MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: June 17, 2014

I just can't seem to put together any kind of good streak this year. For a second straight day, the picks finished a game below .500 and this time the Rangers surprised me by jumping all over Drew Pomeranz and the Oakland A's to bury the Game of the Day feature. There were two extra inning games and both went the wrong way...again. I bet if I did some research, my record in extra inning games would be like 2-40.

We are back to a full schedule today and there is even one day game, which is very unusual for a Tuesday. The picks:

• The Mariners over the Padres: Things aren't going well in San Diego and people forget that the team is under new ownership. I have a feeling that some heads are going to roll here soon. Eric Stults is having a really bad season and has given up no fewer than three runs in his last six outings with five of those more than three. Roenis Elias just has to survive this one.
• The Angels over the Indians: This is a tough one. Matt Shoemaker has been decent enough but not great. Josh Tomlin is going to give up two or three runs at least. I think Josh Hamilton is going to have something to say about this one.
• The Reds over the Pirates: Johnny Cueto has a sub-2.00 ERA and an incredible WHIP of 0.77 and yet he is only 6-5. That's pretty hard to do. He's one of the best in the NL and Brandon Cumpton is not an equal. So this pick is how things should end up.
• The Nationals over the Astros: The Astros are a swing and miss team. But when they connect, boom. And Dallas Keuchel has been very good for them. So why pick against them? For me, the Nationals are still the better team and Tanner Roark is every bit as good as Keuchel.
• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: Wow, what a match-up this is! Masahiro Tanaka is going to have to keep the ball in the yard, something he does better on the road than at home. The Blue Jays took him deep earlier in the year. Marcus Stroman, on the other hand has shown big time stuff. But can he do it consistently?
• The Tigers over the Royals: This pick did not go well yesterday as the Royals have a nice winning streak going and smacked Verlander around. I don't think they will do the same to Max Scherzer and Yordano Ventura is not consistent enough to trust yet for me.
• The Rays over the Orioles: The last two picks have featured big arms on all sides. That is not the case here as two mediocre pitchers go at it and the one who is more effective wins in Erik Bedard and Miguel Gonzalez. I'm going with the home team.
• The Marlins over the Cubs: This pick was wrong yesterday as the Marlins are tough to beat at home. And if Jeff Samardzija is on his game and gets run support, this pick could be wrong too. But that combination rarely happens together. The key is how well Anthony DeSclafani does. He has had one good start and one bad one in his career thus far.
• The Red Sox over the Twins: This is not your 2013 Phil Hughes. He's been great. And if it was against any other Red Sox starter other than Jon Lester, I would favor him here. But I have to go with Lester against the Twins offense.
• The Braves over the Phillies: The two teams went at it for thirteen innings yesterday so the bullpens will be gassed. That said, which starter can go deeper? I would have to give that edge to Ervin Santana over Kyle Kendrick. The Braves' offense really worries me though.
• The White Sox over the Giants: John Danks is like...good this year. I can't get used to that. But there it is. The Giants will get an extra bat with the DH meaning the Panda can get a day off from third and just wail. But I think the White Sox have a better chance against Matt Cain than the other way around.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: Michael Wacha simply hasn't been as impressive as I thought he would be this year. But the Mets do not present much of an obstacle for him. Jon Niese is very good however and the Cards do have trouble against lefties. So this is not as easy as it sounds.
• The Brewers over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs got on a pretty good roll after their yucky start to the season, but have now fallen back into being terrible again. I worry about Kyle Lohse in this one. But I like him better than Wade Miley.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: Yes, I am familiar with the fact that Yu Darvish never pitches well against the A's. It's one of those freak things of nature. That said, he is too good not to reverse that eventually. And Tommy Milone is probably the A's most vulnerable pitcher.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Zack Greinke hasn't been shutdown lately, but he should be great at home. Jhoulys Chacin has been awful and I don't see him beating Greinke.

Yesterday: 5-6, June: 117-102, Games of the Day: 37-36, Season: 570-483