The week ended badly yesterday on a brutal Saturday for the Game Picks. The picks started 3-0 and then 4-1 during the day and then went 2-9 in a bloody evening. The lame finish put a tepid spin on the week that after 95 games predicted, the week ended up just three games over the .500 mark. Not good. And the Game of the Day feature is back to struggling too. Once again, it goes to show that you cannot predict baseball. All you can do is guess and ride the wind.
Perhaps Sunday will be a better day. What is left of Isaac will be pushing up the Ohio Valley and affect Indiana and Illinois today. That makes the Cubs game a bit iffy, but since Chicago is further north, perhaps they will get the game in today. Other than that, it should be full blazes on the rest of the schedule. Sunday's picks:
- The Yankees over the Orioles: Holy cow, the hits on the Yankees' lineup keep coming. Now Curtis Granderson is out with a leg muscle strain. The Yankees are without Granderson, Teixeira and A-Rod. That is a big chunk of their offense. The difference maker in the game could be Phil Hughes, who is starting to arrive as a dominant and reliable pitcher for the Yankees. He is facing a tough pitcher though in Chris Tillman who made the White Sox look bad in his last start. Which pitcher will be better?
- The Rangers over the Indians: Did you realize that the Rangers' lead in the AL West is down to three games over the Oakland A's? The Rangers are just sort of spinning around and not playing great baseball. Tim Holland needs to have a good outing after his team's loss yesterday. Zach McAllister is a decent pitcher for the Indians.
- The Bay Rays over the Blue Jays: David Price is the difference in this game. Despite a rough outing last time, Price remains one of the premier pitchers in the American League. Ricky Romero righted his ship a bit in his last outing against the Yankees. So it looks like another low scoring game.
- The Marlins over the Mets: Mark Buehrle has been exactly for the Marlins as he's been for his whole career. Never spectacular, he'll give up his three or four runs a game, but never more. His wins and losses all depend on his team scoring four or five runs and they should against Chris Young.
- The Nationals over the Cardinals: Did you see that play with Bryce Harper yesterday? The kid is fearless. Stephen Stasburg had a bad outing last time. But don't let that lull you into thinking he is not going to be good today. If anyone can silence the Cards' big bats, he can. Jake Westbrook? Not so much.
- The Reds over the Astros: The Astros stole a game yesterday. Lucas Harrell was fantastic. Can Bud Norris be as good today? The Reds are too good a hitting team to have that happen two days in a row. Bronson Arroyo has quietly built a decent season after his awful one last year.
- The Twins over the Royals: Esmerling Vazquez has never started a major league game. Luis Mendoza has perhaps started too many major league games.
- The Brewers over the Pirates: Yovani Gallardo has been terrific for the last month, especially at home where he is today. The Pirates' lineup is not exactly awe-inspiring which should also help him. But James McDonald came up big last time out and could do so again today. So this pick is a tough one.
- The Giants over the Cubs: Matt Cain should win this one as he has a clear ability advantage over Travis Wood. But again, that's why you play the game.
- The Padres over the Rockies: Very tough game to decipher. Casey Kelly was great in his first start, but how will he do in Coors Field for the first time? Jeff Francis is a known entity at least and you would expect him to years from three to five runs in the game.
- The Athletics over the Red Sox: That Red Sox pick yesterday was stupid. Ugh! Can't believe that was the pick! The Red Sox are as down as a team can be. And now Pedroia is yelling at Aceves in the open? Geez. But when it comes to baseball, Brett Anderson has been nearly unhittable since he came back from the DL. Boy, does he look good. Daisuke Matsuzaka looked good in his first outing back.
- The Angels over the Mariners: This picker really likes Hisashi Iwakuma as a pitcher for the Mariners. But not against Jered Weaver, who is a great, great pitcher despite being completely unlikeable.
- The Diamondbacks over the Dodgers: As good as Wade Miley has been, consider that he has been this good pitching half his games in the dry air of Arizona! How good will be be in Dodgers Stadium? Chris Capuano's season has faded in the second half.
- The Braves over the Phillies: MLB.com lists Cliff Lee pitching for the Phillies. Uh, hello! He pitched Saturday. It can't be Lee and it can't be Halladay. Will it be Cole Hamels? If so, this pick is in trouble. Paul Maholm goes for the Braves, who really need a win.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Tigers over the White Sox: For the first time in a long time, the Game of the Day is also the most important game of the day. The Tigers are only one game behind the White Sox now and a win here will make things very interesting. Justin Verlander is a nice ace to have in such a game. Chris Sale has been great this season too, but he did not look so good in his last outing.
Yesterday: 6-10
Last week: 49-46
Month: 6-10
Season: 1094-867
Games of the Day: 81-63
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