Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Game Picks - Tuesday: August 21, 2012

The good news is that this Monday was not terrible like last Monday. The bad news is that it was not great either. In fact, it was a wash as the Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, Orioles, Diamondbacks and A's all lost. The Dodgers loss is understandable as two great aces battled it out and either one of them could have come out on top.

Back to a full schedule on Tuesday:

  • The National over the Braves: The Braves lost a tough one yesterday. Why is Dan Uggla still a second baseman? It won't get any easier for them tonight. Stephen Strasburg against Paul Maholm. Maholm has been a revelation this season. But he'll never be a Strasburg.
  • The Phillies over the Reds: The Phillies throw an ace at the Reds for the second straight night and Cliff Lee should be a winner in this one. Homer Bailey is at a career high in innings pitched and is showing it. The Phillies are showing a little mojo here late in the season.
  • The Tigers over the Blue Jays: Max Scherzer has shut down stuff. It all depends on if he can throw enough strikes. Ricky Romero has had a tough season, though he was better in his last outing. The Tigers should win.
  • The Angels over the Red Sox: Two struggling teams go in this one with their fifth starters. Ervin Santana has been a little bit better of late but is still untrustworthy. Aaron Cook is always a rally waiting to happen. Going with the Angels.
  • The Rockies over the Mets: Not only was this pick wrong yesterday, but this picker got the location of the game wrong too. Sheesh. Citi Field is not Coors, that's for sure. Jhoulys Chacin is back for the Rockies after a long absence. That is not usually a good pick. But the Mets are struggling on offense and Chris Young inspires no confidence.
  • The Bay Rays over the Royals: The Bay Rays may never lose again. At least that is how they are looking at the moment. David Price certainly won't lose to Luke Hochevar.
  • The Rangers over the Orioles: Scott Feldman has not been good his last two outings. But he has a good history at home and against the Orioles. Chris Tillman has been good and so-so. His last outing was so-so and he only lasted four plus innings.
  • The Brewers over the Cubs: What a horrible pick this one is to make. The Cubs have a kid named Chris Rusin making his major league debut while the Brewers start Marco Estrada who is zero for the season. Oy.
  • The Yankees over the White Sox: Another horrible pick. Ivan Nova has been stinky for the last quarter of the season. He gives up extra base hits like lollipops. Meanwhile, the White Sox go with Francisco Liriano who is totally unpredictable with a bad history against the Yankees. If Liriano is sharp, he could shut the Yankees down. But Liriano sharp is often an oxymoron.
  • The Cardinals over the Astros: Lucas Harrell is the closest thing the Astros have to a chance in any game they play. Unfortunately, Harrell squares up against Adam Wainwright, who has resumed his ace status after a slow start to his season.
  • The Marlins over the Diamondbacks: Trevor Cahill is a bit homer-prone and Mr. Stanton has been pretty warm hitting home runs lately for the Marlins. The outcome will depend on which Ricky Nolasco shows up to this party. If it is the good one, the Marlins win.
  • The Athletics over the Twins: Brett Anderson is making his first start in way over a year after TJ surgery. Those picks are ones not usually made here. But the Twins start Cole De Vries and that hardly inspires a Twins pick. Is it a good thing that the A's are getting these injured pitchers back in the middle of a wild card race?
  • The Pirates over the Padres: The Pirates are sinking a bit but A.J. Burnett will like pitching at Petco Park and should win his seventeenth. Jason Marquis can offer some resistance to that idea depending on how sharp his slop is tonight.
  • The Dodgers over the Giants: Joe Blanton hasn't won a game since going to the Dodgers. It is time for him to fix that tonight. He has a chance depending on what the Dodgers do with Tim Lincecum who can turn in any kind of performance at any given time it seems.

And the Game of the Day!

  • The Mariners over the Indians: Now that old(er) Fausto is going by his real name, we have two pitchers named, "Hernadez," going in this one. Felix Hernandez is the good one, of course. Roberto Hernandez is the one who gave up eight runs in his first outing back. This might be the first time the Mariners have been the pick of the day.

Yesterday: 6-6
Week: 16-11
Month: 161-117
Season: 1003-797
Games of the Day: 74-58

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