Game Picks - Tuesday: August 28, 2012

Monday was another struggle as this is turning into a tough week so far. The Padres are amazingly hot and the picks haven't gotten the message. The Yankees lost a tough game. The Rays lost a tough game with their ace, David Price, on the mound. The Dodgers lost big and once again, the Royals and Luke Hochevar were stupid picks. The Game of the Days was incorrect for the second straight day after being correct for a week straight.

Tuesday brings us back to a full schedule of games and there are aces pitching everywhere, so it should be a fun day. All the games are at night though. Boo! Tuesday's picks:

• The White Sox over the Orioles: Chris Tillman has been pitching well and of course, the Orioles are playing well. But Chris Sale is terrific and pushes the pick meter towards the Chicago White Sox.
• The Phillies over the Mets: Yes, the Phillies are making a late season push. It's too late, of course, but still. They are playing well. Vance Worley is living with bone chips in his elbow. Really wish the Phillies would shut him down and get him fixed. But even so, he is better than Chris Young, who is like eight feet tall.
• The Athletics over the Indians: If Tommy Milone is on his game, this is no contest. But that hasn't been a given lately. Zach McAllister is no slouch himself. This is going to be a tight game to the end.
• The Cardinals over the Pirates: This is tough to state, but it appears that the fun is over in Pittsburgh. The Cardinals are taking over and the Pirates are just their latest victims. Jake Westbrook over James McDonald.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: Ricky Romero has to be hurt or something. He has been bloody awful. The Yankees should jump on him early and often even without Mark Teixeira. Phil Hughes has to have a good game and has to keep the ball in the park. That is tough to do against the Blue Jays as Rafael Soriano found out last night.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: Will Ozzie Guillen get fired at the end of this season? The feeling here is yes. And the feeling is also that he should be. But never mind that, the big story here is a start by Stephen Strasburg. That is always an event, at least for this observer. Ricky Nolasco goes for the Fish and could put up a good game.
• The Brewers over the Cubs: Yovani Gallardo has gone 5-0 in his recent starts and has been terrific. The Brewers bats are hot and Travis Wood will try to quiet them. Not much hope of a Cubs win here.
• The Giants over the Astros: These are the games the Giants need to win as they try to stay ahead of the Dodgers. Matt Cain is a good place to start and should have no trouble with the Astros' lineup. Bud Norris will again make us wonder about his stuff in a losing effort.
• The Rangers over the Bay Rays: Wishful thinking? Perhaps. Perhaps it is more a thought that the Rangers will get to James Shields and that Yu Darvish will start earning his money down the stretch.
• The Mariners over the Twins: Scot Diamond has been really good for the Twins. Hisashi Iwakuma has been terrific for the Mariners. So which one wins? Flip a coin. The score will probably be 2-1 or something similar.
• The Rockies over the Dodgers: The longer the season goes on, the more this picker hates Jim Tracy's 75 pitch thing. It sure makes it hard to pick games. And in the case of Tyler Chatwood, it does not allow him to stretch and grow. But the Rockies should hit Chris Capuano in their home ballpark early and often.
• The Reds over the Diamondbacks: Johnny Cueto is gunning for a Cy Young Award. Wade Miley is gunning for the Rookie of the Year Award. Both are excellent. So who wins? The better team, of course.
• The Braves over the Padres: It is certainly difficult to pick against the Padres in this game as they are on fire and Andrew Werner looked good his last start. But Kris Medlen is a bull and the Braves hardly ever lose when he is pitching.
• The Red Sox over the Angels: Okay, so here is how this game goes. Clay Buchholz and Jered Weaver match zeroes and then it becomes a bullpen game. The Angels' bullpen stinks. The Red Sox' bullpen has been one of its strengths.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Tigers over the Royals: The Royals sure looked flat in Boston. Billy Butler and Alex Gordon keep hitting but there is not much else going on there. Justin Verlander will keep it that way. Luis Mendoza will cough up at least three runs, which is enough for the Tigers' ace.

Yesterday: 6-5

Week: 12-12

Month: 218-153

Season: 1060-833

Games of the Day: 79-60