Yesterday's picks see-sawed all day and after all the day games were done, the last game of the day would determine if it was a negative day or a positive day. I had the Angels with that pick and they held a 3-0 lead after five innings. It wasn't to be though as the Angels' starter and then a bunch of relief pitchers all stumbled and the Braves scored seven unanswered runs. Oh well.
At least the Game of the Day feature is more than a game over .500 for the first time in over a month. That's progress.
Monday's picks:
- The Indians over the Angels: Both starters in this one have had trouble avoiding the long ball and whichever of Trevor Bauer and Jared Weaver can keep the ball in the park will win. I give the Indians the edge at home as their offense is coming around now.
- The Tigers over the Royals: I am torn on this one and part of it, I think, is my natural instinct to root for the underdog Royals to beat the Tigers for the division. The reality is that one of the few clunkers Jason Vargas has thrown this year in his very good season was against the Tigers and Justin Verlander can't really be as bad as his season has shown thus far.
- The Orioles over the Rays: The Rays keep throwing Jake Odorizzi out there and it hasn't worked out too well for either the team or the pitcher. That Odorizzi faces a tough lineup in Baltimore won't help. Wei-Yin Chen should win this one. Evan Longoria is heating up again though.
- The Marlins over the Cubs: Tom Koehler did not have a good June and his ERA rose a full run over that time. Home cooking and a weak-hitting Cubs should help. Jason Hammel continues to audition for a team who wants him for the stretch run.
- The Red Sox over the Twins: The Red Sox should have a nice batting practice session with Twins' starter, Kevin Correia. Rubby De La Rosa has had a bit of trouble after his first good start, but he should be okay against the Twins.
- The Braves over the Phillies: Cole Hamels has been on a bit of a roll but the Braves will score enough as Julio Teheran should shut down the Phillies, which isn't hard to do these days.
- The Cardinals over the Mets: I don't like either choice in this game. Jacob deGrom cannot get any run support and despite the young pitcher holding his own, he is 0-3. Also 0-3 is the Cardinals' starter, Carlos Martinez, who hasn't started all season. He isn't blowing people away like last year as a reliever, will he suddenly do so as a starter? Unlikely, but the Mets are terrible these days.
- The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: Brandon McCarthy is 1-9 and it isn't because of luck. He has given up five runs in three of his last four starts. Meanwhile, Wily Peralta has won two straight after losing three in a row and has already beaten the D-Backs once this year.
- The Dodgers over the Rockies: Tyler Matzek had a really good MLB debut made even more impressive by doing it at Coors Field. You would think he'd do even better at Dodgers Stadium. But I think the Dodgers will score three runs off him and that will be enough for Hyun-jin Ryu.
- The Padres over the Mariners: Tyson Ross has had a very good season hidden by the poor play of the Padres. The Mariners have not been hitting, which will help his cause. The Yankees blew up Chris Young his last time out so his mystique at home went out the window.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Oakland Athletics over the Texas Rangers: The A's are really a good team that plays solidly and seems to have great chemistry. They just destroyed the Yankees this weekend. And Drew Pomeranz has been very encouraging thus far. Colby Lewis will not be able to slow these guys down and if Josh Donaldson heats up again, look out.
Yesterday: 7-8, June: 112-96, Games of the Day: 37-35, Season: 565-477
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