Remember last year when the Baltimore Orioles were 16-2 in extra inning games? The Game Picks are the anti-Orioles. A game going into extra innings is the kiss of death for the picks. Whenever it happens, the team I picked against wins. Yesterday it was the Twins and the Pirates. Monday it was the Astros. Sunday it was the Cubs and Mariners. If it goes into extra innings, the pick is dead.
The Game of the Day got rained out. The way that feature has gone this past two weeks, that was probably a good thing. The wrong team was up by two runs when the rains came. I think I will be glad when May is over. It really has been a struggle.
Oh well. I have to keep going. So here are Wednesday's picks:
- The Cubs over the White Sox: Scott Feldman has been pitching really well and John Danks is making only his second start back from the disabled list.
- The Red Sox over the Phillies: This series shifts to the NL park which leaves a quandary with David Ortiz. But John Lackey has looked really good of late and if he can get through the early innings, he could be the difference. Kyle Kendrick can baffle the Red Sox if he is on.
- The Indians over the Reds: This is another series that shifts to the AL park. Justin Masterson is the Indians' pitcher capable of shutting down the Reds. He is kind of hit-or-miss though with his outings. Bronson Arroyo faces a good lineup in Cleveland.
- The Tigers over the Pirates: Once again, I find myself picking against A.J. Burnett and I hate to as I like the guy. Anibal Sanchez is having a great season though and the Tigers losing Victor Martinez as there is no DH is not that big a deal as he is not having a good season anyway.
- The Yankees over the Mets: The subway series shuffles to the Bronx and that should help the Yankees. The retreat lineup of theirs, however, is starting to wilt and their lack of patience at the plate has become glaring. They have a .290 on-base percentage in May. I do like David Phelps over Jeremy Hefner though. Things get really interesting when Hafner hits a homer against Hefner.
- The Nationals over the Orioles: The Nats without Bryce Harper are missing something on offense that they need badly. But Jordan Zimmermann has been my guy for three years now. I believe he shuts the Orioles down and the Nats get enough off of Chris Tillman to win.
- The Braves over the Blue Jays: The Jays lose the DH and their pitchers are dropping like flies. They are reduced to starting journeymen like Esmil Rogers. Good luck with that. The Braves should win behind Kris Medlen.
- The Rangers over the Diamondbacks: Brandon McCarthy has held his own against the Rangers over the years. The Rangers know him and he knows them. But the series moves to Texas and Justin Grimm has been holding his own in his first year in the rotation. The Rangers get the pick.
- The Twins over the Brewers: This is an upset pick. The series moves to Minnesota. Sam Deduno has a surprisingly good outing. The Twins get to Marco Estrada and get the win.
- The Cardinals over the Royals: Oh, Royals fans, May has not been kind to you. And you keep getting one great Cardinal home grown pitcher after another in this series. Lance Lynn shuts them down...again. Luis Mendoza gets roughed up by the amped-up Cardinals' lineup. This is not pretty.
- The Rockies over the Astros: I have picked against Tyler Chatwood three times and he is 3-0. His 1.92 ERA with a 1.39 WHIP does not compute. But he is facing the Astros, so I guess I ought to pick him. It is not like Erik Bedard is a good alternative.
- The Angels over the Dodgers: Jered Weaver is making his first start back from the DL and if you know me, I never go with that kind of situation. But, gosh, it is Jered Weaver! Not only that, but he faces Chris Capuano. The Dodgers have taken the first two of this battle of LA.
- The Padres over the Mariners: I am still zero for Eric Stults this season. I think he will have a good game at home against the M's. Joe Saunders should enjoy pitching at Petco too though. It will be either a close one or one of the pitchers will be unexpectedly bad. Who knows.
- The Giants over the Athletics: The A's have certainly had their way so far. But the series shifts to San Francisco. The one reservation is Tim Lincecum. There is no way of knowing how he will do. Tommy Milone goes for the A's.
And the Game of the Day!
- The Bay Rays over the Marlins: The Marlins have scored eleven runs the last two days, which is a lot for them and they are still 0-2 in those games. Ramon Hernandez is not that great, but he will be better than Tom Koehler and the Rays will win.
Yesterday: 7-6
Week: 24-20
Month: 213-165
Season: 442-327
Games of the Day: 35-21
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