MLB Game Picks - Wednesday: June 10, 2015

I got smoked by the results yesterday. Wow. For every correct pick I had, there were two incorrect picks. Yeah, that's bad. Congrats to young Mr. Jungmann winning his first MLB start and appearance. But I did not expect you to win. Congrats Chris Heston on your no-hitter, but I picked against you. Congrats Eduardo Gonzalez on another great start. But your team couldn't score. It was a good day for rookies (if you don't count Noah Syndergaard) and a bad day for me.

Wednesday picks:

• The Reds over the Phillies: I have no idea about this one. Jon Moscot starts for the Reds and I know very little about him. I know Jerome Williams of the Phillies and he throws an occasional good game. But Joey Votto is on fire, so I'll go with the Reds.
• The Blue Jays over the Marlins: This is another one to throw up my hands and go, "I don't know!" Scott Copeland is an overachiever for the Blue Jays as a high round draft pick who worked quickly through the Blue Jays' system. He doesn't strike people out. The Marlins start Tom Koehler, but their team is in such disarray (besides Giancarlo Stanton) that I can't trust them. Eight in a row for the Blue Jays?
• The Yankees over the Nationals: Speaking of eight in a row, that is what the Yankees are shooting for tonight. Nathan Eovaldi will either give them a good outing or get blown up by homers. There is no in between. Get the bullpen ready. Gio Gonzalez can be had right now.
• The Rockies over the Cardinals: Ugh! Another tough pick. Chad Bettis has been spectacular as has Carlos Martinez. Which one cracks tonight? The Cards have some injuries right now.
• The Orioles over the Red Sox: The Red Sox are doing slightly better against lefties lately, but are still poor overall. That's why I give the edge to Wei-Yin Chen over Rick Porcello. The Orioles are hitting again.
• The Cubs over the Tigers: Shane Greene is still in the Tigers' rotation after pitching terribly since the first month of the season. Not good. Meanwhile, Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta can be very tough.
• The Rays over the Angels: You have to tip your cap to the pitching coach of the Rays. He stayed put while everyone left and look what he has done for Erasmo Ramirez. It's quite remarkable, really. Jered Weaver remains my least favorite player in baseball. What a jerk on the field he is.
• The Braves over the Padres: Tyson Ross is a very talented pitcher whose control has been his worst enemy this season. If he puts it together, this pick is toast. If not, and if Williams Perez keeps being decent, the Braves should win.
• The Mets over the Giants: The young phenom, Matt Harvey, faces the borderline Hall of Fame pitcher, Tim Hudson. Interesting match-up. I have to go with Harvey.
• The Mariners over the Indians: Trevor Bauer pitched great for the Indians last time they faced the Mariners last week. But he lost. Will that change tonight? It all depends on Taijuan Walker, a kid everyone has been waiting for to put it together. If he does, look out.
• The Astros over the White Sox: Carlos Correa has been fantastic thus far. And Vincent Velasquez is making his MLB debut after blowing people away in the minors since he was drafted in 2010. I like his chances tonight against the White Sox and Jose Quintana.
• The Royals over the Twins: The Royals are just the better team here. That said, whenever I pick against Kyle Gibson, I look stupid. And picking Edinson Volquez still makes me queasy.
• The Rangers over the Athletics: The Rangers have been really surprising to me. That being the case, I'm picking them here behind Yovani Gallardo against the A's and Jesse Hahn.
• The Diamondbacks over the Dodgers: Jeremy Hellickson has been on a nice roll and Brett Anderson has not been. So that's the pick.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Pirates over the Brewers: This pick was wrong yesterday and I hate picking Charlie Morton. But he is another pitcher I don't believe in that makes me look foolish all the time. He is 3-0 after all. Kyle Lohse goes for the Brewers.

Yesterday: 5-10 (ouch), June: 61-59, Season: 439-412, Picks of the Day: 34-29 (-2)

MLB Game Picks - Sunday: May 24, 2015

As good as Friday was for picking baseball games, Saturday was just as bad on the flip side. Everything that went right on Friday went wrong on Saturday. There were three extra-inning games. They all went against me. Matt Harvey was rocked. CC Sabathia was rocked (thanks also to bad defense). The Rays and Cardinals lost pitching duels. It was a bad, bad day. Oh, and for the thousandth time, Stephen Strasburg pooched the bed for me.

But we keep on going. Sunday's picks:

• The Blue Jays over the Mariners: Two young pitchers in this one with all kinds of talent struggling to find their way. Which one will perform? I'm going with Aaron Sanchez at home and the Jays are due to win a game. Taijuan Walker is the other young gun.
• The Tigers over the Astros: Anibal Sanchez is really struggling. But if he can figure some things out, he can get lots of strikeouts today. Roberto Hernandez is Roberto Hernandez.
• The Orioles over the Marlins: The Orioles might be a little upset about the pine tar thing last night. Frankly, the whole things is ridiculous since every pitcher does it. Some are just better at hiding it. Miguel Gonzalez over Tom Koehler.
• The Indians over the Reds: Raisel Iglesias isn't exactly mowing down MLB hitters and gets his second start of the season. I'd prefer to go with Trevor Bauer, which is saying something since Bauer is inconsistent at best.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: I went back and forth on this one so it will probably be wrong. First, Wade Miley isn't as good as the Yankees made him look. Secondly, the Red Sox have trouble with left-handed pitching which is what Hector Santiago is. But, the Red Sox beat a lefty yesterday.
• The Braves over the Brewers: Mike Foltynewicz was folty his last time out. But he should do better this time at home. My big problem here is that Jimmy Nelson was great his last time out against the Tigers. hmm...
• The Mets over the Pirates: Funny how the Mets and Yankees crashed and burned at the same time. Jon Niese is still a good pitcher though and Francisco Liriano is about as reliable as a Ford Pinto.
• The Phillies over the Nationals: The Phillies are also suspect against lefty pitchers, but Gio Gonzalez hasn't been very good thus far. And I can't pick against Aaron Harang because he kills me when I do.
• The White Sox over the Twins: This one is a complete toss up. Jose Quintana is a quality pitcher. Kyle Gibson has his moments. I have no idea which team will win this game.
• The Royals over the Cardinals: Whenever I pick aces lately, it doesn't work out for me. And the odds are that a pitcher who is 6-0 is going to lose some time, right Michael Wacha? I don't want him to, but...he might be bettered today by Yordano Ventura, who I don't like at all because of his demeanor.
• The Cubs over the Diamondbacks: I just can't get myself to pick a team that pitches Jeremy Hellickson. Jason Hammel goes for the Cubs.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: The Giants sweep the Dodgers. The Dodgers sweep the Padres. And baseball goes round and round. Carlos Frias, like Bolsinger, has saved the Dodgers so far. I like him over James Shields today.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The thought of Tim Hudson at Coors is a bit frightening for me. So I'm not going there. Chad Bettis has been decent enough for the Rockies in his two starts. I'll go that way.
• The Yankees over the Rangers: No wonder baseball fans complain about the Yankees being on national television so much. This isn't exactly a marquis match-up between these two teams right now or the two pitchers, Chris Capuano and Yovani Gallardo. But that's what the nation will get tonight. Oh goody.

And the Pick of the Day is:

• The Athletics over the Rays: I'm going back to my guy, Sonny Gray to take the A's over the Rays, all of which rhymes of course. You don't want to expose Erasmo Ramirez for too long because the ceiling will cave in eventually.

Yesterday: 5-11, May: 157-133, Season: 321-298, Picks of the Day: 25-21