MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 22, 2014

So yesterday, I am sitting at 9-3 heading into the Game of the Day, which was a lock. There was no way that Felix Hernandez is going to lose to the .194 batting Houston Astros, right? Right? Come on, now. That pick was a lock. That pick was one of the surest of the season. Which just goes to show you what a great game baseball is because on any given night, truly, anything can happen.

We are back to a full schedule tonight (alas, no day games). Here are Tuesday's picks:

• The Angels over the Nationals: I get a terrible vibe watching the Nationals. I don't know what it is. On the other hand, the Angels are playing like they have nothing to lose and getting good pitching is key. As such, I like Tyler Skaggs a lot. And so far, Taylor Jordan has not been very impressive.
• The Pirates over the Reds: How does Pittsburgh turn around bad pitchers so well? Edinson Volquez has looked great. Johnny Cueto is capable of a shutdown game at any time though. So this pick depends on which pitcher comes out hot.
• The Royals over the Indians: James Shields has been much better than people think. And he should be a better pick than Danny Salazar who has been striking out like ten batters in four or five innings, but gets losses while he is at it.
• The Blue Jays over the Orioles: Okay, this pick is a trap and I recognized it. R.A. Dickey has been terrible and that would make me pick the Orioles, and then the Blue Jays would win and I would be feeling stupid. Too bad I'm smarter than that. Miguel Gonzalez goes for the O's.
• The Tigers over the White Sox. The Tigers have not been playing well. Has Miguel Cabrera forgotten how to hit? Anyway, they should win this one. Justin Verlander should win at home and Charlie Leesman has never shown command whether in the Majors or the Minors.
• The Braves over the Marlins: The Braves just keep rolling along somehow. They are fortunate to get Jose Fernandez on the road and not at home. And Alex Wood has been terrific.
• The Bay Rays over the Twins: David Price should bounce back after his last start against the Yankees and Kyle Gibson can't win all of his starts, can he?
• The Red Sox over the Yankees: If Masahiro Tanaka has a great splitter tonight, he should neutralize David Ortiz. But that doesn't mean he will. And Jon Lester has been very good. That means the game might be decided by the bullpen and there the Red Sox are much better.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: The Cards got smoked last night by Mejia. And they face another tough pitcher in Dillon Gee tonight. But Adam Wainwright is supposed to come up big in games like this. It's his job.
• The Cubs over the Diamondbacks: This worked yesterday proving that the DBacks might be the worst team in the NL. So let's pile on, shall we? It's the American Way. Jason Hammel over Brandon McCarthy.
• The Brewers over the Padres: Yovani Gallardo is usually money at his home park and the Padres are really struggling on offense. So I think they win no matter how well Ian Kennedy pitches.
• The Giants over the Rockies: This one is tough. Madison Bumgarner has an ERA over four at Coors but has won four out of eight decisions there. Franklin Morales has pitched four times and his only bad start was his one start at home. So there you go.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: Nick Martinez looks like a really good pitcher. So let's go with that because Tommy Milone is simply a pitcher I have never had much success picking over the years.
• The Mariners over the Astros: Collin McHugh gets the start for the Astros and he has never shown any ability to get Major League hitters out. Sure, it's a small sample size, but you have to show me to make me believe. Erasmo Ramirez with the win.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Dodgers over the Phillies: I really like Hyun-jin Ryu at home against the Phillies in this one. A.J. Burnett was pretty filthy in his last start. But can he do it twice in a row?

Yesterday: 9-4, Games of the Day: 9-9, Season: 168-121