MLB Game Picks - Friday: August 8, 2014

Yesterday went well. Ten out of the thirteen picks were correct. It could have been even better. I correctly called that J.A. Happ would pitch well and he did with eight innings and twelve strikeouts. But he gave up a two-run homer and that one pitch cost him the game, 2-1. In another of the three incorrect picks, Collin McHugh of the Marlins pitched seven innings and struck out eight Phillies and left with a 5-1 lead. His bullpen would cough up five runs in the eighth inning to blow the game.

The most improbable incorrect pick was the Yankees winning the Tigers series with a brilliant pitching job by Shane Greene. Yeah, I know, right? He beat Rick Porcello who only gave up one run himself. The 1-0 win was just not something I ever thought would happen.

Friday's picks:

• The Rays over the Cubs: The Rays lose the DH, but since they never have a good DH anyway, nothing is really lost. Chris Archer should pitch well and the Rays should be able to handle Tsuyoshi Wada without too much difficulty.
• The Yankees over the Indians: I am not feeling good about an Esmil Rogers start for the Yankees. I liked him in the bullpen for them. He hasn't started in a long time and will only be able to go five innings or so. But just as I am not feeling him, I am not feeling Trevor Bauer or the Indians in Yankee Stadium. This could be high scoring.
• The Mets over the Phillies: Bartolo Colon and A.J. Burnett are a combined 78.7 years old. Both are highly unpredictable. I am going with Colon only because he won't walk people to put them on base. That is his one advantage here.
• The Pirates over the Padres: Vance Worley has strung together three very good starts and despite the loss of McCutchen, the Pirates should be able to score off of Ian Kennedy. Vance Worley wears really weird glasses.
• The Orioles over the Cardinals: The Cards get an extra bat, but do not really have one. The Cards will start Justin Masterson who still doesn't look good. The Orioles just don't seem to lose and send Chris Tillman out there today.
• The Blue Jays over the Tigers: R.A. Dickey is so hard to predict. The one encouraging sign to me is that his walks are down significantly in his last three starts. That is a good sign for him. Anibal Sanchez seems to be a first half pitcher. But he just as easily shut down the Jays.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Stephen Strasburg is much better at home than on the road. The difference seems to be his control is better at home. As much as the road is a problem for Strasburg, Atlanta has been really bad to him. He is catching the Braves at the right time, though, as they are struggling and if he can throw strikes, he could reverse some of that mojo. Erwin Santana goes for the Braves.
• The Brewers over the Dodgers: The Dodgers picked up Roberto Hernandez for some reason and he starts for them tonight. I don't get it, frankly. Kyle Lohse is at home and that is usually a good thing for his team.
• The Reds over the Marlins: Nathan Eovaldi is a safer pick at home. Since the game is at Cincinnati, I'm going with Mike Leake and the Reds.
• The Giants over the Royals: Madison Bumgarner doesn't get to bat in Kansas City. That's not really a good thing for the Giants. But his pitching should be. Jason Vargas is the Royals' pitcher and I'm not a big fan.
• The Astros over the Rangers: The battle for last place. Who would ever think that? I am not thrilled to pick this one. Brett Oberholtzer seems to be the better option over Miles Mikolas.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: The Rockies cannot keep their stars on the field. And Tulowitzki keeps mouthing off. It's not a good situation. Chase Anderson over Tyler Matzek.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: The Angels will be glad not to be playing the Dodgers after a long week. Jered Weaver could get taken deep so that's a problem. But I'm not sure Allen Webster is ready for the prime time.
• The Athletics over the Twins: I'm still worried about the A's offense and Scott Kazmir hasn't been quite as brilliant lately. Kyle Gibson always confounds me. But I'm still going with the A's.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Mariners over the White Sox: Poor Jose Quintana. He's still having a great season nobody is aware about because he can't win a game. Tonight will be no different. Hisashi Iwakuma will shut down the White Sox and win a low scoring game.

Yesterday: 10-3, August: 53-42, Games of the Day: 68-52 (+3), Season: 947-789