Tuesday, April 29, 2014

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: April 29, 2014

Mediocrity is my name. Monday again included a Game of the Day that turned out wrong. What's up with you, Madison Bumgarner? The Cardinals had a 3-0 lead that disappeared while they left thirteen men on base and lost. Oakland blanked the Rangers and I did not see that happening at all. This has been discouraging. Very, very discouraging.

But today is another day and it has to get better. A month from now, the Games of the Day will have a nice and healthy record and things will feel better. And heck, it might even be warm here in Maine by then.

Tuesday's picks:
  • The Mets over the Phillies: Jon Niese has pitched two straight good games against two tough teams. So I am going with him over the Phillies and Cole Hamels who never seems to get helped out by his team.
  • The Orioles over the Pirates: The Pirates are off to a really disappointing start this season. Last season seems like a long time ago. I'm going with Chris Tillman over Charlie Morton (who is 0-3).
  • The Yankees over the Mariners: Robinson Cano returns to New York and will probably hit well in his old haunt. But the Yankees will run Chris Young's pitch count up and get him to leave the game early and then the Mariners have a problem. CC Sabathia has to pitch well though. Seager is really hot for the M's.
  • The Marlins over the Braves: I have to go with Jose Fernandez at home against the Braves. He should strike out like 14 tonight with that Atlanta lineup. Alex Wood has been good though and the Marlins have to score a few.
  • The Cubs over the Reds: I still think Jeff Samardzija will out pitch Alfredo Simon. Their game was rained out yesterday.
  • The Rangers over the Athletics: Scott Kazmir and Martin Perez are a combined 7-0. One of them has to lose. I'll stubbornly keep picking the Rangers and my man, Perez.
  • The Tigers over the White Sox: Justin Verlander is not the lock he used to be. But he should be better than Jose Quintanta. Verlander better be careful to Abreu though.
  • The Dodgers over the Twins: Some of the bloom has come off of Kyle Gibson's rose recently and the Dodgers get an extra bat in the lineup, which helps them more than it helps the Twins. Zack Greinke comes back to the AL Central.
  • The Royals over the Blue Jays: I never know what either of these teams are going to do. So that makes picking their games together a nightmare. I will go with Jason Vargas over Dustin McGowan and cross my fingers I guessed right.
  • The Nationals over the Astros: Jerred Cozart has been pretty solid except for one of his starts. But I think Gio Gonzalez will have a good game with a ten-spot at least for strikeouts. The Nats losing Bryce Harper for three months does not help though.
  • The Cardinals over the Brewers: The good news for the Cardinals is that Allen Craig is coming around. The good news is that Lance Lynn is 4-1. The bad news for the Cardinals is that Kyle Lohse is coming home and knows how to pitch in St. Louis.
  • The Rockies over the Diamondbacks. Mike Bolsinger had his first good outing of the season his last time out. But it was against the Cubs. Tyler Chatwood has shown signs of figuring life out.
  • The Angels over the Indians: A lot will depend in this game on how sharp Jered Weaver is. With his 87 MPH fastball, he has to be pinpoint. Corey Kluber is one of the best of the Indians' pitchers, but Trout and Pujols are tough to beat.
  • The Giants over the Padres: This pick did not turn out so well yesterday. And Matt Cain is not nearly as good (on paper) as Bumgarner. So why pick them? I still think they are a better team than the Padres, that's why. Eric Stults goes for the Friars.
And the Game of the Day:
  • The Red Sox over the Rays: If John Lackey pitches like he did against the Yankees, this should be a walk for the Red Sox, especially with Erik Bedard pitching for the Rays.
Yesterday: 3-3, Games of the Day: 11-14, Season: 215-168

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