Game Picks - Sunday: July 8, 2012

Was that fair? Yesterday's post indicated that the Game of the Day feature was on a five day losing streak. So after carefully considering which game was the best lock for being correct, the feature settled on Zack Greinke and the Brewers. You probably heard how that went. Greinke faced two batters, the second of which grounded to first. Greinke raced over and took the throw and thought he beat the runner. But the umpire called the runner safe. Greinke threw the ball down in disgust and was promptly thrown out of the game. Of course, with 27 outs to be recorded by the Brewers' bullpen (not their strong suit), the Brewers lost and now the feature has a six game losing streak. Never mind that the day went 12-4 otherwise. It is that one thing that will stick in the craw all day.

Alas, with the All Star Break, today is the last day of games until Friday. Whatever will this picker do with his time? Not watch the Home Run Derby, that's for sure. With one last gasp before the break, here are today's picks:

• The Tigers over the Royals: Max Scherzer is finally starting to put it together. That is good news for the Tigers. But it is not good news for the Royals and Everett Teaford, who has been respectable for his team as a starter.
• The Bay Rays over the Indians: More of a pick for James Shields than anything else. He is not as good as last year, but good enough to be the Indians. Zach McAllister has been good for the Indians since joining the rotation. The Rays should score three or four off of him though.
• The Mets over the Cubs: Jonathon Niese is a very good pitcher. Ryan Dempster was having a great season until he got hurt. The Cubs still want to trade him and will hope he will resume his great first half. Which pitcher cracks first?
• The Phillies over the Braves: The team from Philadelphia sneaks out a win to end this series. Vance Worley will bounce back from his bad start and Jair Jurrjens' gaudy ERA since returning from the minors cannot be backed up by a good FIP.
• The Nationals over the Rockies: Every day, the Nationals throw a quality pitcher at you. What a great job Rizzo has done with that team. Today it is Jordan Zimmermann's turn. Jeremy Guthrie will probably keep the Rockies in the game.
• The Pirates over the Giants: The first place Pirates. Kinda like the sound of that. A.J. Burnett bounces back from his last start and Tim Lincecum will have that one inning that will keep people scratching their heads.
• The Brewers over the Astros: Oh yeah, this is a fun game to pick. Where the Brewers' starter is supposed to be on the schedule is a big fat, TBO. So who will it be? Will Greinke come back and pitch? Not with the All Star thing coming up. Jordan Lyles goes for the Astros and will lose to somebody.
• The Blue Jays over the White Sox: Dylan Axelrod will pitch in three days rest so Chris Sale can be fresh for the All Star Game. Does anyone else see something wrong with that picture? Excuse this Fan, White Sox brass, but this game counts. Brett Cecil goes for the Blue Jays. Always wanted to write a recap for Cecil if he happened to hit someone with a pitch. Then the headline could be, "Beanie and Cecil."
• The Cardinals over the Marlins: Joe Kelly never gives up more than three runs a start. The Cardinals average scoring four runs a game. That is a pretty good recipe for this pick. Enigma: Anibal Sanchez will go for the Marlins who have lost Giancarlo Stanton.
• The Orioles over the Angels: Wei-Lyn Chen is just a darn good pitcher. And he faces Brad Mills. That's right. That Brad Mills.
• The Reds over the Padres: Johnny Cueto will win his tenth game and thumb his nose at Tony La Russa for not picking him in the All Star Game. Jason Marquis might keep it close.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: Can we put an end to this series already? Sheesh, Felix Hernandez will pitch great. Bartolo Colon will either be great or awful as he knows no middle ground.
• The Rangers over the Twins: Was not a fan of the Rangers signing Roy Oswalt. And his results have borne that out. But the Rangers have still won two of those three starts. And Cole De Vries does not do it for this picker.
• The Yankees over the Red Sox: A lot depends on Jon Lester. Ivan Nova will pitch a good game. If the Yankees can get to Lester early, they will win. If not and Lester gets on a roll, then this pick will look stupid.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: Okay. Trevor Bauer is not impressing this picker very much and he can't get along with his catcher. Guess which one will win that battle. That's right. Miguel Montero. Chris Capuano gets the win.

Yesterday: 12-4

Last week: 56-45

Month: 56-45

Season: 688-561

Games of the Day: 53-39