Free MLB Picks Today for Friday, August 18th, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Friday, August 18th, 2023! 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!

Toronto Blue Jays @ Cincinnati Reds – 6:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

No pun intended, but the Toronto Blue Jays have arguably flown under the radar this season. It is due to no fault of their own, but mostly because of the success of two of the other teams in the American League East division, as well as success of the Texas Rangers in the American League West division. As those surprising teams that jumped off to incredible starts have overshadowed the Toronto Blue Jays solid season up until this point. Toronto will be looking to pick up a solid victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the opening game of this three-game interleague series here on Friday night in Cincinnati. 

It has been a roller coaster of a season for the Cincinnati Reds and at the moment they are treading water in the middle of the National League Central division. They are still well within striking distance of grabbing a playoff spot and the division title this season, but they will have to get back to their winning ways very quickly, if they want to remain in the conversation coming down the final stretch of the season. They could do so with a victory in the opening game of the series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night at home. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, I have Toronto picking up the victory in the opening game of the series on Friday night.

Boston Red Sox @ New York Yankees – 7:05PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Boston Red Sox come into this series in a weird situation this season. As they currently have a winning record and they are one of the best teams in the American League this year, but they find themselves sitting on the outside looking in the playoff conversation because I’m out of the American League East division. They will be looking to rack up some victories against their archrivals over the weekend to get themselves firmly back into the conversation in the American League wild-card race. Boston comes into this game with a record of 63-58 through their first 121 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season and they are currently less than four games out of the third wildcard spot in the American League.

The New York Yankees are having a rough season as well, for what seems like yet another season injuries have caught up to them and have put them on the outside looking in at the postseason this year. In past years, New York has been able to coast while their injured players recovered and got healthy for the playoffs. However, that has been a different story this season, as the competition level has been much higher and if they don’t get things together quickly, they will likely miss the playoffs entirely this season. I don’t expect it to get much better for New York in the opening game of this series either, as I have the Boston Red Sox picking up the victory on Friday night in the Bronx.

Chicago White Sox @ Colorado Rockies – 8:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a less than impressive season for the Chicago White Sox after they came into the year with plenty of expectations. Many people expect them to compete for an American League Central division title and after the disaster that the Central division has been this season, then you can argue that this season has been even more of a train wreck for the White Sox. They don’t have much left to play for this season except for their pride, and they will be looking to finish the regular season strong, and it starts with grabbing a victory in the opening game of the series against the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. 

The Colorado Rockies are still in the very early stages of the rebuild and it’ll likely be a while before they become a contending team in the National League west division again. They come into this game with one of the worst records in all of baseball this season and unless they turn something around quickly, they will likely lose over 100 games this year as well. Colorado comes into this game with a record of 46-75 through the first 121 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. However, I do expect them to pick up a victory over the Chicago White Sox here on Friday night at home to open up the series.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Los Angeles Angels – 9:38PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Tampa Bay Rays had a historic start for the 2023 Major League Baseball season. However, as of late their performance has people wondering if they peaked at the wrong time following their incredible undefeated streak to start the season back in April. They have looked average sounds coming out of the All-Star break, and they find themselves in danger of falling even farther behind the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East division, unless they get things turned around rather quickly. They will be hoping they can get the ball rolling in the right direction once again with a victory in the opening game of the series against the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night in California. 

The Los Angeles Angels took a massive gamble when they decided not to trade away Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline and go all in to make a playoff appearance this season. The unfortunate reality for the Los Angeles Angels is that if they fail to make the postseason this year, they run an even higher risk of losing Shohei Ohtani in free agency over the off-season. They are running out of time to get their season turned around and become a realistic contender for one of the three American League wildcard spots and they will have to pick up a victory over the Tampa Bay Rays here on Friday night, if they want to show any signs of life, coming down the final stretch over the last two months of the season. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Angels, I don’t see that happening as I have the Tampa Bay Rays picking up the victory here on Friday night to open up a series.

Miami Marlins @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was a successful start to the season for the Miami Marlins, but they certainly crashed coming out of the All-Star break and now they run the risk of missing out on the postseason this year. Miami comes into the opening game of this series against the Los Angeles Dodgers with a record of 63-59 through the first 122 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. They are currently on a two game losing streak coming into the opening game of this series and they have lost five out of their last 10 games on the season. Somehow they currently find themselves tied for the third wildcard spot in the National League but if they don’t get things turned around quickly, they will fall down the standings faster than they realize.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will be looking to extend their lead in the National League Central division with another victory here in this game against the Miami Marlins. The Los Angeles Dodgers come into this game with a record of 73-46 through their first 119 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Los Angeles comes into this game as winners of ten in a row as they are the hottest team in all of Major League Baseball this season. I expect their winning streak to continue in the opening game of this series against the Miami Marlins as I look for the Los Angeles Dodgers to grab a comfortable victory here on Friday night at home.  

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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.