MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 15, 2014

I almost had a perfect night. I was 7-0 with one game suspended and the Angels, which I picked over the A's had a one run lead heading into the last inning. A one-out pinch hit homer by Jaso off of Frieri later, and the pick went bye-bye. I was that close.

Oh well. Even so, the picks are 27-10 over the last three days, so that is a pretty good run.

There are sixteen games to pick today. They have to finish the Reds - Pirates game, which was suspended. Here are the picks:

• The Pirates over the Reds: The Pirates have the better bullpen, so I will lean towards them in a short game.
• The Phillies over the Braves: It seemed like the Phillies just handed the game ot the Braves last night. Weird. Tonight might be different. Cliff Lee usually pitches well against the Braves and young David Hale is having command issues.
• The Yankees over the Cubs: Masahiro Tanaka should have no issues with the Cubs' lineup and the only issue is whether the Yankees can solve Jason Hammel, something they have struggled with in the past.
• The Bay Rays over the Orioles: I like Jake Odorizzi in this one much more than I like Miguel Gonzalez.
• The Tigers over the Indians: The Indians never seem to beat the Tigers. So that is the way I am leaning here. Anibal Sanchez goes for the Tigers and Zach McAllister goes for the Indians.
• The Pirates over the Reds: Gerrit Cole has been pitching really well and Mike Leake is always a puzzle to me. Will Leake win? Depends. Ha!
• The Nationals over the Marlins: I keep picking Stephen Strasburg like he is infallible. But I usually get disappointed. Still, if he does his thing and strikes out ten or more, he should win over Tom Koehler.
• The Rangers over the Mariners: When did it go from Robbie Ross to Robert Ross, Jr.? Anyway, the only reason I am picking Ross is because the Mariners are pitching Blake Beavan.
• The Red Sox over the White Sox: Jake Peavy goes back to Chicago and should pitch well there. He faces Erik Johnson, the kind of young pitcher the Red Sox usually munch up to mulch.
• The Brewers over the Cardinals: I don't know what ails Shelby Miller, but he has not been the same guy as he was early last year. I expect the Brewers to strike here and have a good performance at home by Marco Estrada.
• The Blue Jays over the Twins: Good old Phil Hughes has brought his homer-prone ways with him to the Twins. That is not a good thing against the Blue Jays. Brandon Morrow's last start was encouraging.
• The Mets over the Diamondbacks: If the Dbacks lose a second straight to the lowly Mets, then stuff is going to start hitting the fan. Jenrry Mejia has the kind of stuff to win and should be better than Bronson Arroyo.
• The Angels over the Athletics: Let's try this again, shall we? Garrett Richards has become really good and Dan Straily is just okay. If those two things hold true, the Angels should win.
• The Padres over the Rockies: I like Robbie Erlin quite a bit and so I am going with him over Juan Nicasio. This might be a mistake because Nicasio is usually pretty solid.
• The Giants over the Dodgers: I just don't believe in Josh Beckett. Then again, it is hard to believe in Tim Lincecum these days either. So who knows. The Giants are the home team.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Royals over the Astros: If Yordano Ventura becomes as good as he looks, can we call him Ace Ventura? Please? The Royals have just not gelled yet but should be able to beat Lucas Harrell.

Yesterday: 7-1, Games of the Day: 6-5, Season: 116-77