MLB Game Picks - Saturday: April 25, 2015

I went 9-5 yesterday with one game awaiting completion after being suspended. The day finally brought me out of a deep early hole and I am above .500 for the season. Gosh, that was an uphill battle. At my lowest ebb, I was seventeen games below .500. At least I feel a little better about things. Once again, there were two extra-inning games and once again, both went against me. That was a common theme last year.

Saturday's picks:

• The Royals over the White Sox: I have little faith in John Danks, I have a little bit more in Edinson Volquez. I am also worried about the health of the White Sox' first baseman.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Alas, Shane Greene did not do well yesterday and that brings us today to Alfredo Simon who is also entering this game at 3-0. Will he fall too? Trevor Bauer has been outstanding for the Indians. Tough call.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Both teams are going to have gassed bullpens. So which team will have a starter rescue it today? I'm going with Anthony DeSclafani, who has been amazing over Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta.
• The Athletics over the Astros: The A's bullpen blew this yesterday. Perhaps that won't happen today. Scott Feldman goes for the Astros. Meh. Kendall Graveman goes for the A's. Meh. I don't like the match-up. So I'll go with the home team.
• The Yankees over the Mets: The Yankees have been killing aces lately and breaking streaks. And the team nobody likes is tied for first. CC Sabathia is 0-3 and Matt Harvey is 3-0. Something either has to give, or it will continue going in that direction. I am encouraged by the Yankees lately.
• The Nationals over the Marlins: I don't understand either of these teams right now. They are just spinning around going nowhere. Stephen Strasburg has to figure out how to win on the road and in Miami. Tom Koehler will keep his team in the game.  Not confident here.
• The Blue Jays over the Rays: The Rays got a big boost from getting James Loney back and the Rays are slugging remarkably well, which has been unexpected. The Blue Jays suffer when Jose Bautista is hurting and Daniel Norris has struggled thus far. So why am I picking the Jays? Because Erasmo Ramirez is starting for the Rays. That's why.
• The Red Sox over the Orioles: The Orioles have lost five in a row. Wei-Yin Chen isn't a great match-up against the Red Sox who like to go with the pitch. Justin Masterson has been encouraging with recovering strikeout and ground ball rates. Going with Boston.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: The Brewers are really bad. I mean, they are tank city bad. Wily Peralta is capable of a good day. But the Brewers cannot hit and Adam Wainwright should exploit that.
• The Diamondbacks over the Pirates: Rubby De La Rosa is one of two De La Rosa pitchers pitching today. I'm not sure about him other than that the Pirates won't be familiar with him. A.J. Burnett goes for the Pirates.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The other one, Jorge De La Rosa pitches against the Giants in his second start of the season. The first start didn't go well at all. Tim Hudson has to pitch at Coors. The winner of this game will score double-digits in runs.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Ian Kennedy is coming off the DL to pitch this one. That makes me uncomfortable. Brandon McCarthy has been really good for the Dodgers and is pitching in a big ballpark. I like his chances. Puig is dinged up again though.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Old friends C.J. Wilson and Colby Lewis square up here and I prefer Wilson at home.  The whole Josh Hamilton thing still bothers me when it comes to the Angels.
• The Mariners over the Twins: James Paxton is such a key for the Mariners and as of yet, has not pitched well. They need him to if they want to dominate the AL West. Trevor May pitched very well his last time out, but I don't trust that. Nelson Cruz is amazing.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Braves over the Phillies: These two teams will struggle this year and will play each other a lot. The pitching match-ups will mean a lot here. That being the case, I'll take Shelby Miller over David Buchanan.

Yesterday: 9-5, Season: 126-125, Picks of the Day: 10-9