continues this weekend and this picker cannot complain this year. During this current interleague run of games, the picks are 58-32, which is pretty sweet. That is 64.4 percent success rate. Last year, interleague play killed the picks. Ah, it's all probably luck either way.  Friday's picks:

• The Red Sox over the Cubs: The Red Sox lose the DH and have to face Ryan Dempster who has been terrific at Wrigley. And Dempster can use this game as a showcase for trade possibilities with Boston. But the feeling here is that Daisuke Matsuzaka gets his first win of the season.
• The Tigers over the Rockies: First, the Rockies are a horrible road team. Second, they are starting Jeff Francis. Third, Casey Crosby as a lefty should neutralize several Rockies' bats.
• The Yankees over the Nationals: Two of the hottest teams in baseball. Gio Gonzalez has been a real ace for the Nats. But he is 1-4 lifetime against the Yankees with an ERA over 7.00. The Yankees love lefties. The one caveat of this pick is Phil Hughes. You can't keep throwing 90 percent fastballs and continue to win.
• The Indians over the Pirates: Tough game to call. The Indians just got swept by the Reds and James McDonald may be the best Pirates' pitcher. But Justin Masterson should be the difference in this game. McDonald will give up at least two or three runs. Masterson could hold the Pirates to a run if he is on his game.
• The Blue Jays over the Phillies: The Blue Jays continue to be one of the most baffling of teams. Drew Hutchison has been decent and may hold the Phillies down. Though Jim Thome is hot and interleague allows him to DH. Vance Worley goes for the Phillies in his second game back from an elbow scare.
• The Mets over the Reds: Believe it or not, this should be a pitcher's duel. Dillon Gee is great at Citi Field and Bronson Arroyo's proclivity to give up homers will be mitigated there. Both teams are coming off series sweeps of their opponents. 
• The Braves over the Orioles: The Braves were just swept by the Yankees. The Orioles series will seem like a playoff series to them. Tommy Hanson has been much better but will need to keep the Orioles inside the park. Brian Matusz can be either very good or not so good depending on the outing.
• The Rangers over the Astros: Get used to this series as next year, it will happen a lot. The Rangers have been in a bit of a funk lately. Look for them to break out against Jordan Lyles. Yu Darvish has to be considered a disappointment so far this season, doesn't he?
• The Twins over the Brewers: The Brewers are reeling of late and Yovani Gallardo has been decent. A lot will depend on Francisco Liriano, whose streak of good pitching ended in the sixth inning of his last outing against the Cubs.
• The Cardinals over the Royals: The I-70 series is usually a fun one for their fans of these two teams. The Royals are having fun lately. This prognosticator can't see Kyle Lohse losing to Vin Mazzaro though.
• The Angels over the Diamondbacks: The Los Angeles Trouts should win behind Dan Haren and over Trevor Cahill.
• The Padres over the Athletics: In the battle of California lineup black holes, Anthony Bass just seems like a more solid pick than Travis Blackley.
• The Dodgers over the White Sox: What a pitching match up! Clayton Kershaw against Chris Sale! This should be fun to watch. Have to go with Kershaw at home though.
• The Giants over the Mariners: Ryan Vogelsong shouldn't have too much trouble with the Mariners' lineup. And the Giants should score three or four off of Jason Vargas.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Bay Rays over the Marlins: The Marlins never seem to win anything in this cross- Florida series. Carlos Zambrano had a lame back in his last outing. Matt Moore found his footing in his last start and may be poised to start a streak of great starts.

Yesterday: 7-4

Week: 37-23

Month: 107-78

Season: 509-419

Games of the Day: 41-28