MLB Game Picks - Friday: June 5, 2015

Beware of short schedules. They can hurt you and yesterday's hurt me. I had a terrible picking day and not very much went correctly. The Picks of the Day are definitely in a slump and the month of June just took a decided hit. The sun is shining here this morning, however, and it is hard to get too upset. Besides, there is always another day.

Friday's picks:

• The Nationals over the Cubs: It seems the National's offense should be better than it performs. Sooner or later, it should click in. As it stands, the Cubs match up well with them and today could go either way. Tanner Roark vs. Tsuyoshi Wada
• The Yankees over the Angels: Another game that could go either way and it will depend on which borderline starter will be on his game tonight, Nathan Eovaldi or Jered Weaver.
• The Giants over the Phillies: Jerome Williams has been decent of late, but I like Tim Lincecum on the road here, especially against the Phillies. The Giants have a losing streak to get over.
• The Orioles over the Indians: There are two things I keep waiting for. The first is the shoe to drop on Shaun Marcum, who has given the Indians two good starts in three attempts. The other is for the Orioles to bust out with a big offensive game.
• The Athletics over the Red Sox: This is interesting because you have two teams that struggle to hit left-handed pitching both starting lefties against each other. The battle of the computers! Scott Kazmir over Wade Miley.
• The Reds over the Padres: You can see Raisel Iglesias improving with each outing and getting his footing. I think he wins this one over Tyson Ross, a pitcher I pick less often on the road.
• The Braves over the Pirates: This is a tough call. Williams Perez has been fairly effective, which he'll have to be because the Pirates are hitting better. I just don't trust Charlie Morton.
• The White Sox over the Tigers: Kyle Ryan has already beaten the odds to pitch in the Majors considering where he was drafted. He won't go deep in the game and that is a problem because of the Tigers' bullpen. I'm going with Jose Quintana and the White Sox.
• The Twins over the Brewers: I have never benefited from picking against Kyle Gibson of the Twins. He's like my American League Aaron Harang. So I'll pick him over Kyle Lohse of the Brewers.
• The Royals over the Rangers: Hmm...You have a team that doesn't walk facing Chi Chi Gonzalez that walks too many batters. You have an Edinson Volquez against a power hitting team when a few years ago, he gave up homers left and right. But he doesn't anymore. So I guess that's the pick.
• The Rockies over the Marlins: Another tough game to pick. In this one Eddie Butler has looked good at times and bad in others. Then there is Tom Koehler having to pitch at Coors. I think this will be a Rockies rout. We'll see though.
• The Mets over the Diamondbacks: Jeremy Hellickson was supposed to pitch yesterday and was held back a day. I still think the Mets win behind Jon Niese.
• The Cardinals over the Dodgers: A lot will depend on how dominant Carlos Martinez is. Playing in big Dodgers Stadium should help him if he doesn't strike out a lot of batters. I like this kid. I'm not as confident in Brett Anderson.
• The Mariners over the Bay Rays: J.A. Happ is not a big confidence boost for me. However, I think Jake Odorizzi is the one Rays pitcher who can be had with a good night at the plate.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the Astros: I have a feeling that Roberto Hernandez will not last long in his outing tonight. Meanwhile, I'm looking for a bunch of strikeouts for Aaron Sanchez.

Yesterday: 3-7, June: 28-24, Season: 406-377, Picks of the Day: 31-27