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

MLB Game Picks - Tuesday: September 23, 2014

Considering I had to absorb the completion of a loss from the suspended game that started back on August 31, an 8-4 day isn't too bad. The Game of the Day feature fell for the second straight day as the Tigers lost to the White Sox. But otherwise, it was a pretty good day. Adam Wainwright won his 20th. Derek Jeter drove in three runs. Derek Holland continued his very good run and Josh Collmenter continued his fine season. Things went pretty well all said and done.

I never saw the Blue Jays jumping all over James Paxton like they did. Nor did I see the Padres pitching a shutout. The Rockies had ten hits and left ten base runners. They were 0-8 with runners in scoring position.

Tuesday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: I really like Buster Olney, but his screed the other day about Derek Jeter costing the Yankees a trip to the playoffs is just a bunch of B.S. and a bold-faced effort for him to stay relevant and hip among today's statistical writers. An Orioles writer wrote the same thing yesterday. Get a new narrative guys. There were a lot of things that went wrong for the Yankees. This really riles me up. Five more days and they are going to have to find something else to write about. Brandon McCarthy over Ubaldo Jimenez.
• The Royals over the Indians: I cannot predict the Royals worth anything. Nor can I predict how well Danny Salazar will pitch. He is at home, so you would think he would be better. Then it will depend on how well Yordano Ventura pitches. Oy.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: This start here will go a long way in helping me decide between Felix Hernandez and Kluber for the AL CYA. They are so close. Can King Felix close the deal with a wild card at stake? Or will R.A. Dickey dance his knuckler to a Jays win?
• The Tigers over the White Sox: David Price has been disappointing for the Tigers. He needs to get it together before the playoffs start. He should beat the White Sox. Meanwhile, Scott Carroll will probably not have a fun night.
• The Reds over the Brewers: Mike Fiers bounced back nicely from the emotional turmoil of hitting Giancarlo Stanton. He was great his last time out. The problem is that he faces Johnny Cueto tonight and Cueto is one of the best.
• The Marlins over the Phillies: Henderson Alvarez and Cole Hamels have both had very good seasons. The Phillies would love to climb out of last place at the Marlins' expense. Two things make me choose the Fish. First, they hit better against lefties and second, Alvarez is mighty tough to beat at home.
• The Pirates over the Braves: The Pirates hope to kick a dog when it's down. And the Braves have certainly been dogs. Alex Wood is a good pitcher. If he is himself, Gerrit Cole is better.
• The Rays over the Red Sox: Clay Buchholz has had some glitzy starts, but they are few and far between a lot of other crap. Alex Cobb is usually terrific but has had issues against Boston. The game could go either way.
• The Rangers over the Astros: The Rangers' hot streak at the end of this season is ruining their draft position. That might be a problem with management, but the players seem to like to play for this interim manager. Nick Martinez over Brett Oberholtzer.
• The Cubs over the Cardinals: The Cards are inching toward the division title and have played pretty well. Shelby Miller has come back in the second half to be much better. But I'm going with Kyle Hendricks in this game. Love the guy.
• The Diamondbacks over the Twins: Andrew Chafin is having fun in the Big Leagues. I still worry about his control. But so far, so good. He being a lefty makes it harder for the Twins who struggle against them. Kyle Gibson is more guile than skill.
• The Athletics over the Angels: This is the hard thing about teams that have clinched playing teams still in contention for the wild card. And it is kind of unfair. Sonny Gray has not been very good lately, but he has to be better than Wade LeBlanc. I mean, seriously...
• The Padres over the Rockies: Jorge De La Rosa is the Rockies' best pitcher and he should enjoy pitching at Petco. The only problem for him and the Rockies is that Robbie Erlin has been very good at home.
• The Dodgers over the Giants: This is a very big-time match-up. Madison Bumgarner is one of the best and Zack Greinke is nothing to sneeze at. The Dodgers need to put the Giants away. The Giants are very good and not being put away. Wow.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Nationals over the Mets: Good old Bartolo Colon will pour in fastballs all night and the Nats are a great fastball hitting team. The Nats have been sleepy since they clinched but I think they will have a big offensive game here and Tanner Roark will pitch five or six good innings.

Yesterday: 8-4, September: 180-123, Games of the Day: 100-65 (-2), Season: 1310-1057

MLB Game Picks - Friday: September 12, 2014

I was one blown save away from a perfect picking day. When Chris Young hit his three-run blast in the bottom of the ninth off of Jake McGee to win the game for the New York Yankees, a dream 11-0 day went out the window. That was also the Game of the Day pick. And you know what? How can I be upset about that?

I had called the double-header sweep by Cleveland. I had called the Red Sox win. I had called Cueto's gem over the Cardinals. I had gotten it all. And then that homer. But I don't care. I'm happy.

The only thing I'm not happy about was what happened to Giancarlo Stanton and Chase Headley. Both got hit in the face by fastballs. I really hope that both will be okay. That was very, very scary.

Friday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: These two teams play two games today and this will be a tough task for the Yankees. The Orioles are starting two of their regular rotation guys and the Yankees will have to use an untested rookie in the second game. Besides that, the Yankees are missing lots of players due to being banged up. The Yankees have their best chance in the first game as Brandon McCarthy faces Kevin Gausman.
• The Orioles over the Yankees: I really like Bryan Mitchell and I think he is going to be a good pitcher. But this is a lot to ask of a guy making his first MLB start. Bud Norris goes for the O's.
• The Pirates over the Cubs: Tsuyoshi Wada has been great for the Cubs and the 33-year-old Japanese star knows how to pitch. I just think that Gerrit Cole and the Pirates the way they are playing will be too much for the Cubs to overcome.
• The Phillies over the Marlins: Without Giancarlo Stanton in the lineup for the Marlins, they have little to work with. Plus, Cole Hamels is very, very good. Henderson Alvarez does have flashes of brilliance, but what support will he get?
• The Tigers over the Indians: David Price is way due for a win and though Carlos Carrasco has pitched really well for the Indians, I can't see him matching Price if Price is on his game.
• The Nationals over the Mets: There is some bad blood brewing in this series already. Dillon Gee looked good against the Reds, but the Reds are struggling. Gio Gonzalez had a good start his last time out too.
• The Rangers over the Braves: If Derek Holland pitches like he did his first two starts, then the Braves won't touch him. But that is the only way the Rangers win the game. Otherwise, this pick could go up in flames with Alex Wood going for the Braves.
• The Royals over the Red Sox: Yordano Ventura has to pitch well for this pick to come in. Otherwise, Allen Webster and the Red Sox could prevail for the second straight game.
• The Brewers over the Reds: I always like picking Kyle Lohse at home. He traditionally does better in those cases. Mat Latos can come up big, but I don't see it happening today.
• The Twins over the White Sox: The one thing I can be sure about is that Phil Hughes will probably not walk anyone and Jose Quintana just never gets a break. Both of these pitchers have been really good all season.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: The Cardinals have stumbled again and if ever they needed a stopping kind of win it is from Adam Wainwright today. Jorge De La Rosa is the Rockies' best starter.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Is it just me or do Vidal Nuno and Eric Stults always seem to face each other? How do you pick a winner out of those two guys? I'm going with the Padres, but I have no good reason.
• The Angels over the Astros: The Angels hardly ever lose these days and are clicking really well. Brett Oberholtzer should get some props for taking the ball every fifth day and giving it his best. I don't see him beating the Angels and C.J. Wilson today.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: This is the Mariners' chance to knock off the A's while the A's are really vulnerable. James Paxton has been terrific and Jason Hammel can be had.
• The Giants over the Dodgers: This is a tough one as two tough lefty pitchers square off. I am giving the edge to Madison Bumgarner over Hyun-jin Ryu because he has been at the top of his game in the last month.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the Rays: The Rays will start Nate Karns who they got in the Loboton trade with the Nationals. Karns made three unimpressive starts last year for the Nats and has not had a good season in Triple-A. I'm going with J.A. Happ even though he looks out of gas lately.

Yesterday: 10-1, Sept: 87-61, Games of the Day: 92-62 (-2), Season: 1217-895

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: September 6, 2014

I'm not having a good morning. I was really tired last night and went to bed way early for me. I woke up to get the puppy from his room and he had pooped and peed all over it. Happy Saturday, William! Then I got to the picks from yesterday and there were four extra-inning games. Three of them went against the picks. Besides that, the Orioles and Yankees were shut out.

The final ugly tally was a 6-8 day with one suspended game to be finished today. So it could actually get worse depending on how that turns out. Oh, and the Astros beat the A's. You can't predict ball.

Saturday's picks:

• The Orioles over the Rays: This could be wrong again if The Emoticon, Drew Smyly, has a good day. Kevin Gausman certainly has the ability to shut the Rays down. Perhaps the O's know they are so far ahead that it matters little.
• The Giants over the Tigers: You have two great left-handed aces going here in Madison Bumgarner and David Price. They are even in my book. So if they cancel each other out, the Giants' bullpen is slightly better than the Tigers'. This game is too close to call.
• The Athletics over the Astros: For the first time all season, I don't know what to do with Scott Kazmir. He has fallen apart and his old control issue is back. Was it just a couple of bad games? Will he put it back together? Can the A's muster any offense these days? Scott Feldman hopes not.
• The Yankees over the Royals: I don't know why I am doing this. Yesterday should have discouraged me enough on the Bronx team from ever picking them again. But I like Brandon McCarthy at Yankee Stadium in a day game. Of course, Danny Duffy is very impressive these days. I am probably throwing this pick away.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: Tanner Roark had a bad game his last time out in Seattle. I still trust him more than A.J. Burnett. But the Nats' defense and bullpen leave a lot to be desired. Every game the Phillies win here down the stretch adds to Amaro's delusion.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: Felix Doubront has gotten a new life in Chicago. He was so far south in the Red Sox' doghouse. I think he can beat Francisco Liriano with those young bats behind him.
• The Reds over the Mets: Johnny Cueto should not allow the Mets to pile up runs again like yesterday. Dillon Gee has been disappointing. The Reds can't hit these days though. By the way, I called that Granderson homer yesterday.
• The Indians over the White Sox: What do you do when a pitcher has been god-like most of the year and suddenly loses three in a row? Do you stick with Corey Kluber or bail? I don't know, frankly. Carlos Quintana never gets a break and his quality has gone down a bit now. Cleveland at home is what I am basing this pick.
• The Twins over the Angels: Oh what the heck, let's go with Phil Hughes. The Twins took the Angels to extra-innings before losing yesterday and Hughes is their stopper. Corey Rasmus starting for the Angels forces their bullpen to come up big.
• The Braves over the Marlins: I simply cannot rely on Nathan Eovaldi to pitch well to pick the Marlins. Yeah, Stanton is killing the ball right now as are some of his teammates, but Eovaldi sours me. Alex Wood is going for the Braves.
• The Cardinals over the Brewers: First let me say that A.J. Pierzynski is such a jerk that it still angers me that he got a job after the Red Sox let him go. Him saying something on the way back to the dugout is typical of the kind of jerk he is. He is an embarrassment to the Cardinals. Lance Lynn over his old buddy, Kyle Lohse.
• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: Clay Buchholz seems to be back to the star pitcher he once was. For now... J.A. Happ seems to be running out of tricks to keep what was a promising season going. My only problem here is that Buchholz's recent success does not include his home appearances where he is routinely awful.
• The Mariners over the Rangers: Regression has been calling Chris Young's name. Nick Martinez has been awful. So the final score here could be double-figures for both. Ugly game to pick.
• The Rockies over the Padres: Jorge De La Rosa just got an extension to his contract and thus should be a happy man. He has weathered Coors Field just about better than anyone. Joe Wieland is young (24) and gets his first big league appearance since 2012. I like him a lot because he has great control. But it is too bad he has to start his rebirth at Coors.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Dodgers over the Diamondbacks: I cannot see anything but good things for a game started in L.A. by Hyun-jin Ryu. Chace Anderson will try to battle to keep his team in the game, but the Dodgers should win this one.

Yesterday: 6-8, Sept.: 34-31, Games of the Day: 88-60 (+3), Season: 1164-965

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: August 31, 2014

Seventeen games were played yesterday and I correctly picked nine of them. I finally picked Stephen Strasburg and he won! But I picked Mike Fiers for the game of the day and he lost. That's the way the day went. For every Jerome Williams I picked correctly, I did not pick Vance Worley correctly. I got both ends of the Tigers - White Sox double-header perfectly but only split the Cubs - Cardinals one. I wondered why a relief pitcher started for the Angels in such a big series with the A's. Then eight of those relief pitchers shut out the A's. At least it all ended up on the positive side.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Blue Jays: This is the Yankees best chance against J.A. Happ. Of course, they haven't been hitting pitchers you would think they would hit. Also, Brandon McCarthy has been very good for the Yankees, his last outing not included.
• The Phillies over the Mets: Dillon Gee has not been good since his return from the disabled list and his strikeout rate has disappeared completely. A.J. Burnett never has problems getting strikeouts. It's what happens in between them that matters. He was brilliant against the Nationals.
• The Reds over the Pirates: Francisco Liriano is so unpredictable this year. He could have a great day against the struggling Reds. I just have a really hard time picking against Johnny Cueto even if his starts have not been quite shut-down lately.
• The Rays over the Red Sox: Dustin Pedroia was clocked yesterday and has concussion symptoms. That's all the Red Sox need. Alex Cobb is terrific and Clay Buchholz can be too. This one is hard to predict.
• The Tigers over the White Sox: Miguel Cabrera's ankle is a mess and that hurts the Tigers badly. Rick Porcello has been very good though. I have been watching Jose Quintana succeed all year while piling up loss after loss. His ERA has gone up half a run in his last three starts.
• The Astros over the Rangers: Nick Martinez beat the Astros the last time he faced them. Dallas Keuchel lost to the Rangers the last time he faced them. So why pick the Astros? Because that was last time.
• The Cardinals over the Cubs: On most given days, I would pick John Lackey over Travis Wood. This is a given day. That is unless the Cardinals used all their bullets in that thirteen-run outburst yesterday.
• The Angels over the Athletics: Matt Shoemaker has not given up an earned run in four of his last seven appearances and his last two starts covering fourteen plus innings. The guy has been amazing. Scott Kazmir has had a great season too, but has hit a bit of a wall late in the season.
• The Giants over the Brewers: The performance by Jake Peavy had to be inspiring yesterday and did you see that play by Brandon Crawford!? My my. Madison Bumgarner will beat Kyle Lohse as the Giants stay hot.
• The Diamondbacks over the Rockies: I have no idea who will win this game. I was wrong with this same pick yesterday. Chase Anderson has been...well...chased his last three starts, but, perhaps, will pull it together. Jorge De La Rosa actually pitches better at home lately than on the road.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: The Padres have had three straight walk-off wins and Eric Stults has confused me all season. I am also worried about Hyun-jin Ryu coming off the disabled list. The Dodgers are the better team here.
• The Mariners over the Nationals: Hisashi Iwakuma was pounded in his last start. But that was probably a fluke. I cannot pick against him at home even if I like Tanner Roark a lot.
• The Braves over the Marlins: I am tired of picking Nathan Eovaldi to win just to watch him lose. And I am tired about hearing about his "stuff" while he loses. Alex Wood has hung in there nicely for the Braves.
• The Royals over the Indians: The Royals have gone a bit flat in this series but you have to give credit to the Indians too and Terry Francona. He really seems to be a great manager (as much as I can tell). All that said, I like Danny Duffy over T.J. House here in this game.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Orioles over the Twins: Wei-Yin Chen has been hard to beat and the Orioles just keep rolling along. Ricky Nolasco does not seem like a candidate to slow them down at all.

Yesterday: 9-8, August: 227-181, Games of the Day: 83-59 (-1), Season: 1120-930