Four games yesterday hung in the balance until the last inning. All four went the wrong way. The Nationals wasted another Jordan Zimmermann beauty and could not score more than one run and lost in extras. A.J. Burnett left with a 2-1 lead after seven. Mark Melancon allowed Houston to tie the game in the eighth and the Astros won in extras. Those freakin' Cardinals tied the game late and the game went into extra innings. The Brewers won. That is the way the day went.
Of course, I should not gloss over the fact that some stinker picks were in there too. I had the Phillies over the Reds. That pick was only off by ten runs. I thought Scott Diamond had a chance against the Red Sox. I thought way wrong. I predicted a high scoring game with the Rockies and Giants with the Giants winning. But the Rockies were the only one of the two that went high scoring.
The bottom line was a 7-8 day, an rare incorrect Game of the Day and a bummer of a week-ender after two very good days that preceded it. Sunday cleans the slate (cliche alert!) and a new week starts.
Sunday's picks:
- The Mariners over the Indians: Justin Masterson was really good against the Yankees in his last start. But he squares up against Felix Hernandez today. If the Mariners score two or three runs, they win.
- The Yankees over the Blue Jays: How can you pick this game any other way? The Blue Jays are already 1-8 against the Yankees this season and today face CC Sabathia. R.A. Dickey might make it interesting but the Yankees should complete the sweep.
- The Diamondbacks over the Marlins: And this pick is not because one of my favorites, Wade Miley, is pitching. It is because I think Miley will hold the Marlins scoreless or close to it to allow his teammates to score two or three runs off of poor Ricky Nolasco.
- The Pirates over the Astros: What kind of uniforms are the Pirates wearing lately? Are they fatigues? They must be because their offense is invisible right now. Even so, you cannot pick the Astros on a regular basis. Lucas Harrell versus Jeff Locke.
- The Braves over the Dodgers: Mike Minor does not always fill me with great confidence, but I have to go with the Braves' offense against young Matt Magill.
- The Bay Rays over the Orioles: The Rays complete the series they have dominated against the Orioles with their best pitcher, Matt Moore, taking the hill today. That should be game, set and match. Chris Tillman has been pretty good, but he is not in Moore's category.
- The Red Sox over the Twins: Can we just say that David Ortiz is incredible? How many times has he been left for dead only to come back and dominate? I do not care if Pedro Hernandez is doing well and is a lefty. The Red Sox have really killed off last year, haven't they? There is only one problem with this pick: John Lackey. Oh boy.
- The Cardinals over the Brewers: Yeah, this pick was wrong yesterday. And yeah, John Gast is pitching and I have no idea how he will do. And yeah, Kyle Lohse could come back to haunt his old team. But you see, this is what the Cardinals do to me. They lull me to sleep and then kill my pick. It is personal at this point. I know it is.
- The Cubs over the Mets: Feldman and Travis Wood have been a nice 1-2 combination lately. I bet you did not know that Wood has a 0.92 WHIP thus far after eight starts. Dillon Gee is always capable of a good game. But I think the Cubs take this one.
- The White Sox over the Angels: The Angels exploded on the scoreboard yesterday. Does that mean they take off now? Are they over the hump? Time will tell. I am too skeptical to pick Jason Vargas despite his league leading change-up. I will instead pick Jake Peavy.
- The Athletics over the Royals: The Royals' offense really confuses me. Sometimes they seem good. Other times, they seem to go in long stretches of coma-like trances. I do not get it. But the A's have Coco Crisp back and A.J. Griffin is tough in his home ballpark and Luis Mendoza seems like a bad idea to pick.
- The Rockies over the Giants: Barry Zito has a meme of pitching a couple of great games followed by a shelling. And he was shelled last time. So this should be a good outing, right? Not in Coors Field. Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
- The Nationals over the Padres: Dan Haren at least seems to get run support that Strasburg and Zimmermann never get. Grrr. So will be the case today as the Nats score five or more against Andrew Cashner and company.
- The Tigers over the Rangers: This has been a fun series of two pretty evenly matched teams. They have taken turns winning and today is the Tigers' turn. Doug Fister over Derek Holland. Miguel Cabrera should hit Holland if he gets pitched to.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Reds over the Phillies: Homer Bailey is a power pitcher whose fastball is averaging over 93 MPH this season. Why is that important here? Because the Phillies have 347 plate appearances against power pitchers and have a combined .493 OPS. Eww. Plus, I still think Jonathan Pettibone has led a charmed life thus far.
Yesterday: 7-8
Last week: 54-41
Month: 139-101
Season: 368-265
Games of the Day: 33-14
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