MLB Game Picks - Sunday: June 9, 2013

Saturday was a brutal day of picking. If you have been following along, you have seen that extra inning games kill me. They hardly ever turn out with the team I picked winning the game. Three games yesterday took an incredible 49 innings to decide the outcomes and all three ended with the picked team losing. That is amazing.

But as bad as I feel, think of poor Shaun Marcum. The Marlins and the Mets played twenty innings yesterday and Shaun Marcum was not expecting to pitch. He game in and pitched brilliantly for seven shutout innings but gave up the losing run in the 20th for his seventh loss without a win. Poor guy.

Sunday features another double-header as the Twins and Nationals make up their washed out Friday game. They played eleven innings yesterday. And so it is a big day. The picks;

• The Blue Jays over the Rangers: Can the Blue Jays sweep this series? Can Josh Johnson get his mojo back? Can Justin Grimm keep the ball in the park? Will the players fall over after playing eighteen innings yesterday?
• The Indians over the Tigers: The Tigers always seem to beat the Indians but two things prevent me from picking them. First, the Tigers are giving a spot start to young Jose Alvarez. Secondly, the Indians held back Justin Masterson for an extra day of rest to pitch today. That gives the edge to the Indians.
• The Mets over the Marlins: Let's try this again, shall we? Jonathon Niese goes against Tom Koehler. Both pitchers better go deeply into the game for their teams.
• The Red Sox over the Angels: Ryan Dempster against Joe Blanton is not a very savory match-up. Neither has been stellar this season. But Dempster has been better of late. But then again, so has Blanton. The Red Sox are at home so that is the pick.
• The Nationals over the Twins: In this first game of the double-header, my man, Jordan Zimmermann, goes against Scott Diamond. Zimmermann never gets much for run support, but he should win this game if he pitches like he usually does.
• The Royals over the Astros: The Royals have taken the first two games of the series and should finish out the sweep today. Luis Mendoza does not fill me with glee as the Royals starter. And Lucas Harrell usually keeps the Astros close.
• The Athletics over the White Sox: The White Sox came out ahead yesterday but if anything, I am stubborn. A.J. Griffin seems like an ultimately better pick than Hector Santiago. But then again, Santiago is much better than his record when you look at this closely. This pick could blow up on me.
• The Brewers over the Phillies: I cannot figure this series out and have been wrong both days. Kyle Lohse has also let me down for two straight picks. It is time for him to redeem himself. And the Brewers do some damage on Jonathan Pettibone.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: How long did the Cubs commit to Edwin Jackson? Ugh. Going with Jeff Locke for the win.
• The Braves over the Dodgers: MLB.com does not list a Dodgers' starter and lists TBO instead. Yahoo Sports lists Matt McGill. If that is the case, then the pick has to be Mike Minor because McGill was just awful his last time out.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: I might as well go all jiggy with this as the Yankees face Felix Hernandez. A Hernandez start has never guaranteed a win for the Mariners and all it does is give them a fighting chance. My pick is that David Phelps shuts down the Mariners and King Felix loses a low scoring game.
• The Rockies over the Padres: Clayton Richard is just barely passable in his spacious home backyard at Petco. Put him in Coors Field and it will not be pretty. Juan Nicasio, on the other hand, pitches there all the time and should put in a better outing.
• The Diamondbacks over the Giants: What a lousy pick this is. First Chad Gaudin starts again for the Giants. Somehow, he lasted six innings in his last start and got the win. I cannot imagine a repeat. But then again, Tyler Skaggs is young and was beat up in his last outing. Ugh.
• The Twins over the Nationals: Another doozy of a pitching line. Sam Deduno goes for the Twins and might be decent enough. But Nathan Karns does not seem ready for prime time for the Nationals either.
• The Cardinals over the Reds: Bronson Arroyo has been pitching really well of late. But he is due for a clunker. Lance Lynn has power going for him, which helps sway this pick his way.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Bay Rays over the Orioles: I like Matt Moore here at home in a match-up against Chris Tillman. Tillman rarely goes deep into games and Moore should bounce back from a bad outing last time out.

Yesterday: 6-10  ouch

Last week: 48-46

Month: 58-50

Season: 521-400

Games of the Day: 41-26