MLB Game Picks - Monday, May 25, 2015

Memorial Day, 2015. Take a moment and reflect and honor our heroes before you barbecue or enjoy the rest of the day. And thanks to the holiday, we have a full slate of Monday games for our added enjoyment.

After two really wonderful picking days on Thursday and Friday to go a combined 21-6, the last two days have been completely the opposite to the tune of 10-21. Holy cow is that a turnaround or what!? How depressing. But, I press on because that's what I do.

Monday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Royals: Yes, I am warped and deranged and a homer. But gosh, the team has to win a game some time. You have two pitchers who don't strike anyone out and two lineups that don't strike out much. So BABIP is key. Can the Yankees take what Guthrie gives them and hit it to all fields? If they don't, they lose. Nathan Eovaldi and Jeremy Guthrie.
• The Rockies over the Reds: The Reds are scuffling as badly as the Yankees. Jason Marquis will be adequate. He is always adequate. If Eddie Butler is better than adequate, he wins.
• The Phillies over the Mets: Severino Gonzalez has been pretty good for the Phillies. The Mets are playing as badly as the Reds and Yankees. Do I see a pattern here? Probably. Bartolo Colon goes for the Mets and he is either great or awful. Which one will it be? The Mets and Yankees are both home. That's interesting.
• The Astros over the Orioles: The Astros have been unbelievable. I have to roll with it until they are not. Wei-Yin Chen has lost a couple of his most recent starts and Dallas Kuechel has been amazing.
• The Twins over the Red Sox: Ricky Nolasco has been good. That's so hard to believe after how bad he was last year. Joe Kelly has been a disappointment thus far for the Red Sox. Both teams have surprised. The Twins in a good way, the Red Sox not.
• The Brewers over the Giants: Tim Lincecum has had a good season so far. But his last two road starts were not good. The Brewers are somewhat hot right now. Kyle Lohse is pretty tough at home.
• The Nationals over the Cubs: Tsuyoshi Wada was pretty impressive in his first start of the season. He is a fly ball pitcher. So a lot will depend on which way the wind is blowing at Wrigley. Tanner Roark gets a start for the Nats. It's about time.
• The Tigers over the Athletics: Shane Greene has done well in the starting role for the Tigers. The bullpen is killing Detroit though. Jesse Hahn will probably get knocked around by the Tigers.
• The Rangers over the Indians: The Rangers just crushed the Yankees so their offense is clicking. Will Josh Hamilton enhance that or change the dynamic and slow it down? Hmm. Phil Klein goes for the Rangers and Shaun Marcum goes for the Indians.
• The Cardinals over the Diamondbacks: Carlos Martinez goes for the Cardinals who just roll along despite some injuries. Chase Anderson goes for the Diamondbacks and he can be tough at times.
• The Pirates over the Marlins: Andrew McCutchen is heating up and that bodes well for the Pirates. Charlie Morton doesn't thrill me though. David Phelps goes for the Marlins.
• The Bay Rays over the Mariners: This game is a toss up. Jake Odorizzi and Roenis Elias seem about the same to me. The Rays don't hit well at home. I don't know. Pick em.
• The Braves over the Dodgers: I'm just feeling this one. Brett Anderson goes for the Dodgers and he should be decent at home in that big ballpark. Williams Perez was really good for the Braves in his first start of the season. I'm going with the Braves in an upset of sorts.
• The Padres over the Angels: Tyson Ross has lost four of his last five decisions. But he has pitched well. The Padres can explode on offense or be dud-like. It goes from day to day. Jered Weaver somehow pitches at MLB level despite a shredded arm and 83 MPH fastball. Who knows.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Blue Jays over the White Sox: This seems like a mismatch, which is always frightening to say. However, Drew Hutchison should be much better than Hector Noesi, the fourth ex-Yankee pitcher starting today and the only one not having a good season.

Yesterday: 5-10, May: 162-143, Season: 326-308, Picks of the Day: 26-21

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

MLB Game Picks - Saturday: May 23, 2015

It is the first day of Memorial Day Weekend and I woke up early to play golf...and it is snowing. What!? Snowing!? Sheesh.

Anyway, my picks are snowballing too as I went 12-3 yesterday after going 9-3 the day before. I'll take a 21-6 run. The only three incorrect picks were two emotions driven ones. I had the Yankees and they couldn't pitch or field. I had the Cubs and they couldn't hold a lead and I had the Rockies who were beat by the voodoo-driven Giants.

Saturday's picks:

• The Yankees over the Rangers: I know. The Yankees are terrible lately. I know. But amidst that terrible is CC Sabathia who has been pitching really well. I'm going with him over Nick Martinez. Martinez has been very consistent and decent for the Rangers.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: Robinson Cano hits a homer off of Mark Buehrle and James Paxton continues his good pitching of late.
• The Mets over the Pirates: A.J. Burnett has been pitching really well for the Pirates but in this case, I have to go with Matt Harvey. Harvey has simply been outstanding.
• The Nationals over the Phillies: This pick makes me a bit nervous because picking Stephen Strasburg never works out for me. But he does do better at home and the Nationals are being carried on Bryce Harper's shoulders. Cole Hamels goes for the Phillies.
• The Tigers over the Astros: The Tigers don't have the offense they had a year ago, but they score enough to win if they get good pitching. Kyle Lobstein has been inconsistent, but I like him in this one over Lance McCullers.
• The Indians over the Reds: Well, welcome back Mr. Corey Kluber. Where have you been? Judging from Kluber's last performance, picking against him would be stupid. Anthony DeSclafani is going in the wrong direction for the Reds.
• The Braves over the Brewers: Probably the only thing that could stop the Brewers right now is a very good Shelby Miller. Mike Fiers would have to match him. I don't know, this is a tough one.
• The White Sox over the Twins: You didn't expect the Twins to be that good, right? Chris Sale over Trevor May.
• The Giants over the Rockies: Charlton Chris Heston has been a nice story for the Giants. How will he do at Coors? He faces Jordan Lyles who hasn't been as good as last year. Giants...
• The Giants over the Rockies: Yeah. I'm going with a sweep. Yusmeiro Petit is a nice swing man for the Giants to have. Meanwhile, the Rockies have to dip and give David Hale a start. Not pretty.
• The Marlins over the Orioles: Dan Haren is 2-0 at home in Miami with a 1.80 ERA there. That seems like a good pick even though Mike Wright was outstanding for the Orioles in his debut start.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: I'm not buying Steven Wright as a starter for the Red Sox. And the Red Sox cannot hit lefties. Though Rusney Castillo might help there. I'm going with the Angels behind C.J. Wilson.
• The Cardinals over the Royals: It's hard to pick against the Royals these days. And John Lackey versus Edinson Volquez is a tough pick. I'm going to pick the Cardinals. And much to Bob's surprise, I have been fairly accurate with my Cards picks this season.
• The Diamondbacks over the Cubs: The Diamondbacks are playing well right now and Rubby De La Rosa has been very good. Jake Arrieta gentille Arrieta hasn't been as fine as last year to this point.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: Mike Bolsinger has been terrific for the Dodgers. Ian Kennedy is your average fourth starter. He'll keep the Padres in the game. No more, no less.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Rays over the Athletics: Shield your eyes. The A's are gruesome right now. And Kendall Graveman has a good name to be pitching for them. Nate Karns or Nathan Karns, whichever B-R wants for it's linker, has been very consistent for the Rays.

Yesterday: 12-3, May: 152-122, Season: 316-287, Picks of the Day: 25-20

MLB Game Picks - Friday: May 22, 2015

Finally! It took my son's birthday to get me on track! I only got three wrong for the day yesterday for a much needed boost to my picking morale. Now, if I can keep this going, I would be most thankful!

Friday's picks:

• The Pirates over the Mets: Noah Syndegaard has been everything the Mets had hoped he'd be. But Gerrit Cole is everything the Pirates hoped he'd be too. As the starters cancel each other out, I'll go with the home team.
• The Yankees over the Rangers: The Yankees get some much needed home cooking after a brutal road trip and have their best pitcher on the mound. The Rangers go with Colby Lewis, who I will no longer bad-mouth.
• The Mariners over the Blue Jays: Let's see...would you go with Felix Hernandez or Marco Estrada? No brainer right? Those are always the ones that trip me up though.
• The Tigers over the Astros: I love me some Collin McHugh. But here's the thing: The Astros ONLY hit homers. They have like a .200 batting average. The Tigers' home park is massive. So not many homers are hit there. I'm going with Alfredo Simon and the Tigers.
• The Orioles over the Marlins: The Marlins have gone from bad to worse under their new manager. What a dumb organization that is. Anyway, I like Ubaldo Jimenez's chances in Miami better than Henderson Alvarez as he is currently pitching.
• The Indians over the Reds: The Reds have hit hard times of late and Mike Leake is leading the way with quite a drop off in production since his early starts. Carlos Carrasco is a quality starter.
• The Angels over the Red Sox: The Red Sox are reeling and can't seem to hit lately. They keep tinkering with things and they should just get something they believe in and leave it alone for a while. But anyway, I like Garrett Richards over Mike Porcello here.
• The Rays over the Athletics: Disaster has struck the A's as they have sunk to the depths of the AL. Boom goes the division championship dreams! Scott Kazmir hasn't been at fault. But I think Chris Archer is the difference here.
• The Brewers over the Braves: The Brewers are a hot team right now, so I'm sticking with them while they are sizzling. Shame on Fredi Gonzalez for the pine tar incident. That was a cheap shot.  Wily Peralta and Alex Wood are the starters.
• The White Sox over the Twins: Phil Hughes and Jeff Samardzija have been encouraging to their respective teams with their last starts. I simply like the threat of the long ball against Hughes by the White Sox hitters.
• The Rockies over the Giants: The Giants just made the Dodgers look like silly putty. So why pick against them? Because baseball is funny. I don't like either starter here in either Ryan Vogelsong or Kyle Kendrick. But one of them has to win.
• The Royals over the Cardinals: You have to admit that everything is going right for the Royals when they sign Chris Young and he starts out going 3-0. They are charmed right now. They are also the perfect offense against Lance Lynn as they don't strike out and sit on fastballs.
• The Cubs over the Diamondbacks: The D-backs have been playing some good baseball of late. Jon Lester, however, has been coming on strong for the Cubs. Josh Collmenter was good his last time out but isn't as good as Lester.
• The Dodgers over the Padres: The Padres are going to pay for what happened to the Dodgers in San Francisco. Again, that's baseball. Speaking of baseball, Andrew Cashner has had quality starts in six of his last seven outings and is 1-7. Ouch. Zack Greinke goes for the Dodgers.

And the Pick of the Day

• The Nationals over the Phillies: Sean O'Sullivan shut me up his last outing and pitched really well. But he runs up against Max Scherzer. And the Nats are hot and Bryce Harper got thrown out of his last game. Look out.

Yesterday: 9-3, May: 140-119, Season: 304-284, Picks of the Day: 24-20

MLB Game Picks - Thursday: May 21, 2015

Doggonit! Another sub-.500 day! And the Pick of the Day was wrong again. Geez, Louise! I should have picked the Giants as the pick of the day since they ALWAYS beat the Dodgers.  At least I got that pick right. And look at Houston go! How fun!

Happy birthday to my son, Bill. I can't believe you are 36!

Thursday's picks:

• The Diamondbacks over the Marlins: First of all, that was a dumb managerial choice by the Marlins. Secondly, will Mat Latos really pitch since his shin is so bruised up? Thirdly, I like Archie Bradley.
• The Orioles over the Mariners: This pick didn't work out yesterday, but I'm nothing if not stubborn. J.A. Happ never thrills me. But Chris Tillman isn't pitching that well either. The Orioles really miss that big slugger playing in the other dugout.
• The Tigers over the Astros: David Price is just too good not to pick and even though the Astros are winning every day, they have to lose some time. Scott Feldman goes for the Astros.
• The Cardinals over the Mets: Jaime Garcia is pitching? How novel. They might get a few decent starts from him and I like lefties against the Mets. Jacob deGrom has been inconsistent.
• The Rockies over the Phillies: The Rockies have been terrible. Just terrible. And the Phillies are playing well. But I'm still going with Jorge De La Rosa against Jerome Williams.
• The Giants over the Dodgers: And so Madison Bumgarner and Clayton Kershaw go at it again. Why do teams match their aces like that? You know the Giants are going to win. You just know it.
• The Angels over the Blue Jays: I've been saying it for a long, long time. The Blue Jays hired the wrong manager. They need to fix that. Matt Shoemaker over R.A. Dickey.
• The Athletics over the Rays: The fall of the Athletics has been stunning. They are really bad this year. The Rays aren't playing much better this week. I'm not big on Jesse Chavez or Alex Colome. It's a toss up.
• The Rangers over the Red Sox: The Red Sox are not hitting left-handed pitchers. And though Wandy Rodriguez is left-handed, it's not like he's great or anything. Clay Buchholz was very good his last time out. We'll see what that means.
• The Indians over the White Sox: The Indians are a really strange team and it is hard to figure them out. I like Danny Salazar though and I'm going with him over John Danks who, after all, is John Danks.
• The Cubs over the Padres: Odrisamer Despaigne has been really creamed in his last three appearances. I mean, he has been hammered! Watch him pitch great today. Heh. But I'm going with another bad appearance and a win by the Cubs behind Kyle Hendricks.

And the Pick of the Day:

• The Braves over the Brewers: The Brewers have been playing well, but so have the Braves. So it will be an interesting series. I'm liking Julio Teheran over Matt Garza in this one.

Yesterday: 7-8, May: 131-116, Season: 295-281, Picks of the Day: 23-20