MLB Game Picks - Saturday: June 8, 2013

Andrea did her thing and the three games I said were in jeopardy yesterday were all washed out. The mini-monsoon is now directly over my head here in Maine washing out yet another weekend. That is bad for me, but good for the rest of the East Coast I suppose.

The picks were decent. The only game that seriously torqued me was the Yankees loss to the Mariners. Not that I begrudge the Mariners as their fans can use a win once in a while. But the Yankees single-handedly prolonged the career of Jeremy Bonderman and were pathetic in becoming a trivia quiz question for him. How did they do it? Their pull-happy ways allowed Bonderman to pitch outside and let the Yankees make their own outs. Compare their performance with the Cardinals who always go opposite field with runners on base. All of the Yankees outs except for three against Bonderman were pulled.

Okay, rant over. Saturday's picks:

• The Red Sox over the Angels: These two teams will play two games today to make up yesterday's washout. The pitching line is the same as yesterday with Felix Doubront facing Tommy Hanson. Whatever Doubront gives up will be made up by the Red Sox' offense.
• The Rangers over the Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle has been much better of late, but Yu Darvish--and this is the caveat--if he is on, will shut down the Blue Jays.
• The Mets over the Marlins: The pitching line will be the same as yesterday's. The extra day benefits both Jose Fernandez and Matt Harvey as they are both young pitchers thrust into Major League rotations. Harvey is the more reliable however and that is the pick.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: Jeff Samardzija and A.J. Burnett are both 3-6 and both deserve a far better record. Both should pitch well with Samardzija pitching just a little bit tighter. Poor A.J.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Justin Masterson has pitched fourteen times against the Tigers and is 2-6 with an ERA of 5.09 and a WHIP of 1.712. Ouch. He never seems to pitch that well against them. That said, he is better this year than in the past. The difference for me here is that Rick Porcello is pitching well and the Tigers are at home. The Tigers' bullpen, however, is a mess.
• The Bay Rays over the Orioles: This game could go either way. Neither starter is impressive as Jeremy Hellickson is a five inning pitcher and Kevin Gausman has an ERA over seven. The pick goes to the Rays because they are home and it could be an ugly, high-scoring game.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: This pick is more hopeful than smart. Andy Pettitte has not been great and the Yankees have managed just six hits over their last fifteen innings. Joe Saunders is exactly the kind of pitcher that takes advantage of the Yankees pull-happy ways. But the pick is still the Yankees.
• The Athletics over the White Sox: Can you pick the White Sox these days the way they are playing? Conversely, can you pick against the A's at this point the way they are playing? Both answers are no. Tommy Milone over John Danks.
• The Red Sox over the Angels: That's right, folks, I am predicting a sweep. Clay Buchholz will shut down the Angels with his excellent repertoire and the Red Sox will hit wall balls off of C.J. Wilson.
• The Royals over the Astros: The only way the Royals lose this game is if Ervin Santana gives up four homers. But Santana is very capable of doing that. The Royals better score some runs off of Erik Bedard just in case.
• The Phillies over the Brewers: This pick is seriously difficult. Good old Tom Gorzelanny makes another spot start in a career full of them. He always does a decent job in them. That left arm helps. Kyle Kendrick is Kyle Kendrick and either his batted balls will find gloves as usual, or they won't and he will look bad...along with this pick.
• The Rockies over the Padres: MLB.com does not list a Rockies' pitcher. Both ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports says that Jeff Francis will pitch. Either way, it does not matter as the Rockies are killing the ball and will score another eight to ten runs off of Eric Stults and company.
• The Cardinals over the Reds: I know that Mat Latos is really good. But after watching the Cardinals yesterday, I do not know how they ever lose a ballgame. The fact that Tyler Lyons throws from the left side does not matter much to the Reds, however, because they do equally well against either. I just think the Cardinals are the better team right now. Their bullpen scares me though.
• The Dodgers over the Braves: Kris Medlen was much better in his last start. But the Dodgers are on a roll as Puig has put a spark in them. I do not know how long it will last, but it will carry at least into today. The only reservation is their starting pitcher of Barney Stephen Fife.
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: One of the Giants' starters needs to come up big. Madison Bumgarner is a guy who can do that. Trevor Cahill has been better in the last month or so, but can still be had. The D-backs are good. But the Giants are not rollovers.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Nationals over the Twins: Again, same match-up as yesterday was supposed to be. Gio Gonzalez and Kevin Correia. These two teams will make up their lost game tomorrow. The Twins lose their DH, which for them is a big deal.

Yesterday: 7-5

Week: 42-36

Month: 52-40

Season: 515-390

Games of the Day: 41-25