MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 25, 2014

Yesterday wasn't pretty. The Game of the Day was only off by nine runs. No big deal. In fact, the day started bad, but the picks rallied to a 6-6 tie only to have the last three games of the night come up wrong. That's baseball.

Something really strange did happen last night. Two games went deep into extra innings. When the dust cleared, both were settled in this picker's favor. That never, ever happens. So maybe a new trend started on a bad day. If so, I'll take it.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Rays over the Pirates: David Price is too good a pitcher to lose this many games. And yet he is sort of messed up about being traded, the team behind him is spotty and I could see him losing to Charlie Morton. But he shouldn't.
• The Nationals over the Brewers: This is another game that Stephen Strasburg should not lose. He should never lose. But he is 6-5. So he loses plenty. Marco Estrada is good at home, so we'll see what happens.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: How the heck do you pick this one!? Both starting pitchers are making their MLB debuts. Marco Gonzalez is 22 and a lefty. He has terrific numbers in the minors showing good control and low home run rates. Yohan Flande has pitched in the minors for nine years with three different organizations and is 2-9 in a hostile pitcher's park at Colorado Springs. Gonzalez is a first round draft pick. I could write another story here the same as when Yohan Pino and Andrew Heaney pitched on the same day last week. And another Yohan!
• The Giants over the Padres: The Giants have lost eleven of their last fourteen games and their last two to the Padres. So why am I picking them today? Because their worst starter is pitching (Tim Lincecum). How do you like that logic? Ian Kennedy goes for the Padres.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: I have no idea which team will win this one. Hector Noesi and Ubaldo Jimenez are so unreliable that there is no way to figure this one out. When in doubt, pick the home team.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Come on now. I get Noesi, Jimenez and now Edwin Jackson in two straight game picks!? That is unfair. U.N.F.A.I.R. Mat Latos is the pick. Grrr...
• The Phillies over the Marlins: Ha! Noesi, Jimenez, Jackson and now A.J. Burnett. The picking gods hate me. Going with Burnett over Henderson Alvarez.
• The Blue Jays over the Yankees: I saw some good signs in the Yankees' bats yesterday. Some slumping hitters hit the ball hard. But they still lost and I don't like the thought of Hiroki Kuroda in the dome. A lot will depend on how well Drew Hutchison does.
• The Athletics over the Mets: Zack Wheeler was amazing his last time out and I picked against him. And I am doing so again today even though he is facing Brad Mills of all people. The A's are just a better team no matter what happened last night.
• The Tigers over the Rangers: Anibal Sanchez might be the most overrated pitcher of the last five years. The guy is just silly good. Joe Saunders just drives me up a tree. The guy always fouls me up.
• The Braves over the Astros: Both pitchers, Alex Wood and Collin McHugh, will not pitch more than five innings. McHugh might go six. So then the pick is based on which team has the better bullpen. It has to be Atlanta.
• The Royals over the Dodgers: All things being equal, and they are probably not, I would take James Shields over Dan Haren. But Kershaw sure made the Royals look silly yesterday.
• The Indians over the Diamondbacks: Chase Anderson has pitched well for the Diamondbacks, so it is tough to pick against him. For a while, Corey Kluber was untouchable. But not lately. I'm thinking that Kluber gets on track and pitches really well today.
• The Mariners over the Red Sox: I don't like the thought of Hisashi Iwakuma's back flaring at any time. If he is not completely on his game, the Red Sox will win. The wild card here is how well Clay Buchholz does in his return from Siberia the DL.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Angels over the Twins: While I root for the career minor leaguer, Yohan Pino, I think Garrett Richards will be dominant and should win this game easily.

Yesterday: 6-9, June: 177-153, Games of the Day: 41-40, Season: 631-534