MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: June 2, 2015

Holy cow, there are seventeen games being played today!! The weather played havoc with Monday night's activities and thus we get bombarded tonight. There are sixteen games tomorrow (so far). Wow.

With so many games on tap, I hope I do better than the measly 5-4 I went on Monday. Don't get me wrong, that record is better than being under .500, but it is still mediocre. Mike Fiers shut out the Cardinals. Not much you can do about that but tip your cap. And Felix Hernandez came unglued after the fourth inning, which was totally out of character.

There is a lot to do, so let's get going with Tuesday:

• The Nationals over the Blue Jays: I'm still thinking that Jordan Zimmermann is better than R.A. Dickey in this one. And the Blue Jays lose the DH.
• The Nationals over the Blue Jays: Yes, I am predicting a sweep. Because directly following Zimmermann, the Nats can throw Max Scherzer out there and take care of the second game. Marco Estrada doesn't do much for me for the Blue Jays.
• The Rockies over the Dodgers: This pitching match-up seems weird. Jorge De La Rosa goes for the Rockies and if anyone is used to pitching at Coors Field, it is him. He faces Juan Nicasio, his old friend and teammate who never had as much success at Coors than De La Rosa has. Besides, Nicasio hasn't started all season and if he goes four innings, that will be a lot.
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: I can't guarantee that Zack Greinke will be as successful in Coors Field than at other places. But I can tell you that David Hale hasn't started all season and is a "put it in play" kind of pitcher. Not good for Coors.
• The Reds over the Phillies: Johnny Cueto comes off the disabled list to pitch this one. I have no idea how he will do. I still like him over Sean O'Sullivan and the Reds are playing slightly better of late.
• The Tigers over the Athletics: The Yankees made the A's look far better than they are. But then again, they have a knack for that. The Tigers won't be as kind. Alfredo Simon is doing much better for the Tigers than I thought he was going to do. I think he will be better than Kendall Graveman.
• The Cubs over the Marlins: I'm still trying to figure out why the Marlins chose the manager they did. The whole thing is surreal. For that reason and a whole lot of others, I like the Cubs here behind Kyle Hendricks. Brad Hand goes for the Marlins. Yeah, that's another reason.
• The Red Sox over the Twins: This is the same match-up as what was planned yesterday and I'm still going with Clay Buchholz over Mike Pelfrey.
• The Rangers over the White Sox: Colby Lewis came down to earth in a big way in his last start and was shellacked. I'm going with a rebound today, plus, his team is on a roll. Let's see what this new kid can do too. Jeff Samardzija goes for the White Sox.
• The Astros over the Orioles: Mike Wright has pitched brilliantly for the Orioles. Fluke? Real deal? I don't know yet. I do know that Collin McHugh is the real deal and should be dominant.
• The Indians over the Royals: Once again, you have a Jeremy Guthrie, whose success this season was punctured by a beating by the Yankees. Does he bounce back? Will it make a difference against a good pitcher like Carlos Carrasco?
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: Lance Lynn is a known quantity. I know what he can do. I have no idea about Tyler Cravy who makes his MLB debut for the Brewers. Cravy was a late round draft pick who has done well in the minors. Can he make the jump?
• The Braves over the Diamondbacks. Josh Collmenter has not pitched well of late and yesterday's whoopin' of the D-backs by the Braves makes me nervous to pick them. Besides, Shelby Miller is very good.
• The Rays over the Angels: Chris Archer can be a shut down pitcher and that's why I think he will be today as the Rays have to bounce back from a loss yesterday to the hands of Albert Pujols and Mike Trout. Take care of those two and you win. C.J. Wilson goes for the Angels.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: This one is really hard to predict. CC Sabathia has been decent on the road. And the big ballpark will help him. For the Mariners, we get the MLB debut for Mike Montgomery, a big first round pick for the Royals way back when who fizzled for them and never got anywhere. Montgomery got into the Rays' system and is their wont, they fixed him and he has had good numbers in the minors since. Who knows how well he'll do tonight. I bet he has a change-up after coming from the Tampa system.
• The Pirates over the Giants: A.J. Burnett is 5-1 and is pitching some of the best baseball of his long career. The Giants start "Charlton" Chris Heston, who has done pretty well for himself in his young career. I'm going with the Pirates and for the Giants to lose their fourth in a row.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Mets over the Padres: The Mets are led by Bartolo Colon and once you navigate him, you get the young studs who can really pitch.  Noah Syndergaard has lived up to all the hype thus far. Ian Kennedy has been pretty awful to be honest.

Yesterday: 5-4, June: 5-4, Season: 383-357, Picks of the Day: 30-25