MLB Game Picks - Friday: April 24, 2015

Thank goodness it is Friday. I've had a crazy two weeks! Yesterday was a mixed day and I came on the wrong side of a couple of ace match-ups. Two extra-inning games occurred and both went against me. And the Pick of the Day was wrong. But the total for the day was in the positive.

Friday's picks:

• The Phillies over the Braves: Aaron Harang kills me. I am tired of him killing me. I will pick him this time. Alex Wood will go for the Braves. I'm sure Harang will get harangued just to spite me.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: Miguel Gonzalez doesn't have nearly the success over the Red Sox that he does against the Yankees. But he is catching David Ortiz and Dustin Pedroia on really cold spells and Rick Porcello hasn't been all that impressive, which isn't good against a team that can hit like the Orioles.
• The Yankees over the Mets: This series hasn't gone well for the Yankees in recent memory and the Mets are one super-hot team right now. Jacob deGrom is tough. My thought is that Michael Pineda shuts down the Mets and the Yankees squeak out a run or two.
• The Tigers over the Indians: I am cheering wildly for Shane Greene. Go Greene Go! Danny Salazar can be tough too though. I wonder if Detroit will ever warm up any so the players aren't playing in survival gear.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Will Jon Lester turn it around? Will Mike Leake? Which one will be better? Or which team will out-slug the other for another double-digit run tally? We'll find out tonight.
• The Rays over the Blue Jays: Another round in the battle of the Ays. The knuckler of R.A. Dickey will have to dance for the Jays to win and it hasn't gone well for Dickey thus far. Drew Smyly, The Emoticon, gets his first start of the season. I've picked all home teams thus far. Disturbing.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: Things aren't going well for Mat Latos. And it makes me wonder about his health. On the other side, Jordan Zimmermann is too good to pick against. Ah, one for the visiting team!
• The Royals over the Whtie Sox: Danny Duffy has had a bad outing, a good outing and then a bad one. So, then it is time for a good one? I like lefties against the White Sox. Jose Quintana never has much luck, does he?
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Now I've gone the other way and picked three straight road teams. Ack! I hate patterns! Carlos Martinez is a wild card and you just never know what will happen. Matt Garza is more predictable. He's usually terrible.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The Rockies have a better chance of being explosive at Coors than the Giants. Charlton Chris Heston goes for the Giants and he has been good. But that goes out the window in that atmosphere. Eddie Butler goes for the Rockies. Will he reach six full innings this season?
• The Pirates over the Diamondbacks: Thus far, Josh Collmenter has not repeated his success from 2014. Gerrit Cole will put the Cole in Collmenter.
• The Athletics over the Astros: Really good match-up here as Scott Kazmir faces Dallas Keuchel. I usually pay for picking against Keuchel, but I think the A's take this one as long as Kazmir has a good day.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Garretts and Jareds should all spell their names the same way. Keeping them straight is a yearly task. Garrett Richards looked decent coming off his knee surgery. Wandy Rodriguez is the wild card here. After bouncing around this spring, he is back home in Texas.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Andrew Cashner has had two brilliant starts in a row. But his one bad start this season was against the Dodgers. Zack Greinke should prevail.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mariners over the Twins: Felix Hernandez should enjoy pitching against Minnesota. Phil Hughes has reverted back to a homer-giving machine. I don't see Hughes out-pitching King Felix.

Yesterday: 7-5, Season: 117-120, Picks of the Day: 9-9