MLB Game Picks - Sunday: August 4, 2013

Ah! For the first time in months, I slept in this morning. I sure needed that. And I woke up this morning to find that I had my second straight 11-4 day to cap off a good week and what has been a great start to August. For the young month, I am 29 of 41. Not bad.

I should have gone with Jake Peavy as his debut with the Red Sox was everything they could have hoped for. I went one day too long with the Mets as they lost in extra innings. I should have gone with the A's over the Rangers and the Mariners beating up on the Orioles was a total surprise. Scott Feldman is no Jake Peavy.

Forgive me for the picks being a little late today, but here they are for Sunday:

• The Tigers over the White Sox: This pick depends on Rick Porcello having a decent afternoon. Andre Rienzo goes for the White Sox for his second big league start. His first was pretty good. The Brazilian Rienzo has a big arm and questionable command. This pick could be trouble.
• The Indians over the Marlins: I have trouble seeing the Indians losing this one. Scott Kazmir has been very good lately (and a great story of perseverance). But Nathan Eovaldi has been pretty decent for the Marlins.
• The Royals over the Mets: I like Zack Wheeler and hate picking against him. But without David Wright, what is left for the Mets? Which means that I doubt they score against Ervin Santana who is throwing the ball brilliantly lately.
• The Reds over the Cardinals: This game has me doing somersaults. Lance Lynn and Mike Leake are both having good seasons and seem just about even to me. The Reds are at home, so that is the way I am going with the pick.
• The Red Sox over the Diamondbacks: Doesn't it seem like the Red Sox have already played 81 games at home this season? Felix Doubront needs to come up big for this pick to fly. Though I feel bad for Brandon McCarthy that yet another comeback attempt has to be against this Red Sox lineup.
• The Pirates over the Rockies: I hesitate to pick A.J. Burnett to win here because he has only won four games all season. But the Pirates are the better team here, especially when they are home. Juan Nicasio goes for the Rockies.
• The Orioles over the Mariners: Joe Saunders pitched for the Orioles and will pitch with a chip perhaps. But he is still Joe Saunders at the end of the day. Wei-Yin Chen needs to have a good day as the Mariners are scoring a bit more these days.
• The Twins over the Astros: My face on seeing the starters for this game was the same as that boy in the cell phone commercial getting instructions for high school from his sister when he sees the slop from the lunchroom. Mike Pelfrey or Brad Peacock. Yuck. Twins because they are the home team.
• The Brewers over the Nationals: The only reason I am picking the Brewers in this game is because of Kyle Lohse. Otherwise, the Brewers have nothing going on. I think Lohse will out-pitch the young, Taylor Jordan, who otherwise has been decent.
• The Dodgers over the Cubs: The Dodgers are ripe for a road loss, especially if Puig sits today with his bruised thumb. But I just can't pick against them the way they are going. Stephen Fife has been okay whenever he has pitched and Carlos Villanueva does nothing to excite me.
• The Angels over the Blue Jays: Extremely torn about this pick too. Mark Buehrle has thrown two games in a row without allowing a run. He has been in total control in each of them. But Buehrle just is not the kind of pitcher who can keep doing that. I don't have much more faith in C.J. Wilson. But we'll see what happens.
• The Athletics over the Rangers: I have gotten each game in this series incorrectly. A.J. Griffin is pretty hard to beat at home and Derek Holland always tantalizes you with his talent but cannot put it together consistently.
• The Padres over the Yankees: Once upon a time (2008), the Yankees started their season with two former first round draft picks in the rotation in Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy. They started that season miserably (an understatement) and Kennedy was eventually traded in the Granderson deal. Kennedy has fallen on hard times after a great season in 2011 and a decent season in 2012. Phil Hughes has never become the starter the Yankees hoped. Kennedy is better than Hughes.
• The Phillies over the Braves: Two lefties face each other in this one as Cliff Lee goes against Alex Wood. I like Lee's chances better, though these Braves have been on an extreme roll of late.

And the Game of the Day:

• The Bay Rays over the Giants: Guillermo Moscoso replaces Barry Zito in the rotation and I do not think it is an upgrade at all. Even so, Roberto Hernandez is pitching for the Rays and old Fausto is their worst pitcher. The Rays get the nod as Fausto has at least been decent lately.

Yesterday: 11-4

Last week: 61-36

Month: 29-12

Season: 932-720

Games of the Day: 72-47

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: June 30, 2013

Saturday was another tepid picking day, which completed another tepid week, which nearly completed another tepid month. Bah! There were two Major League debuts by pitchers yesterday. I picked Taylor Jordan to win. He lost because his defense played like Little League behind him. I picked Kyle Gibson to lose and he won. Two more extra inning games finished the wrong way. And my zero for Eric Stults streak continued. At least the Game of the Day Pirates continued to win.

Sunday is my favorite baseball day of the week with all the day games. Here are the picks:

• The Marlins over the Padres: I picked against the Marlins yesterday and they won. I picked against Nathan Eovaldi last time and he won. So I guess somebody is trying to tell me something. Did you know the Marlins have a winning record in June? I probably picked half of them wrong. Andrew Cashner goes for the Padres.
• The Mets over the Nationals: Zack Wheeler has one problem as a pitcher: he walks people. The Nationals have one big problem on offense: they do not walk and are twelfth in the NL in that category. That makes me want to pick Wheeler over Gio Gonzalez. The bullpen is the key though for the Mets.
• The Braves over the Diamondbacks: I am not thrilled with either pitcher here in Trevor Cahill and Paul Maholm. That being the case, I will go with the home team and the Braves' bullpen.
• The Brewers over the Pirates: Look, I am sure that Charlie Morton is a great guy who works very hard at what he does. But he is a link to the old Pirates with his soft tosses and up and down pitching. I do not like him back in the Pirates' rotation. Going here with Kyle Lohse instead.
• The Red Sox over the Blue Jays: With Mark Buehrle and Ryan Dempster on the mound for these two teams, this could be a shoot out. Or one of those very experienced guys can have a good day. They seem even to me. So, whenever that happens, I go with the home team.
• The Angels over the Astros: Early in the season, the Angels lost regularly to the Astros. That was then, this is now and the Angels are playing much better baseball. Josh Hamilton is doing better as is C.J. Wilson. They still aren't head and shoulders above others on their team, but their resurgence helps. Lucas Harrell goes for the Astros.
• The White Sox over the Indians: The Indians have really beat on the White Sox this entire series. But Chris Sale should slow the Indians down and salvage a game for the White Sox. If Justin Masterson comes out hot though, this pick could get dicey.
• The Twins over the Royals: This is a hard game to pick. The Royals have been playing much better and Ervin Santana has pitched pretty well. And Chick Kevin Correia is not exactly reliable. But I expect the Twins to put it together for a game and get a win in this one.
• The Reds over the Rangers: I watched Yu Darvish against the Yankees and was really confused. He threw nothing but sliders and was hardly dominant. The Reds have a better lineup than the Yankees and Mat Latos has been very good. So the pick is with the Reds.
• The Cardinals over the Athletics: Tommy Milone has had three bad starts in a row. If he turns it around in this game at home, the pick is in trouble. I am not that big a fan of Jake Westbrook either. But he finds a way to win somehow.
• The Mariners over the Cubs: Jeremy Bonderman is a true underdog and you always have to root for an underdog. I am not sure that means he will win, but at least he has a chance against the Cubs and Edwin Jackson.
• The Giants over the Rockies: The Rockies have won the last two of these and the Giants are really scuffling. But despite Drew Pomeranz's terrific numbers in Triple-A this season, his Major League history is too much for me to overcome. I would much rather take a chance on Madison Bumgarner.
• The Dodgers over the Phillies: I am not a real big Stephen Fife fan, but then again, I have never been a fan of Kyle Kendrick either. Hanley Ramirez is on fire...at least on offense. The Dodgers are playing animated baseball lately. Going with them at home.
• The Orioles over the Yankees: The Yankees have reached a new level of sadness and have lost five of their last six. Frankly, watching them every day is so disheartening because it does not look like they have any chance at all to win. Hiroki Kuroda gives them a chance, but Chris Tillman will come out on top.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Bay Rays over the Tigers: Jeremy Hellickson is not my favorite Rays' pitcher for reliability. But he has been winning lately. And I like him better at this point than Rick Porcello who has gone backwards lately.

Yesterday: 8-7

Last week: 48-41

Month: 203-190

Season: 668-539

Games of the Day: 51-37

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: June 8, 2013

Andrea did her thing and the three games I said were in jeopardy yesterday were all washed out. The mini-monsoon is now directly over my head here in Maine washing out yet another weekend. That is bad for me, but good for the rest of the East Coast I suppose.

The picks were decent. The only game that seriously torqued me was the Yankees loss to the Mariners. Not that I begrudge the Mariners as their fans can use a win once in a while. But the Yankees single-handedly prolonged the career of Jeremy Bonderman and were pathetic in becoming a trivia quiz question for him. How did they do it? Their pull-happy ways allowed Bonderman to pitch outside and let the Yankees make their own outs. Compare their performance with the Cardinals who always go opposite field with runners on base. All of the Yankees outs except for three against Bonderman were pulled.

Okay, rant over. Saturday's picks:

• The Red Sox over the Angels: These two teams will play two games today to make up yesterday's washout. The pitching line is the same as yesterday with Felix Doubront facing Tommy Hanson. Whatever Doubront gives up will be made up by the Red Sox' offense.
• The Rangers over the Blue Jays: Mark Buehrle has been much better of late, but Yu Darvish--and this is the caveat--if he is on, will shut down the Blue Jays.
• The Mets over the Marlins: The pitching line will be the same as yesterday's. The extra day benefits both Jose Fernandez and Matt Harvey as they are both young pitchers thrust into Major League rotations. Harvey is the more reliable however and that is the pick.
• The Cubs over the Pirates: Jeff Samardzija and A.J. Burnett are both 3-6 and both deserve a far better record. Both should pitch well with Samardzija pitching just a little bit tighter. Poor A.J.
• The Tigers over the Indians: Justin Masterson has pitched fourteen times against the Tigers and is 2-6 with an ERA of 5.09 and a WHIP of 1.712. Ouch. He never seems to pitch that well against them. That said, he is better this year than in the past. The difference for me here is that Rick Porcello is pitching well and the Tigers are at home. The Tigers' bullpen, however, is a mess.
• The Bay Rays over the Orioles: This game could go either way. Neither starter is impressive as Jeremy Hellickson is a five inning pitcher and Kevin Gausman has an ERA over seven. The pick goes to the Rays because they are home and it could be an ugly, high-scoring game.
• The Yankees over the Mariners: This pick is more hopeful than smart. Andy Pettitte has not been great and the Yankees have managed just six hits over their last fifteen innings. Joe Saunders is exactly the kind of pitcher that takes advantage of the Yankees pull-happy ways. But the pick is still the Yankees.
• The Athletics over the White Sox: Can you pick the White Sox these days the way they are playing? Conversely, can you pick against the A's at this point the way they are playing? Both answers are no. Tommy Milone over John Danks.
• The Red Sox over the Angels: That's right, folks, I am predicting a sweep. Clay Buchholz will shut down the Angels with his excellent repertoire and the Red Sox will hit wall balls off of C.J. Wilson.
• The Royals over the Astros: The only way the Royals lose this game is if Ervin Santana gives up four homers. But Santana is very capable of doing that. The Royals better score some runs off of Erik Bedard just in case.
• The Phillies over the Brewers: This pick is seriously difficult. Good old Tom Gorzelanny makes another spot start in a career full of them. He always does a decent job in them. That left arm helps. Kyle Kendrick is Kyle Kendrick and either his batted balls will find gloves as usual, or they won't and he will look bad...along with this pick.
• The Rockies over the Padres: MLB.com does not list a Rockies' pitcher. Both ESPN.com and Yahoo Sports says that Jeff Francis will pitch. Either way, it does not matter as the Rockies are killing the ball and will score another eight to ten runs off of Eric Stults and company.
• The Cardinals over the Reds: I know that Mat Latos is really good. But after watching the Cardinals yesterday, I do not know how they ever lose a ballgame. The fact that Tyler Lyons throws from the left side does not matter much to the Reds, however, because they do equally well against either. I just think the Cardinals are the better team right now. Their bullpen scares me though.
• The Dodgers over the Braves: Kris Medlen was much better in his last start. But the Dodgers are on a roll as Puig has put a spark in them. I do not know how long it will last, but it will carry at least into today. The only reservation is their starting pitcher of Barney Stephen Fife.
• The Giants over the Diamondbacks: One of the Giants' starters needs to come up big. Madison Bumgarner is a guy who can do that. Trevor Cahill has been better in the last month or so, but can still be had. The D-backs are good. But the Giants are not rollovers.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Nationals over the Twins: Again, same match-up as yesterday was supposed to be. Gio Gonzalez and Kevin Correia. These two teams will make up their lost game tomorrow. The Twins lose their DH, which for them is a big deal.

Yesterday: 7-5

Week: 42-36

Month: 52-40

Season: 515-390

Games of the Day: 41-25