MLB Game Picks - Sunday: August 10, 2014

Saturday was a train wreck of a day for picking. First of all, there were five extra-inning games. Five! One went nineteen innings. The longest one was the only one that went my way. All the others caused incorrect picks. One of those was a blown save by Joe Nathan. The guy has nothing left as a closer, in my humble opinion.

But the game that causes me the most disbelief was that Brad Penny won a start against the Reds. He wasn't great in his five innings. But he got a W. And I'm eating crow because I didn't think there was a chance in the world that he could pull that off. Penny didn't pitch in the Majors at all in 2013 and hadn't started a game since 2011. His FIP in 2011 and 2012 were both over five. And he won a game. Baseball.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Indians: Yes, I should have stuck with Corey Kluber yesterday. I outwitted myself there. I will think long and hard about doing that again. But today is a different story. If Hiroki Kuroda cannot beat Carlos Carrasco in a day game at YS3, then I should just give up doing this.
• The Tigers over the Blue Jays: The Tigers have lost four of their last six games despite their ace rotation. For one thing, they can't finish out a game. And for another, those aces have to perform. David Price has his turn today and should beat a really struggling Mark Buehrle.
• The Reds over the Marlins: The Reds have really fallen on hard times. Once a contender, the team is only a game over .500. But don't blame Johnny Cueto for any of that. He's been just great and should be so today to beat Brad Hand and the Marlins.
• The Mets over the Phillies: Zack Wheeler has really figured it out and has been really, really hard to beat over the last month or two. Kyle Kendrick has been pitching better of late as well. I will take the young power over the junk-in-the-trunk pitcher just about always.
• The Padres over the Pirates: The Padres have won seven of their last ten games. And the Pirates really miss Andrew McCutchen. You just can't miss a guy like that in your lineup. Besides all of that, Tyson Ross is a better pitcher than Charlie Morton. Look for Seth Smith to have a big game.
• The Orioles over the Cardinals: I've been fried nearly every time I pick against the Orioles. They just never lose. Kevin Gausman over Lance Lynn.
• The Dodgers over the Brewers: I like picking the Brewers at home. And I like Jimmy Nelson and the way he has responded in the Majors. But picking against Clayton Kershaw is usually not a good idea.
• The Royals over the Giants: This is one pick that has been correct all weekend, so I don't want to mess it up. Danny Duffy will have to be the good version and Tim Lincecum will have to be the bad version. It could happen.
• The Astros over the Rangers: I couldn't even get a win from the Rangers with Yu Darvish pitching. Sheesh, they are a mess. Nick Martinez probably won't help and Dallas Keuchel will probably get another win.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: The Red Sox are a proud team and they should be. They are the World Champs. But in yesterday's game in nineteen innings, they only compiled six hits. They went six for sixty. Man. Rubby De La Rosa has his moments and I sure wish that Hector Santiago's profile picture on MLB.com would change. I hate that thing.
• The Twins over the Athletics: I'm getting all jiggy with this pick. I like Phil Hughes at a big park like in Oakland. I don't like what I am seeing from the A's' lineup. And Jason Hammel should have been flipped when they got him from the Cubs. Of course, I could just be an idiot.
• The Mariners over the White Sox: What do you do when you don't like either starting pitcher? I mean, how can you pick between Erasmo Ramirez and John Danks?
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: You can clearly see in this series that the D-backs are a better team than the Rockies. The Rockies, meanwhile, are full of unhappy players. Guys who are hurt all the time saying they are sick of losing seems like a bit of a stretch, don't you think? Wade Miley and Franklin Morales are the starters.
• The Braves over the Nationals: Gio Gonzalez bothers me. He is another one of those supposed aces that never wins when you expect him to. His left-hand throwing won't be a problem for the Braves with their power right-hand bats. The only question left will be how good Alex Wood will be.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Rays over the Cubs: The Rays keep throwing good pitching at the Cubs and the Cubs are helpless to respond. Alex Cobb should keep that going and poor Travis Wood just hasn't had a good season.

Yesterday: 5-10, August: 68-57, Games of the Day: 69-52 (-1), Season: 962-804