MLB Game Picks - Sunday: June 30, 2013

Saturday was another tepid picking day, which completed another tepid week, which nearly completed another tepid month. Bah! There were two Major League debuts by pitchers yesterday. I picked Taylor Jordan to win. He lost because his defense played like Little League behind him. I picked Kyle Gibson to lose and he won. Two more extra inning games finished the wrong way. And my zero for Eric Stults streak continued. At least the Game of the Day Pirates continued to win.

Sunday is my favorite baseball day of the week with all the day games. Here are the picks:

• The Marlins over the Padres: I picked against the Marlins yesterday and they won. I picked against Nathan Eovaldi last time and he won. So I guess somebody is trying to tell me something. Did you know the Marlins have a winning record in June? I probably picked half of them wrong. Andrew Cashner goes for the Padres.
• The Mets over the Nationals: Zack Wheeler has one problem as a pitcher: he walks people. The Nationals have one big problem on offense: they do not walk and are twelfth in the NL in that category. That makes me want to pick Wheeler over Gio Gonzalez. The bullpen is the key though for the Mets.
• The Braves over the Diamondbacks: I am not thrilled with either pitcher here in Trevor Cahill and Paul Maholm. That being the case, I will go with the home team and the Braves' bullpen.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: Look, I am sure that Charlie Morton is a great guy who works very hard at what he does. But he is a link to the old Pirates with his soft tosses and up and down pitching. I do not like him back in the Pirates' rotation. Going here with Kyle Lohse instead.
• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: With Mark Buehrle and Ryan Dempster on the mound for these two teams, this could be a shoot out. Or one of those very experienced guys can have a good day. They seem even to me. So, whenever that happens, I go with the home team.
• The Angels over the Astros: Early in the season, the Angels lost regularly to the Astros. That was then, this is now and the Angels are playing much better baseball. Josh Hamilton is doing better as is C.J. Wilson. They still aren't head and shoulders above others on their team, but their resurgence helps. Lucas Harrell goes for the Astros.
• The White Sox over the Indians: The Indians have really beat on the White Sox this entire series. But Chris Sale should slow the Indians down and salvage a game for the White Sox. If Justin Masterson comes out hot though, this pick could get dicey.
• The Twins over the Royals: This is a hard game to pick. The Royals have been playing much better and Ervin Santana has pitched pretty well. And Chick Kevin Correia is not exactly reliable. But I expect the Twins to put it together for a game and get a win in this one.
• The Reds over the Rangers: I watched Yu Darvish against the Yankees and was really confused. He threw nothing but sliders and was hardly dominant. The Reds have a better lineup than the Yankees and Mat Latos has been very good. So the pick is with the Reds.
• The Cardinals over the Athletics: Tommy Milone has had three bad starts in a row. If he turns it around in this game at home, the pick is in trouble. I am not that big a fan of Jake Westbrook either. But he finds a way to win somehow.
• The Mariners over the Cubs: Jeremy Bonderman is a true underdog and you always have to root for an underdog. I am not sure that means he will win, but at least he has a chance against the Cubs and Edwin Jackson.
• The Giants over the Rockies: The Rockies have won the last two of these and the Giants are really scuffling. But despite Drew Pomeranz's terrific numbers in Triple-A this season, his Major League history is too much for me to overcome. I would much rather take a chance on Madison Bumgarner.
• The Dodgers over the Phillies: I am not a real big Stephen Fife fan, but then again, I have never been a fan of Kyle Kendrick either. Hanley Ramirez is on fire...at least on offense. The Dodgers are playing animated baseball lately. Going with them at home.
• The Orioles over the Yankees: The Yankees have reached a new level of sadness and have lost five of their last six. Frankly, watching them every day is so disheartening because it does not look like they have any chance at all to win. Hiroki Kuroda gives them a chance, but Chris Tillman will come out on top.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Bay Rays over the Tigers: Jeremy Hellickson is not my favorite Rays' pitcher for reliability. But he has been winning lately. And I like him better at this point than Rick Porcello who has gone backwards lately.

Yesterday: 8-7

Last week: 48-41

Month: 203-190

Season: 668-539

Games of the Day: 51-37