I did not have a good day of game picking yesterday, but it was a fun night of baseball. Two rookies made their MLB pitching debuts, old friend, Nick Swisher, hit a walk-off grand slam (even if it killed that pick) and the mysterious reclamation of Scott Kazmir continued.
The only sad thing of the day was what happened to Gavin Floyd. What a horrible accident for his career, which might now be over. At least his last game was brilliant and something to put an exclamation mark on his career.
I am heading to Portland, Maine today so I can fly out to Florida tomorrow. So the next couple of days of picks could be fluff free and to the point! Friday's picks:
- The Pirates over the Cubs: How many times already this season have I had to pick between Charlie Morton and Edwin Jackson? It's a horrible choice and baseball, I don't appreciate it.
- The Nationals over the Braves: The Nats have the same problem with the Braves that the Blue Jays have in Yankee Stadium. Sooner or later, you have to be able to beat your rival at least once in a while. With Stephen Strasburg on the mound, there is no excuse. Of course, Mike Minor will try to keep the Nats scuffling against his team.
- The Yankees over the Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Which one will the Yankees get tonight? Hiroki Kuroda must keep the Orioles in the park, sometimes hard to do with those O's bangers.
- The Indians over the Tigers: Wasn't that weird yesterday when they interviewed Joe Nathan after yesterday's game and it was projected all over the stadium? That was weird and it was just one win. One win won't fix the Tigers' problems. Corey Kluber over Rick Porcello.
- The Rays over the Astros: David Price has given up a lot of home runs. The Astros are a home run or nothing ball club. So which will happen? I have to go with Price to dominate and for the Rays to scratch a few off of Jarred Cosart.
- The Marlins over the Mets: This game is a toss up. The Marlins' offense has dried up recently and the Mets never had one. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been pitching well, but is that a mirage? Henderson Alvarez has done great at home, but not last time. Questions abound...
- The White Sox over the Twins: Hector Noesi has surprised. It's not that he has been great. What is surprising is that he has not been awful. He could pitch decently enough to win over the Twins and the White Sox' power could derail Ricky Nolasco.
- The Royals over the Mariners: I am still hearing reports that Hisashi Iwakuma is having problems with his back. That makes me too nervous to pick him. Instead I'll go with Big Game James Shields with the Royals staying hot.
- The Cardinals over the Phillies: It's hard to argue with Jaime Garcia's two great road starts and I always like lefties against the Phillies. A.J. Burnett can be had, especially early in the game.
- The Rockies over the Brewers: This game could be high scoring. Or Christian Bergman can have a third straight good start and win. Either way, Marco Estrada at Coors does not make me comfortable.
- The Diamondbacks over the Giants: Except for two bad starts against the Dodgers, Josh Collmenter has pitched well. Tim Lincecum has pitched well twice in a row. This is a toss-up for me. So I'm going with the home team.
- The Athletics over the Red Sox: The A's picked up Brad Mills for a dollar. So naturally, they will make hamburger look like filet mignon. It's the A's! They are the smartest cats around. It will help that the A's face Felix Doubront who has been awful this season.
- The Angels over the Rangers: Garrett Richards is a stud. And Joe Saunders is...well...Joe Saunders. I have picked way too many home teams today. Scary.
- The Dodgers over the Padres: See? I had to pick a road win in here somewhere. So let it be Dan Haren handling the Padres while the Dodgers score four runs at least off of Ian Kennedy.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Reds over the Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are slumping and have lost nine of their last twelve. They then send Liam Hendriks out there to face the Reds in their park. Ugh. The Blue Jays lose a bat in the NL park and Mat Latos was great in his first start back from the DL.
Yesterday: 5-7, June: 142-118, Games of the Day: 39-37, Season: 595-499
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