Our free MLB picks are out for Friday, April 29th, 2022! Make sure you check our MLB picks before the action kicks off.
Look below to find our free MLB picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Houston Astros @ Toronto Blue Jays – 7:07PM ET
The Houston Astros and Toronto Blue Jays will meet for the second time this season. The last time these two teams played it was the Blue Jays who came away with the series win as they took 2 out of the 3 games.
Tony Battalio
The Houston Astros come into this one coming off of a series with their American League West rivals the Texas Rangers. It has been a slow start to the season for the defending American League pennant winners as they come into this one only one game away from the .500 mark through their first 19 games of the season. Taking the mound for them in this one will be Jose Urquidy who is 1-1 on the season with a 5.52 Earned Run Average. He is averaging around five innings per game and has only seven strikeouts.
The Toronto Blue Jays are fresh off a series with their American League East division rivals the Boston Red Sox. They have yet to lose a series this season as they have been great out of the gate. Now they will look to finish the regular season with a winning record against the Houston Astros. It is fair to say that these six games between the two teams could potentially be a preview of the American League Championship Series in October. As for the result of this series opener I am taking the Toronto Blue Jays to pick up the victory over the Astros.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-120)
Jeffery Thomas
The Houston Astros and a Toronto Blue Jays will start up a weekend series north of the border on Friday. These two teams just played a series against each other 5 days ago and it was the Blue Jays who came out on top, taking two of three. The Astros bounced back from that series by taking three of four from the Texas Rangers. The Blue Jays also took three of four in their next series, against the Boston Red Sox, and are now just a 0.5 game behind the New York Yankees for the top spot in the AL East.
The Toronto Bkue Jays are a team I will never have a problem backing and they just showed they have what it takes to beat the Astros just a week ago. The Astros are still adjusting to not having Jose Altuve in the lineup and just haven’t been looking like that elite offense we’re accustoming good seeing. That will cost them in a game like this, against a Toronto team that can score with the best of them. I like the Jays here to take the series opener at home
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-120)
Marko Nadin
The Toronto Blue Jays are second in the AL East with a 13-7 record. They are going into the series against the Houston Astros after defeating the Boston Red Sox 3 games to 1 in the previous one. The Blue Jays are 15th in the league with 4.04 runs per game and are the best team when it comes to home runs with 1.39 per game. Toronto will start Yusei Kikuchi tonight who is 1-1 for the season with a 3.75 ERA. They have won 6 of the last 7 games as favorites and the last 4 played on Friday.
The Houston Astros are third in the AL West with a 10-9 record. They are coming off three consecutive wins over the Texas Rangers on the road. The Astros are fifth in the league with 1.12 home runs per game and 13t allowing 3.96 runs per game. The Astros will start Jose Urquidi who is 1-1 for the season with a 5.52 ERA. Houston has won 5 of the last 7 games against AL East teams and 97 of the last 139 opening games of a series.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-120)
Minnesota Twins @ Tampa Bay Rays – 7:10PM ET
The Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays will be meeting for the first time this season in this three game weekend series. Minnesota is coming off of a series with the Detroit Tigers while the Rays are coming off of a series with the Seattle Mariners.
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Twins are coming into this one with some momentum after a pair of sweeps over American League Central divisional opponents has them on a seven game winning streak. They will come into this one with a record of 11-8 through their first 19 games of the season, as they are currently in first place of the American League Central division. Taking the mound for the Twins will be Dylan Bundy who is 3-0 with a sub one Earned Run Average of 0.59.
The Tampa Bay Rays are expected to be one of the favorites to win the American League pennant this season. But they have started off the season a little slow as they come into this game around the .500 mark through their first 19 games of the season. The Rays are coming off of a tough series with the Seattle Mariners and will now be looking to cool off the red hot Twins over the weekend. As for the result of this series opener I am going with Minnesota as they are coming into this one with a ton of momentum.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins (+116)
Jeffery Thomas
The Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays will square off in a three-game series in Tampa starting up on Friday night. The Twins are sneakily one of the hottest teams in baseball, winning seven straight games after a 4-8 start to the season. They are coming off a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers, where they outscored their division rivals 17-5. The Twins will look to keep things going against the Rays who took two of three from the Seattle Mariners. Both of these teams are in the tops of the conference and are 2 of the 6 AL teams with at least 11 wins so far this season.
The Twins are only 3-4 on the road this season while the Rays have rattled off four out of five games at home. Dylan Bundy is playing a bit over his skis at the moment for the Twins and is due to give up some runs, which I think is what will happen in this contest. Give me Corey Kluber and the Rays to get this opener on Friday.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-136)
Marko Nadin
The Tampa Bay Rays are third in the AL East with a 11-8 record. The Rays have won the last three series with a 2-1 record, most recent one against the Seattle Mariners. Tampa Bay is 13th in the league scoring 4.34 runs per game and 16th in the league allowing 4.01 runs per game. The Rays will start Corey Cluber who is 0-1 for the season with a 3.68 ERA. The Rays have 89 of the last 125 games as a home favorite and 53 of the last 78 home games against a team with a winning record.
The Minnesota Twins are on top of AL Central with a 11-8 record. They have won the last seven games sweeping the series against the Chicago White Sox and the Detroit Tigers. The Twins are ninth in the league with 1.07 home runs per game and 16th with 4.02 runs per game. Minnesota will start Dylan Bundy who is 3-0 for the season with a 0.59 ERA. The Twins have won the last 5 games against right-handed pitchers and 4 of the last 5 opening games of a series.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-136)
Los Angeles Angels @ Chicago White Sox – 8:05PM ET
The Los Angeles Angels and Chicago White Sox will be facing off for the first time this season. As the Angels are coming off a series with the Cleveland Guardians and the White Sox are coming off of a series with the Kansas City Royals.
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Angels are coming into this second straight series with an American League Central team with a ton of momentum. After they picked up a series win over the Cleveland Guardians. Now they will look to grab another against a struggling Chicago White Sox team that was expected to be the favorites in the American League Central division. They have Noah Syndergaard on the mound for this opening game as it is a battle of aces between him and Lucas Giolito.
The Chicago White Sox have been in a free fall as of late as they have been swept by both the Cleveland Guardians and Minnesota Twins. Their series with the Kansas City Royals wasn’t perfect either. Now they will look to hit the reset button as their ace takes the mound in this series opener against the Los Angeles Angels. Chicago was expected to be the top team in their division and they will come into this game below .500 and a couple games of first place. As for the result of this one I’m going with the Los Angeles Angels to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (+108)
Jeffery Thomas
The Los Angeles Angels will travel to the Midwest for a weekend series with the Chicago White Sox. The Angels have won five straight games and are coming off a clean four-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians. This 13-7 start for LAA has them feeling very confident early on and believing this is the year they make finally get in the playoffs and make some noise. A long ways to go before we get there though, and they for now will focus on the White Sox who are coming off three straight series losses. The most recent one was against the Kansas City Royals, who took two of three from the Sox in Chicago. The White Sox were huge favorites to win the AL Central enetering the year but have dug an early hole for themselves and sit at 7-11.
Two teams heading in opposite directions and the only way I can go in this one is with the Angels. Noah Syndergaard is back from his injuries and working his way back to ace form, giving up two or fewer runs in all three of his starts. That bodes well against this Chicago team that has struggled mightily on offense.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (+108)
Marko Nadin
The Chicago White Sox are third in the AL Central with a 7-11 record. They have lost 9 of the last 10 games and are coming off a 2-1 series loss against the Kansas City Royals. The White Sox are 24th in the league with 3.36 runs per game and 25th allowing 4.56 runs per game. Chicago will start Lucas Giloito who has a 1.13 ERA for the season. The White Sox have won 17 of the last 21 opening games of a series and 8 of the last 10 Friday games.
The Los Angeles Angels are on top of AL West with a 13-7 record. They have won the last 5 games and are coming off a 4-0 sweep in the series against the Cleveland Guardians. The Angels are third in the league scoring 5.01 runs per game and 1.26 home runs per game. They are also 15th in the league allowing 3.99 runs per game. The Angels will start Noah Syndergaard who is 2-0 for the season with a 2.12 ERA. They have won 5 of the last 6 games as road underdogs.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (+108)
New York Yankees @ Kansas City Royals – 8:10PM ET
The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals will be playing the opening game of their series in this one. The Yankees are coming off of a series with the Baltimore Orioles. While the Kansas City Royals are coming off of a series with the Chicago White Sox.
Tony Battalio
The Yankees are coming into this game off of a series sweep of their American League East division rivals the Baltimore Orioles. It was the second straight sweep the Yankees have picked up as they swept the Cleveland Guardians last weekend as well. They capped off their six game homestand with a perfect 6-0 record. They also got revenge on Baltimore for their series loss a couple weekends ago. The Yankees will come into this game with a record of 13-6 through their first 19 games of the season.
The Kansas City Royals have a bright future ahead of them. However, they are still a few years removed from being a series contender in Major League Baseball once again. The Royals will come into this one under the .500 mark through their first 18 games of the season, as there is a lot of room of improvement throughout the remainder of this long season. Taking the mound for the Royals in this one will be Kris Bubic who is 0-1 on the season with a 14.14 Earned Run Average. As for the result of this game I am going with the New York Yankees to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-205)
Jeffery Thomas
Things are finally clicking for the New York Yankees and they now have found themselves with two straight series sweeps of the Guardians and Orioles. The offense has awaken in a big way and the Bronx Bombers have now scored 10 or more runs in three of the last four games. That isn’t sustainable but they will try to keep that pace on Friday against a Royals team that took two of three from the Chicago White Sox. Even at just 7-10, Kansas City is second in the AL Central which only has one team above .500 in the early going.
The Royals have sound their best success this season when getting good pitching, which I don’t think will be the case on Friday. Kris Bubic has an 0-1 record with an ERA over 14 and now faces a red-hot Yankee lineup that should have a field day at the plate. I think it will be an easy victory for New York in this one and they will extend their winning streak out to seven games.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (-122)
Marko Nadin
The Kansas City Royals are second in AL Central with a 7-10 record. They are coming off a 2-1 series win against the Chicago White Sox after they lost the previous series 3-0 to the Seattle Mariners. The Royals are 25th in the league scoring 3.35 runs per game and 21st allowing 4.47 runs per game. They will start Kris Bubic who is 0-1 for the season with a 14.14 ERA. The Royals have won 6 of the last 7 Friday games and 14 of the last 20 opening games of a series.
The New York Yankees are on top of the AL East with a 13-6 record. They have the last 6 games sweeping the series against the Baltimore Orioles and the Cleveland Guardians. The Yankees are second in the league hitting 1.30 home runs per game and 12th scoring 4.43 runs per game. They will start Nestor Cortes tonight who has 1.15 ERA for the season. New York has won 9 of the last 10 games against a left handed pitcher and 9 of the last 12 Friday games.
Marko’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-205)
Cleveland Guardians @ Oakland Athletics – 9:40PM ET
The Cleveland Guardians and Oakland Athletics will be playing the opening game of their series in one. As the Guardians West Coast trip continues and the Athletics look to grab a series win at home after a not-so-far road trip to San Francisco.
Tony Battalio
It’s been a rough week for the Cleveland Guardians, as they went from sweeping the Chicago White Sox to getting swept by the New York Yankees. Following the horrible series with the Yankees they then had to play the Los Angeles Angels and they were beaten down by them over the course of a four game series. It has been a terrible road trip for the team as they will look to get back on track in this weekend series with the Oakland Athletics.
The Oakland Athletics aren’t having too bad of a start to the season despite the fact that they had a fire sale in the off-season. They come into this one a game above the .500 mark with a record of 10-9 through their first 19 games of the season. They are coming off of a split with the San Francisco Giants during the week and they will be looking to use that momentum to grab some wins over a struggling Cleveland Guardians team. As for the result of this one however, I am going with the Guardians to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Cleveland Guardians (+118)
Jeffery Thomas
A week ago on April 21st, the Cleveland Guardians were feeling good, coming off a sweep of the Chicago White Sox and sitting with a record of 7-5. Ever since then though, it’s been nothing but losses and after Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Angels, Cleveland has lost seven straught games. Two straight sweeps to LA and the Yankees has them at 7-12 and they’ll now look to turn the tide against the Oakland Athletics. The As got Thursday off after splitting a two-game set with the San Francisco Giants. They are 10-9 in the early going and in 3rd place of the very competitive AL West.
This has been a nightmare road-trip for the Guardians who were in first place when it started but that is now in the rear view mirror. They are still away from home in this series which gives us more opportunities to continue to fade them and I will have no problem doing so. Look for the more rested As to get this win here and start off their weekend on a positive note.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics (-138)
Marko Nadin
The Oakland Athletics are fourth in the AL West with a 10-9 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 1-0 win over the San Francisco Giants. The Athletics are 19th in the league with 3.89 runs per game and 10th allowing 3.67 runs per game. They will start Frankie Montas who is 2-2 for the season with a 3.28 ERA. The Athletics have won 6 of the last 8 games against a right-handed pitcher and 7 of the last 10 home games.
The Cleveland Guardians are fourth in the AL Central with a 7-13 record. They have lost the last 7 games getting swept in the last two series against the NY Yankees and the LA Angels. The Guardians are scoring and allowing 4.51 runs per game which puts them 10th offensively and 22nd defensively. Cleveland will start Aaron Civale who is 0-2 for the season with a 9.58 ERA. They have lost 43 of the last 63 games against a team with a winning record.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics (-138)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
