Yesterday was a struggle from the very beginning when the Mariners blanked the Braves behind Hisashi Iwakuma in very quick order. The struggles continued all day and I was somewhat relieved to finish one game under .500 for the day. I thought it was going to be much worse. The Game of the Day notched its third success in a row. I guess I should keep picking the Yankees to lose. Ouch.
There are eleven games on the schedule today and five are getaway day games. The picks:
- The Giants over the Reds: It is taking me a while to figure out that the Giants are a a really good team. Well, duh, right? It's the every other year thing that confuses me. They were pretty terrible last year. Madison Bumgarner should be better today than Mike Leake.
- The Yankees over the Athletics: Do I dare pick the Yankees to win? They just look terrible lately. But Carlos Beltran will be back and perhaps that will help. Masahiro Tanaka is tough to beat, so perhaps that will help. Drew Pomeranz has looked very good too though.
- The Tigers over the Blue Jays: Every year the Tigers have these stretches where they look like the worst team in the Majors. They are in one of those stretches. Justin Verlander has been one of the reasons with poor pitching. But it would be a trap to expect him to stink again today and come on, J.A. Happ is not this good a pitcher.
- The Rays over the Marlins: The critical mass stage of a losing streak for the Rays has to end some time. Jake Odorizzi isn't exactly the guy who I would think would break the streak, but perhaps they will be inspired to play and win to honor Don Zimmer. Jacob Turner goes for the Marlins.
- The Mets over the Cubs: Jacob deGrom has pitched four games in the Majors and they have all been very well pitched. But he cannot buy a win. So today, he will either break through or have a clunker of a start. I am going with the former. The Mets hit lefties better than the other way around and thus, I am picking against Travis Wood.
- The Angels over the Astros: Each team has picked up a win in this series and I think the rubber match will go to the Angels behind Tyler Skaggs. I just trust him more than Brad Peacock.
- The Orioles over the Rangers: There is nothing flashy about Chris Tillman. His stuff nor his numbers will never blow you away. He just wins a lot, so you can't mess with that. And he has pitched really well in Arlington which is strange. These days, Colby Lewis' heart is larger than his remaining talent.
- The Brewers over the Twins: The Twins are pesky aren't they? They win a lot more than you would think and I had them wrong again yesterday. But gosh, Kevin Correia? No, I can't go there. Wily Peralta for the win.
- The Cardinals over the Royals: Yordano Ventura scares me every time no matter how I pick him. He has lost four straight and hasn't looked good. But his arm is capable of taking over a game and that's the rub. Michael Wacha is much more refined, so that's the pick.
- The Rockies over the Diamondbacks: The Diamondbacks have exploded in this series. Or has the Rockies' pitching imploded? It could be a combination. Despite all that, I have picked against the D-backs each day. And I will today simply because Bronson Arroyo at Coors sounds incendiary. Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
And the Game of the Day:
- The Nationals over the Phillies: Now that he has been healthy, Doug Fister has been everything the Nationals hoped he would be. The Phillies are a bad team that needs to be broken up and Kyle Kendrick is 1-5.
Yesterday: 7-8, June: 29-24, Games of the Day: 29-32, Season: 485-401
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