MLB Game Picks - Thursday: April 24, 2014

Let's tally the damage. The Tigers pick was going well until they gave up an eighth inning grand slam. The Rockies were tied with the Giants and in extra innings when they too gave up a grand slam. The Angels had a lead going into the ninth and Frieri does what he does best and gave up four runs to lose it. The Cubs were winning, 5-2 on their Wrigley birthday party bash. They gave up five runs in the ninth. Poof. By my count, that is at least four games which if it wasn't for relief pitching would have given me eleven correct picks. But I did not get eleven correct picks.

I still refuse to believe Aaron Harang is this good.

There are eleven games on the schedule tonight. Imagine all the things that could happen this time! 

The picks:

• The Indians over the Royals: I rarely pick Bruce Chen on the road. At home, yeah. Road, no. Corey Kluber is a solid MLB pitcher.
• The Pirates over the Reds: The Pirates need a win here. Brandon Cumpton is back from the minors and I'm not sure why he did not make the team in the first place. He is solid with excellent control. Tony Cingrani has that silly streak of five or less hits, but if he gives up four runs in four innings, does it all become meaningless?
• The Tigers over the White Sox: It seems once again that the Tigers are going to toy with the AL Central all year. They never win as often as they seem like they should. Look for a good outing by Max Scherzer and a low scoring game with Jose Quintana.
• The Rays over the Twins: This pick was wrong yesterday. So, it is hard to be confident, especially with Erik Bedard on the mound. I just never know what to expect from Ricky Nolasco.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: A steady diet of Bartolo Colon fastballs does not sound like a good thing for the Mets. They should wreak Shrek. Lance Lynn is already 4-0. But we have seen this before, haven't we?
• The Cubs over the Diamondbacks: Keep Pedro Strop out of this game and we're cool. Edwin Jackson is never fun to pick.  Mike Bolsinger has strikeouts, but not much else going for him.
• The Nationals over the Padres: I do feel pretty good about this pick. Jordan Zimmermann should be fine at home and beat the Padres and Eric Stults.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Yeah, it did not work out yesterday. But I do like Drew Hutchison today much better than I like Bud Norris. Norris always finds a way to lose a game.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Poor Brett Oberholtzer. He keeps pitching great and will end up 0-17 or something. Scoll Kazmir has his best Led Zeppelin vibe going on right now. Wo-0h wo-oh.
• The Dodgers over the Phillies: Dan Haren is 3-0, which is pretty scary. Why? Because you don't expect him to be 3-0 and expect it to continue. The other option is picking Kyle Kendrick. Not a bad pick, but the Dodgers should win.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Red Sox over the Yankees: CC Sabathia NEVER pitches well at Fenway. They kill him every time. Felix Doubront has to be Dr. Jekyll today instead of Mr. Hyde for the Red Sox to win.

Yesterday: 7-8, Games of the Day: 10-10, Season: 183-136