MLB Game Picks - Friday: June 6, 2014

Yesterday was pretty bad as the picks tanked heavily on the negative side. The Rockies pitching got tanked the entire series with the Diamondbacks. The Marlins continue to surprise while the Rays and Tigers continue to lose. The Marlins are now tied for first place in the NL East. Imagine that! The Blue Jays faced two great teams in a row and won every single game. That is quite impressive. If only the picks reflected those results.

At least the Game of the Day is trying desperately to make a comeback and was correct for the fourth straight day.

Friday's picks:

• The Cubs over the Marlins: Yes, I know what I just typed above. But here me out. Jason Hammel has pitched extremely well and should be a great pickup by someone in a trade deadline deal. Nathan Eovaldi is better at home than on the road. This is one of those Friday afternoon games at Wrigley.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: Kyle Lohse's season has been very much overlooked. The guy just knows how to pitch. He doesn't have much stuff, so if he misses location he could get stuffed. That is the risk. Brandon Cumpton doesn't yet look ready for prime time.
• The Athletics over the Orioles: Can you pick against the Orioles on most nights? Wei-Yin Chen would bother a lot of teams in his own division. But the A's hit lefties well. Tommy Milone should have a good night as well.
• The Blue Jays over the Cardinals: Heck, the Blue Jays have annihilated the competition thus far. I think they will hit two dingers off of Lance Lynn and Marcus Stroman will continue to say hello to the Major Leagues.
• The Red Sox over the Tigers: The Tigers are down and The Emoticon, Drew Smyly has not been very good. Rubby De La Rosa, on the other hand, was really impressive in his first start.
• The Reds over the Phillies: Did Cole Hamels do bad things as a child? He never gets a break. For example, today he faces one of the hottest pitchers in baseball in Johnny Cueto. Good luck with that. Oh wait, Hamels doesn't have good luck.
• The Bay Rays over the Mariners: The Red Sox snapped their losing streak at ten, so the thinking here is that the Rays will too. Chris Young has a 0.87 WHIP at home and 1.400 on the road. Erik Bedard gets it done.
• The Rangers over the Indians: The Indians have been on a big roll and the success of Trevor Bauer has been a big reason. But they and he run into Yu Darvish tonight. Sorry about that.
• The Twins over the Astros: I still worry about Phil Hughes and the long ball and with George Springer and now Jon Singleton, that could be a factor in this one. But if he keeps it in the park, Hughes will be better than Dallas Keuchel in a close game.
• The Yankees over the Royals: With Beltran and Teixeira back, the Yankees will break out tonight from there "score two-run" blues. Jeremy Guthrie has never had much success against them. Chase Whitley is getting stretched out further and further and has been stingy in giving up runs.
• The Rockies over the Dodgers: I love how I keep blindly picking the Rockies despite the fact that their pitching has been awful. Eddie Butler is being brought up from Double-A, and that would be enough to scare me. But he does not give up homers. That would work. Can you believe that Hyun-jin Ryu has never pitched at Coors?
• The Angels over the White Sox: If Jered Weaver can stay away from Jose Abreu's bat barrel, he should be okay in this one. Andre Rienzo has been pretty good, but the Angels have all their bats back.
• The Nationals over the Padres: The Nats have started to gel and Tanner Roark is a lot better than his record indicates. The NL East is still wide open. Tyson Ross has had some nice games for the Padres. But will he get any run support?
• The Giants over the Mets: The pitching match-up of Jon Niese and Matt Cain favors the Mets, but the Giants always find a way to win.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Braves over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs have scored about a hundred runs in their last three games at Coors. They have to be tired. They did not face anyone like Julio Teheran while there. Brandon McCarthy is not fooling anyone this season.

Yesterday: 4-7 (ugh), June: 33-31, Games of the Day: 30-32, Season: 489-408