Game Picks - Monday: April 15, 2012

Sunday was the bomb here and the old picker shack. The only blips in the entire day were the losses by the Athletics and the Nationals. That means the overall record was 12-2! "But William," you make ask, "That only adds up to fourteen games." Correct, you observant ones. While considering the games yesterday, this picker totally missed the Red Sox - Bay Rays contest. What the heck, eh? Oh well, one senior moment is not going to detract from such a fine day of picking.

There are ten games on the schedule today and there is no way to forget the Red Sox and Bay Rays because they play less than two hours from now. Monday's picks:

• The Bay Rays over the Red Sox: James Shields should be better than Daniel Bard in this game. Though the Red Sox are playing well right now and David Ortiz is absolutely raking. Bard is simply too big a risk.
• The Nationals over the Astros: Stephen Strasburg! Every one of his outings is an event. Heidi Ho, bring it on! Kyle Weiland of the Astros will try to keep up.
• The Yankees over the Twins: Carl Pavano has pitched well against the Yankees but it seems unclear at this stage of his career if the pitcher has much left. Freddy Garcia isn't a lock for the Yankees either. But if he can hold the Twins down to three or four runs, the Yankees win.
• The Braves over the Mets: The Braves have had a great home stand and it should continue against Dillon Gee and the Mets. Tommy Hanson goes for the Braves.
• The Orioles over the White Sox: Jake Arrieta has looked impressive and looks to be coming into his own as a top pitcher in the league. Phil Humber is the White Sox's fifth starter and was skipped by a rain-out in his first start. The White Sox are tough at home though.
• The Tigers over the Royals: Daniel Duffy was impressive his first time out with the Royals, but he is unlucky enough to go up against Justin Verlander who will have the extra chip on his shoulder of his last outing when the Bay Rays ambushed him in the ninth inning.
• The Padres over the Rockies: Jeremy Guthrie makes his second start at Coors. The first one wasn't pretty. Cory Luebke needs to get past the first inning and if he does, will shut the Rockies down.
• The Diamondbacks over the Pirates: Joe Saunders was lambasted in this space and proceeded to make this picker pay with seven shutout innings his first time out. Okay. Point taken. Picking him over hard-luck Erik Bedard, who is 0-2 despite pitching really well in both games.
• The Angels over the Athletics: The Angels had to fly across the country overnight to be able to play this game at home. But Jered Weaver flew home earlier and should be rested enough to win over Brandon McCarthy and the A's. Weaver will need to keep Cespedes in the yard and if he does, will win easy.

And the Game of the Day!

• The Phillies over the Giants: We will see if Tim Lincecum lets a little home cooking helps his sagging 2012 get any better. But it might not matter as he faces Roy Halladay. You can't pick against Roy Halladay.

Yesterday: 12-2  Weee!

Week: 12-2

Season: 81-60

Games of the Day: 7-4