Thursday, July 03, 2014

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: July 3, 2014

Wednesday was another good day in a nice string of good days. In the last four days, the picks have gone 38-17. Only five picks were wrong yesterday. One was sort of dumb as I even said in the pick that the Cubs could sweep Boston but I didn't pick it that way. The Dodgers and Reds both lost again, which was unexpected with Ryu and Johnny Cueto pitching respectively. The other dumb pick was picking the Diamondbacks. Those poor blighters hardly ever win.
The other incorrect pick was the White Sox walking off on the Angels. The Angels were on such a roll, I didn't see that coming.
Thursday features only nine games. The picks:
  • The Giants over the Cardinals: Not only do the Cardinals struggle against left-handed pitching, but they face one of the best in Madison Bumgarner. The Cards already faced him once this year and whiffed badly. I don't think Carlos Martinez can keep up with that.
  • The Phillies over the Marlins: This one is tough to call. The Phillies are faded and should be broken up but the Marlins are starting Brad Hand. And while "Talk to the" Hand is lefty, which bothers the Phillies, he just can't seem to put it together as a Major League pitcher. It's not that I am high on Kyle Kendrick either...
  • The Pirates over the Diamondbacks: Ugh! I want to pick the Diamondbacks here. But I know they are terrible. Even Brandon McCarthy presents a problem. He is 2-10 but was very good his last time out. Vance Worley has pitched well since being called up by the Pirates, so there's that too. Derp.
  • The Rangers over the Orioles: The Orioles really have a chance to knock the Rangers on the Chen as Wei-Yin Chen tries to finish the sweep. However, there is a little problem known as Yu Darvish here. My trouble when picking Darvish though is that he never seems to put back-to-back sparklers together.
  • The Tigers over the Rays: The Tigers just swept the A's and the Rays just swept the Yankees. Which one was the more impressive accomplishment? Well, yeah. That's easy. And with Max Scherzer on the mound? I have to go with the Tigers over Erik Bedard and the Rays.
  • The Dodgers over the RockiesFranklin Morales has pitched out of the Rockies' bullpen since the end of May and now he is starting a game. So that is strike one. Zack Greinke is pitching, which is strike two. The only thing keeping them from a definite strike three is Coors Field.
  • The Yankees over the Twins: What am I doing! Picking the Yankees!? But...but...Masahiro Tanaka is pitching and the Twins play in a big ballpark and Joe Mauer is on the DL. Phil Hughes already beat the Yankees once this year. The Yankees should win.
  • The Athletics over the Blue Jays: Yes, Detroit just took care of the A's and the Jays just walked off in style last night. No matter what happened recently, the A's are tough to beat at home and Sonny Gray is a good pitcher. I feel like somebody is going to take R.A. Dickey deep this one.
And the Game of the Day:
  • The Angels over the AstrosMatt Shoemaker had a really bad outing against the Royals his last time out, but otherwise has been good. He should miss a lot of Astros' bats, especially with Fowler out. That and Brett Oberholtzer just doesn't strike me as someone who can hold the Angels down.
Yesterday: 10-5, July: 21-10, Games of the Day: 46-42, Season: 703-575

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