MLB Game Picks - Saturday: August 30, 2014

There we go! Two good nights in a row have nearly washed from memory the four straight losing nights that came before. The picks came through for eleven correct out of fifteen and are now 17-7 for the last two days.

Of the four incorrect picks, the Nationals hitting four homers off of Felix Hernandez was the biggest surprise. King Felix has not been king-like the last three outings. I did not expect the Yankees to win, but it took a whole lot of sloppiness by the Blue Jays to do so. I should have picked the Indians and not have given the Royals so much credit. And picking Miami to beat the Braves was just dumb.

But that was only four and thus, my coffee tastes that much richer this morning. And I better drink it fast because with two double-headers today, there are seventeen games to march through!

Saturday's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Yankees: As always, it all depends on Drew Hutchison and which version of him will show up. He has been really good the last two outings. I have a feeling that the Blue Jays will hit a couple of bombs off of Michael Pineda.
• The White Sox over the Tigers: The first of a pair between these two teams today is a really tough choice between Max Scherzer and Chris Sale. Even if they cancel each other out, the two teams have awful bullpens. I like Sale against the Tigers' lineup moer than the other way around and feel like Jose Abreu will hit one out.
• The Cubs over the Cardinals: These two teams also play two games today. Justin Masterson was a huge mistake for the Cardinals in their stretch run. Bad trade. Felix Doubront gets the start for the Cubs and at least he has had some MLB success before.
• The Reds over the Pirates: Will Alfredo Simon's comeback game his last time out be the new norm or a one game reprieve? Can Vance Worley stop his losing streak at two? Tune in today to find out!
• The Orioles over the Twins: It sure seems like these Orioles have the division in the bag. They are just amazing, especially now that Chris Davis is back to being Chris Davis. I'll take Chris Tillman over Kyle Gibson.
• The Bay Rays over the Red Sox: Allen Webster had a big bump in his road his last time out. The Rays are frothing at the mouth for a win. Jake Odorizzi has a good day and the Red Sox stay in the cellar.
• The Royals over the Indians: Let's try this again. Why? Because James Shields is better than Vargas and Trevor Bauer is not as good as Salazar. Hey, that works for me.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: The second game of the double-header features two Major League debuts on the mound. Kyle Ryan and Chris Bassitt were both high round draft picks so have already beaten the odds. Ryan is a lefty with great control and a high contact rate. Bassitt is more of a power pitcher. I think I will go with the control/contact guy.
• The Braves over the Marlins: I am not making this mistake again. Aaron Harang has had a bad August and isn't the ideal pick. And Jarred Cosart has a chance to be dominating. But this may be a knee-jerk reaction to yesterday.
• The Phillies over the Mets: Jerome Williams just might be saving his career. He's had two big starts in a row for the Phillies since joining them. And, yeah, even Ryan Howard can hit a Bartolo Colon fastball.
• The Astros over the Rangers: Robbie Ross Jr. scares me to death with his ERA over six and some of the beat downs he has received. And Scott Feldman is probably a better bet at home than on the road.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: The two starters here are a combined 5-17. What do you do with that? I feel like the D-backs are the better team so we'll go with that. The two pitchers are Tyler Matzek and Vidal Nuno.
• The Cubs over the Cardinals: Wait, the Cards can't lose two games of a double-header, can they? They can if they start Marco Gonzales in the second game. He has walked all kinds of people and has no idea. Tsuyoshi Wada on the other hand has been pro for the Cubbies.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: The Dodgers are playing pretty shabby these days. And the Padres are getting some nice pitching. Did you know, for example, that Ian Kennedy has more strikeouts than innings pitched this season? Blew me away when I saw that. But he is going to lose today anyway to Zack Greinke.
• The Athletics over the Angels: I'm not sure why the Angels would start reliever, Cory Rasmus, in this big game where they could get some distance from the A's. Drew Rucinski from the Arkansas Travelers might have been a better option. But there you go. The default is to go with Jeff Samardzija here.
• The Nationals over the Mariners: Oh, man. I have to pick Stephen Strasburg again. I hate that. I should love it, but he frustrates me every time. The pick is this way because the Nats' hitters are on fire and Roenis Elias won't slow them down much.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Brewers over the Giants: My man, Mike Fiers is on the hill today. I have to ride him like a pony to beat Jake Peavy today.

Yesterday: 11-4, August: 218-173, Games of the Day: 83-58 (+4), Season: 1112-922