MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 10, 2015

Happy Mothers Day everyone.

I picked both ends of a double-header correctly and was 5-2 with the first seven picks. Then the toilet flushed. I went 1-7 the rest of the way for a really bad day and another Pick of the Day down the tube. I don't know if they will ever play in Denver again as the Rockies were postponed again.

Sunday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Orioles: It seems the only team Bud Norris pitches well against is the Yankees. It's just like Wei-Yin Chen, who turns into Kershaw against the Yankees. But I'm still picking the Yankees because of Michael Pineda.
• The Blue Jays over the Red Sox: I don't know what to make of Clay Buchholz other than how I can't watch him because of that greasy hair. It's disgusting. He has been such a bust so far this year. R.A. Dickey is hard to trust as well. But he has had only one bad start in his last six, so I'll go with the hot Jays over the cold Red Sox.
• The Indians over the Twins: It's hard to pick against the Twins right now. They are playing amazing. But the match-up of Danny Salazar vs. Trevor May seems too much on the Indians' side.  It's still tough picking against the Twins...
• The Rays over the Rangers: The Rays are another team playing pretty well. They are two games back of the Yankees. Jake Odorizzi should have a good day and Wandy Rodriguez will have trouble.
• The Nationals over the Braves: Like I said yesterday, Bryce Harper is out of his mind right now and the Nats are making their move. Jordan Zimmermann needs some run support and to have a good day, but that should happen against Alex Wood.
• The Mets over the Phillies: I really am rooting for Clay Billingsley. I am a sucker for comeback stories. But picking against Bartolo Colon has been unproductive lately for obvious reasons.
• The Pirates over the Cardinals: Jeff Locke has pitched pretty well against the Cards in his career. I am not overly confident that Tyler Lyons is an MLB pitcher and Matt Reynolds is a poor substitute for a highly missed Matt Carpenter.
• The Brewers over the Cubs: The Brewers are suddenly hitting. Or, the Cubs have stopped pitching. Whatever the combination, I have been slow on the uptake. I'll go with Matt Garza (heaven help me) over Kyle Hendricks.
• The Reds over the White Sox: Michael Lorenzen has looked pretty good for the Reds and I think Todd Frazier will have a big day against John Danks.
• The Marlins over the Giants: Mat Latos was better his last time out and might be figuring it out. His five walks bother me though when he beat the Nationals. Ryan Vogelsong is what he is and will probably keep the Giants in the game at least.
• The Dodgers over the Rockies: Maybe they will get the game in today. Who knows. If they do (and I think the East Coast games will be more of a weather problem today), then Clayton Kershaw still beats Jorge De La Rosa.
• The Mariners over the Athletics: Do you want to pick against Felix Hernandez at home? I don't.  Jesse Chavez goes for the A's.
• The Padres over the Diamondbacks: Andrew Cashner is 0-3 in his recent starts against the Diamondbacks. However, today, the D-backs don't have a starting pitcher and from all accounts I've seen, are going with a bullpen day where the bullpen will pitch the entire game. That doesn't sound very appetizing.
• The Tigers over the Royals: Oy. This series has become as unpredictable as they come. Shane Greene had a great start to his season, but has had three bad starts in a row. Chris Young gives up nothing but fly balls but that is a good thing the way the Royals' outfielders can fly around. I have no idea...

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Angels over the Astros: This pick went bad yesterday. But I have to go with what looks right each day and try to forget about yesterday. Garrett Richards has looked strong and his knee is holding up thus far. I think he will be much better than Scott Feldman.

Yesterday: 6-9, May: 67-58, Season: 231-223, Picks of the Day: 18-16

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: August 17, 2014

To finish a day of picking at 8-6 (the Rockies and Reds were postponed) when both Clayton Kershaw and Felix Hernandez lose is pretty fortunate. You counts on those two pitchers every time they take the mound. They had only lost five games between them all season. Kershaw was the Game of the Day pick, which didn't work out, but otherwise, I feel pretty fortunate.

Two other picks that surprised me were the Yankees beating the Rays and Phil Hughes winning his 13th game. The Bronx were still not bombers, but they got good pitching. And what can you say about Phil Hughes? He is simply not walking anyone and that limits the problems he can get into. I am happy for his success.

Sunday's Picks:

• The Orioles over the Indians: The Indians are tough at home and I keep going against that here with these picks. But that's how good the Orioles seem to me. Maybe losing Manny Machado hurts more than I think it does.  I still think Kevin Gausman should be better than Danny Salazar. But I won't be surprised if Salazar has a big day.
• The Tigers over the Mariners: Joe Nathan and Jim Johnson in the same bullpen? That sounds frightening if I am a Tigers fan. Add those two to the volatile cocktail of Joba and Coke? Yikes. I still like the Tigers' chances against Chris Young away from home and of Robbie Ray having a good outing.
•  The Marlins over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs line in their game with the Marlins yesterday: 1-6-5. Now that is ugly. I like Tom Koehler at home and even though Josh Collmenter will benefit with a big park too, I still like the Marlins here.
• The Cubs over the Mets: Rafael Montero has only had one good outing out of five and still couldn't win that one. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta has been very good and won't have to face David Wright, who will sit out the game today.
• The Red Sox over the Astros: Collin McHugh strikes a lot of guys out, but he is not efficient. An not-efficient pitcher does not stand a chance against Boston. Joe Kelly, on the other hand, is a great pick up for the Red Sox.
• The Rays over the Yankees: I have lost all faith in Hiroki Kuroda, which is sad. In my opinion, he pitched one season too many. The second half of last year should have been a clue. And I was wrong about how well Jeremy Hellickson would come back. He has pitched well since his return from the DL and has proven me way wrong.
• The Royals over the Twins: Tommy Milone was squeezed out of Oakland because that team prefers strikeouts from their pitchers. He fits right in with the Twins for the same reason and is a pretty good pitcher. Jeremy Guthrie is another non-strikeout pitcher, so this game will be interesting and could go either way. I went with the Royals because they actually fare better against left-handed pitching.
• The Blue Jays over the White Sox: Edwin Encarnacion is back and with Buehrle regaining his form a little bit yesterday, perhaps Drew Hutchison can do the same today. That's a big if though. Scott Carroll goes for the White Sox and has had two straight bad outings.
• The Cardinals over the Padres: There is a lot of grumbling going on by Cardinal fans about Mike Metheny. It's getting ugly. Yesterday's loss was particularly embarrassing for the team and every move the manager made was apocalyptic. But Adam Wainwright is on the mound and you have to go that way even if Odrisamer Despaigne is a pretty tough customer on the mound.
• The Angels over the Rangers: I picked the Angels to win the AL West before the season started and it took until August to get to the point where the team has a share of the division lead. Ramon Santiago is a bit iffy, but he is less iffy than Nick Tepesch.
• The Giants over the Phillies: Tim Lincecum has not pitched well in a month now and David Buchanan is pretty good. So why am I picking the Phillies to lose? Because they are the Phillies.
• The Reds over the Rockies: The Rockies had a chance to win yesterday, but the postponement because of a water main break--which I still don't get--helps the Reds get more favorable pitching match-ups. Mat Latos now gets to face Jordan Lyles, which is a better scenario for the Reds in this first game of the double-header.
• The Brewers over the Dodgers: The Brewers impressed me with their win over Kershaw yesterday. Such a win can carry over confidence-wise and help them beat Dan Haren as well. Wiley Peralta just keeps winning.
• The Athletics over the Braves: The A's need Jon Lester to come up big in this one after a bad weekend. Mike Minor has not pitched well all season. The A's should win this one. But this is baseball after all.
• The Reds over the Rockies: Dylan Axelrod looks better in this match-up against Yohan Flange than he did yesterday against Lyles. Like I said, the postponement helped the Reds.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Nationals over the Pirates: Doug Fister has been unbelievable. How can you pick against him at this point? The Nats are on fire and the Pirates caught them at a really bad time. Edinson Volquez goes for the Pirates.

Yesterday: 8-6, August: 125-94, Games of the Day: 73-55 (-1), Season: 1019-841

MLB Game Picks - Monday: June 30, 2014

Sunday went well for the game picks with nine of the fourteen picks coming in correct. In fact, things have gone pretty well down here while I am in Florida for vacation. Maybe I should stay here. Does anyone know why the Nationals had a scheduled day off on a Sunday? How weird is that?

Monday's picks:

• The Nationals over the Rockies: Welcome back Bryce Harper. We missed you. He gets a tough lefty to face upon his return in Yohan Flande who pitched well in his first start at Coors even. Jordan Zimmermann is having a great streak. I am worried about Ryan Zimmerman playing third base.
• The Rays over the Yankees: Chris Archer always does his Tom Seaver impression against the Yankees. They never hit him at all. Then again, they aren't hitting anyone at all these days. David Phelps doesn't fill me with good feelings.
• The Orioles over the Rangers: Joe Saunders is 0-4 and Ubaldo Jimenez is 2-8. What do I do with that mess? I guess pick the home team.
• The Tigers over the Athletics: This is a tough one and would be even tougher if Scott Kazmir had not struggled so badly in his last start. I like the Tigers because Anibal Sanchez has been terrific and because they seem resilient these days.
• The Red Sox over the Cubs: Perhaps a letdown after the Yankees, but I doubt it. Jake Peavy is more of a concern than that would be. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta would be a concern too the way he is pitching lately. But facing Boston, he might have an Orioles' flashback and melt.
• The Braves over the Mets: Zack Wheeler has been maddeningly inconsistent. If he has one of his on nights, he could easily shut down the Braves. But I cannot guarantee that happening. Alex Wood is okay, but gives the Mets a chance too.
• The Royals over the Twins: I really like lefties against the Twins. Danny Duffy has thrown three straight very good games and has lost two of them. That's not good for him results-wise, but I think he'll win this one. Yohan Pino, the career minor league pitcher, has had one good start and one bad one.
• The Mariners over the Astros: Taijuan Walker is back and I really like him. His results at Triple-A during his rehab were mixed: lots of homers but hardly any hits. And as much as I like Collin McHugh, he is never allowed to pitch more than five innings or so and then all heck breaks loose.
• The Reds over the Padres: The Reds are coming on and getting Mat Latos back only helps. He has been impressive. And he is going back to San Diego for this one adding drama. Jesse Hahn has been impressive himself so far in his four Big League starts, particularly the last three.
• The Dodgers over the Indians: A good pitching match-up here as the very good Dan Haren and Corey Kluber square up. The Indians lose a bat though and the Dodgers have come all the way back to tie the Giants in the division. Edge Dodgers.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Angels over the White Sox: Garrett Richards is a stud and I have to take him over Hector Noesi. Noesi has been a surprise for the White Sox but is a bit snake bit at times. He should have won his last time out for example.

Yesterday: 9-5, June: 220-182, Games of the Day: 45-41, Season: 674-563

MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 25, 2014

Yesterday wasn't pretty. The Game of the Day was only off by nine runs. No big deal. In fact, the day started bad, but the picks rallied to a 6-6 tie only to have the last three games of the night come up wrong. That's baseball.

Something really strange did happen last night. Two games went deep into extra innings. When the dust cleared, both were settled in this picker's favor. That never, ever happens. So maybe a new trend started on a bad day. If so, I'll take it.

Wednesday's picks:

• The Rays over the Pirates: David Price is too good a pitcher to lose this many games. And yet he is sort of messed up about being traded, the team behind him is spotty and I could see him losing to Charlie Morton. But he shouldn't.
• The Nationals over the Brewers: This is another game that Stephen Strasburg should not lose. He should never lose. But he is 6-5. So he loses plenty. Marco Estrada is good at home, so we'll see what happens.
• The Cardinals over the Rockies: How the heck do you pick this one!? Both starting pitchers are making their MLB debuts. Marco Gonzalez is 22 and a lefty. He has terrific numbers in the minors showing good control and low home run rates. Yohan Flande has pitched in the minors for nine years with three different organizations and is 2-9 in a hostile pitcher's park at Colorado Springs. Gonzalez is a first round draft pick. I could write another story here the same as when Yohan Pino and Andrew Heaney pitched on the same day last week. And another Yohan!
• The Giants over the Padres: The Giants have lost eleven of their last fourteen games and their last two to the Padres. So why am I picking them today? Because their worst starter is pitching (Tim Lincecum). How do you like that logic? Ian Kennedy goes for the Padres.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: I have no idea which team will win this one. Hector Noesi and Ubaldo Jimenez are so unreliable that there is no way to figure this one out. When in doubt, pick the home team.
• The Reds over the Cubs: Come on now. I get Noesi, Jimenez and now Edwin Jackson in two straight game picks!? That is unfair. U.N.F.A.I.R. Mat Latos is the pick. Grrr...
• The Phillies over the Marlins: Ha! Noesi, Jimenez, Jackson and now A.J. Burnett. The picking gods hate me. Going with Burnett over Henderson Alvarez.
• The Blue Jays over the Yankees: I saw some good signs in the Yankees' bats yesterday. Some slumping hitters hit the ball hard. But they still lost and I don't like the thought of Hiroki Kuroda in the dome. A lot will depend on how well Drew Hutchison does.
• The Athletics over the Mets: Zack Wheeler was amazing his last time out and I picked against him. And I am doing so again today even though he is facing Brad Mills of all people. The A's are just a better team no matter what happened last night.
• The Tigers over the Rangers: Anibal Sanchez might be the most overrated pitcher of the last five years. The guy is just silly good. Joe Saunders just drives me up a tree. The guy always fouls me up.
• The Braves over the Astros: Both pitchers, Alex Wood and Collin McHugh, will not pitch more than five innings. McHugh might go six. So then the pick is based on which team has the better bullpen. It has to be Atlanta.
• The Royals over the Dodgers: All things being equal, and they are probably not, I would take James Shields over Dan Haren. But Kershaw sure made the Royals look silly yesterday.
• The Indians over the Diamondbacks: Chase Anderson has pitched well for the Diamondbacks, so it is tough to pick against him. For a while, Corey Kluber was untouchable. But not lately. I'm thinking that Kluber gets on track and pitches really well today.
• The Mariners over the Red Sox: I don't like the thought of Hisashi Iwakuma's back flaring at any time. If he is not completely on his game, the Red Sox will win. The wild card here is how well Clay Buchholz does in his return from Siberia the DL.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Angels over the Twins: While I root for the career minor leaguer, Yohan Pino, I think Garrett Richards will be dominant and should win this game easily.

Yesterday: 6-9, June: 177-153, Games of the Day: 41-40, Season: 631-534

MLB Game Picks - Friday: June 20, 2014

I did not have a good day of game picking yesterday, but it was a fun night of baseball. Two rookies made their MLB pitching debuts, old friend, Nick Swisher, hit a walk-off grand slam (even if it killed that pick) and the mysterious reclamation of Scott Kazmir continued.

The only sad thing of the day was what happened to Gavin Floyd. What a horrible accident for his career, which might now be over. At least his last game was brilliant and something to put an exclamation mark on his career.

I am heading to Portland, Maine today so I can fly out to Florida tomorrow. So the next couple of days of picks could be fluff free and to the point! Friday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Cubs: How many times already this season have I had to pick between Charlie Morton and Edwin Jackson? It's a horrible choice and baseball, I don't appreciate it.
• The Nationals over the Braves: The Nats have the same problem with the Braves that the Blue Jays have in Yankee Stadium. Sooner or later, you have to be able to beat your rival at least once in a while. With Stephen Strasburg on the mound, there is no excuse. Of course, Mike Minor will try to keep the Nats scuffling against his team.
• The Yankees over the Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez is Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Which one will the Yankees get tonight? Hiroki Kuroda must keep the Orioles in the park, sometimes hard to do with those O's bangers.
• The Indians over the Tigers: Wasn't that weird yesterday when they interviewed Joe Nathan after yesterday's game and it was projected all over the stadium? That was weird and it was just one win. One win won't fix the Tigers' problems. Corey Kluber over Rick Porcello.
• The Rays over the Astros: David Price has given up a lot of home runs. The Astros are a home run or nothing ball club. So which will happen? I have to go with Price to dominate and for the Rays to scratch a few off of Jarred Cosart.
• The Marlins over the Mets: This game is a toss up. The Marlins' offense has dried up recently and the Mets never had one. Daisuke Matsuzaka has been pitching well, but is that a mirage? Henderson Alvarez has done great at home, but not last time. Questions abound...
• The White Sox over the Twins: Hector Noesi has surprised. It's not that he has been great. What is surprising is that he has not been awful. He could pitch decently enough to win over the Twins and the White Sox' power could derail Ricky Nolasco.
• The Royals over the Mariners: I am still hearing reports that Hisashi Iwakuma is having problems with his back. That makes me too nervous to pick him. Instead I'll go with Big Game James Shields with the Royals staying hot.
• The Cardinals over the Phillies: It's hard to argue with Jaime Garcia's two great road starts and I always like lefties against the Phillies. A.J. Burnett can be had, especially early in the game.
• The Rockies over the Brewers: This game could be high scoring. Or Christian Bergman can have a third straight good start and win. Either way, Marco Estrada at Coors does not make me comfortable.
• The Diamondbacks over the Giants: Except for two bad starts against the Dodgers, Josh Collmenter has pitched well. Tim Lincecum has pitched well twice in a row. This is a toss-up for me. So I'm going with the home team.
• The Athletics over the Red Sox: The A's picked up Brad Mills for a dollar. So naturally, they will make hamburger look like filet mignon. It's the A's! They are the smartest cats around. It will help that the A's face Felix Doubront who has been awful this season.
• The Angels over the Rangers: Garrett Richards is a stud. And Joe Saunders is...well...Joe Saunders. I have picked way too many home teams today. Scary.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: See? I had to pick a road win in here somewhere. So let it be Dan Haren handling the Padres while the Dodgers score four runs at least off of Ian Kennedy.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Reds over the Blue Jays: The Blue Jays are slumping and have lost nine of their last twelve. They then send Liam Hendriks out there to face the Reds in their park. Ugh. The Blue Jays lose a bat in the NL park and Mat Latos was great in his first start back from the DL.

Yesterday: 5-7, June: 142-118, Games of the Day: 39-37, Season: 595-499