Free MLB Picks Today for Friday, July 29th, 2022

Our free MLB picks are out for Friday, July 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!

New York Mets @ Miami Marlins – 6:40PM ET

The New York Mets and Miami Marlins will be playing the first game of their three game weekend series in this one. These two National League East division teams have met three times so far this season. The New York Mets currently lead the season series seven games to four.

Tony Battalio

The New York Mets are in a great spot at the moment and they are coming off a series win against the New York Yankees. They swept a two game series against the best team in Major League Baseball and now come into the series with the Miami Marlins with a record of 61-37 through their first 98 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. The Mets currently hold a three game lead over the Atlanta Braves for first place in the National League East division. They come into this game having won seven out of their last 10 games on the year and they are currently on a three game winning streak.

The Miami Marlins are coming off of a four game series with the Cincinnati Reds where they looked absolutely terrible. However, that’s how it’s been recently for Miami as they have been stuck in a slump after coming out of the All-Star break. It has been a below average season for the Marlins as they have sort of hung around the .500 mark but can’t exactly seem to get over the hump. They currently sit in fourth place of the National League East division and with their current trend that is likely where they’re gonna remain for the remainder of the season. As they come into this game with a record of 47-52 through their first 99 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.

Jeffery Thomas

Thursday was an off day for the New York Mets who are in first place in the NL East and second in the entire National League in wins with 61. They went into that off day on a three-game winning streak after sweeping a quick two game set against their crosstown rivals the New York Yankees at home. They now will travel down to South Beach for a weekend set with the Miami Marlins who finished off their series with the Cincinnati Reds on Thursday with a 7-6 victory. 

Even as underdogs they will like their chances of notching another tally in the win column with Sandy Alcantara on the mound. He faced the Mets a couple weeks ago and threw seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 extra innings win for Miami that night. That wasn’t a fluke as Sandy has been stellar all season as gives his team a massive pitching advantage on Friday and I’m rolling with them to pull off the upset. 

Marko Nadin

The Miami Marlins are fourth in the NL East with a 47-52 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-2 series against the Cincinnati Reds. Miami is ranked 24th in the league scoring 4.09 runs per game and 13th in the league allowing 4.32 runs per game. Sandy Alcantara will start for the Marlins tonight who is 9-4 for the season with a 1.81 ERA. Miami has lost 43 of the last 61 opening games of a series and the last 4 home games.

The New York Mets are on top of the NL East with a 61-37 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-0 series win over the New York Yankees. The Mets are 8th in the league scoring 4.69 runs per game and are ranked 4th in the league allowing 3.81 runs per game. Chris Bassitt will start for the Mets tonight who is 7-7 for the season with a 3.72 ERA. The Mets have won 5 of the last 6 games following a win and 23 of the last 30 games when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game.

St.Louis Cardinals @ Washington Nationals – 7:05PM ET

The St.Louis Cardinals and Washington Nationals will be playing the first game of their three game weekend series in this one. This will be the first of two series these two teams will play this season. As they will meet in a four game series in the middle of September in St.Louis. 

Tony Battalio

The St.Louis Cardinals are heading into the final leg of their long road trip coming out of the break desperate for a series victory. Their trip started in Cincinnati where they lost two out of three games and it continued north of the border in Toronto or they just split a two game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now they will head to the capital city looking to grab two out of three games and a win here in game one to restore some momentum before returning home. Despite the rough stretch the Cardinals remain in second place in the National League Central division and have won 52 out of their 98 games they have played so far this year.

It’s no secret that the Washington Nationals are having a miserable season. In their first six games out of the break on the road they split their road trip with three wins and three losses. However, it was who the losses were against and who the wins were against they made the most difference. They lost two out of three games to the Arizona Diamondbacks but then managed to bounce back and beat the Los Angeles Dodgers twice in a three game series over the weekend. The Nationals come into this series with a record of 34-66 through their first 100 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. 

Jeffery Thomas

The St.Louis Cardinals will be getting Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado back in the lineup for their series opener against the Washington Nationals on Friday, which of course will be a much needed boost to the offense. Those two could not participate in the recent series against the Toronto Blue Jays due to not being vaccinated and it resulted in the Cards getting a split in those two games.

The Nationals are on a bit of a high note after taking two of three from the Los Angeles Dodgers. That was a matchup of the team with the best record in the league vs the team with the worst and it went the exact opposite of how everyone would have predicted. This series is another where Washington is overmatched and I don’t see their luck continuing this time around. The Cardinals are playing some great baseball at the moment and should have no issues getting this win in the nation’s capital.

Marko Nadin

The Washington Nationals are at the bottom of the NL East with a 34-66 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 2-1 series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Nationals are 26th in the league scoring 3.94 runs per game and are 30th in the league allowing 5.58 runs per game. Washington will start Anibal Sanchez tonight who is 0-2 for the season with a 6.30 ERA. The Nationals have lost 37 of the last 55 games when their opponent allows 2 runs or less in their previous game and 23 of the last 31 games played on Friday.

The St.Louis Cardinals are second in the NL Central with a 52-47 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 1-1 series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Cardinals are 9th in the league scoring 4.67 runs per game and are ranked 8th in the league allowing 4.06 runs per game. They will start Miles Mikolas tonight who is 7-8 for the season with a 2.87 ERA this season. The Cardinals have won 4 of the last 5 games when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game and have lost 7 of the last 10 road games.

Philadelphia Phillies @ Pittsburgh Pirates – 7:05PM ET

The Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates will be playing the second game of their four game series in this one. In game number one it was the Phillies who got the win. Now they will be looking to clinch a share of the series in game two. 

Tony Battalio

The Pittsburgh Pirates nearly came from 8-0 down late in the game to pick up a huge win and game one of this series on Thursday. However, they would end up falling just short and losing by a single run. Now they will come in game two of this series looking to bounce back and pick up a victory and use the momentum they gained late and Thursday night‘s ball game as a way to get them going for Friday. The Pirates come into game two of the series with a record of 40-59 through their first 99 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. 

Even though the Philadelphia Phillies picked up the win in game one of the series, their near collapse shows they still have a lot to work on. The win brings the Phillies record to 52-47 through their first 99 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. I have won six out of their last 10 games on the season and are currently 9 1/2 games back of first place in the National League East division. However, I think the Pittsburgh Pirates are going to win game two of the series to even it up at one apiece.

Jeffery Thomas

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies started up their weekend series on Thursday night and the fans were treated to a pretty exciting finish. Emphasis on finish because for the majority of the game the Phillies were running away with it, as they had an 8-0 lead after the top of the seventh inning. The home Pirates never gave up however and just kept chipping away at that lead. 

They got their first runs in the bottom of the seventh, cutting the lead to 8-2 before rattling off 5 in a last ditch effort to win in the bottom of the ninth. Ultimately it was an 8-7 defeat but definitely a commendable effort for this Pirates team that doesn’t have anything to play for this season. Now they get Jose Quintana on the mound on Friday and he has plenty of stuff in his pitching arsenal to keep things competitive. I think the momentum from the late rally translates over to this game and gets the Pirates a close loss or maybe even an outright win with one of their most reliable guys on the mound.

Marko Nadin

The Pittsburgh Pirates are third in the NL Central with a 40-59 record. They have lost 5 of the last 6 games and are currently on a four-game losing streak. The Pirates are 28th in the league scoring 3.71 runs per game and 27th allowing 5.21 runs per game. They will start Jose Quintana tonight who is 3-5 for the season with a 3.70 ERA. The Pirates have lost 11 of the last 15 second games of a series and 36 of the last 52 games played on Friday.

The Philadelphia Phillies are third in the NL East with a 52-47 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 8-7 win last night against the Pirates. The Phillies are 6th in the league scoring 4.72 runs per game and 10th in the league allowing 4.22 runs per game. Bailey Falter will be the Phillies’ starter tonight who is 0-3 for the season with a 5.18 ERA. Philadelphia has won 8 of the last 11 road games against teams with a losing record and has lost 8 of the last 10 second games of a series.

Cleveland Guardians @ Tampa Bay Rays – 7:10PM ET

The Cleveland Guardians and Tampa Bay Rays will be playing the first game of their three game weekend series in this one. These two American League teams will be meeting for the first of two times this season. As they will play a three game series in Cleveland in late September. 

Tony Battalio

After what was expected to be a loss season for the Cleveland Guardians things are actually turning out pretty successful. They are a young team and they’ve had up-and-down streaks all year long. Which is to be expected with the youth they have on the field, but right now they are in one of their hot streaks as everything seems to be clicking for them at the moment. They are only a couple games back of a playoff spot in the American League right now and if they can remain in contention down the stretch it’s gonna make for a very interesting September for this young ball club. As they come into this game with a record of 50-48 through their first 98 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. 

I can imagine the Tampa Bay Rays are certainly gonna be excited to return home to Tropicana Field. Regardless of the result in their final game of the series with the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday afternoon, Tampa Bay is going to finish their 7 Game Rd. trip coming out of the break with a losing record. They lost two of three to the Kansas City Royals and even lost four games in a row at one point as they lost the first two games of a series against Baltimore as well. Now they will be looking to bounce back in this three game weekend series against the Guardians. However, I think Cleveland takes the wind and game one.

Jeffery Thomas

The Tampa Bay Rays finished out their series with the Baltimore Orioles with a dud, losing 3-0 on the road. They only got 4 hits as a team in the game and ended the series with their divisional foes only winning one of the four games in the series. That has them coming into this series with the Cleveland Guardians with a sour taste in their mouth. Cleveland is also not feeling the best at the moment, after losing their series finale with the Boston Red Sox 4-2 on Thursday night. The loss gave them a split in the series and put them 2 games back in the AL Central division race. 

They now get another tough AL East opponent for the weekend and will need Shane Beiber to have a lights out performance to get the series started on a good note. He’s been in bad form recently though and has just a 4-6 record on the year. The Rays shouldn’t have many problems at the plate and at the end of the night I think their home fans will be driving home happy after a win.

Marko Nadin

The Tampa Bay Rays are third in the AL East with a 53-46 record. Tampa Bay has lost 5 of the last 6 games and are coming off a 1-3 series loss to the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays are 22nd in the league scoring 4.19 runs per game and are ranked 6th in the league allowing 3.98 runs per game. Tampa Bay will start Jeffrey Springs tonight who is 3-2 for the season with a 2.50 ERA. The Rays have won the last 6 home games against teams with a winning record and 8 of the last 11 games when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.

The Cleveland Guardians are second in the AL Central with a 50-48 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off 2-2 series tie with the Boston Red Sox. Cleveland is 16th in the league scoring 4.48 runs per game and is ranked 17th in the league allowing 4.36 runs per game. The Guardians will start Shane Bieber tonight who is 4-6 for the season with a 3.55 ERA. Cleveland has won 4 of the last 5 road games against teams with a winning record and has lost 13 of the last 19 games when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.

Seattle Mariners @ Houston Astros – 8:10PM ET

The Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros will be playing the second game of their four game weekend series in this one. The Houston Astros currently lead the season series heading into the final series between the two teams this season. In game number one of this series the 

Tony Battalio

After being swept in a three game series to close out the week the Houston Astros bounced back in a big way in game one of the series with a decisive 4 to 2 victory. Now they will be looking To pick up the win here in game two and clinch at least a share of the series heading into game three on Saturday afternoon. The Astros have been one of the best teams in Major League Baseball all season long as they leave the American League West by double digits and have for the majority of the year. They come into the second game of this series with a record of 65-35 through their first 100 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.

The Seattle Mariners will be looking for a way to bounce back after their loss in game one of the series on Thursday evening. Just last week the Mariners were one of the hottest teams in Major League Baseball and now they’re starting to cool off again. They come into game two of this series with a record of 54-46 through their first 100 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. The Mariners still have a ton of potential and they still have a ton of time to have another huge winning streak but they will have to beat the Astros here in game two and take this series if they wanna remain competitive in the division in my opinion.

Jeffery Thomas

The Houston Astros responded well to being swept out last series by the Oakland Athletics and bounced back by taking down the Seattle Mariners 4-2 at home. Alex Bregman’s two-run homerun in the first inning was enough to keep the Astros from facing a deficit the entire game, but that was just the start of a pretty impactful night for the third baseman. He later would break a 2-2 tie in the 8th inning with an RBI double and then score on a wild pitch to give us the final score. 

The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Seattle and I’m sure opened up old wounds from when these same Astros just swept them days ago. The Mariners are a really good team that can beat a lot of the teams around the league but this matchup just doesn’t seem to work too well for them and I think that Houston continues their dominance of their division rival Friday.

Marko Nadin

The Houston Astros are on top of the AL West with a 65-35 record. The Astros have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 4-2 win over Seattle last night. The Astros are 14th scoring 4.51 runs per game and are ranked third in the league allowing 3.44 runs per game. Houston will start Justin Verlander tonight who is 13-3 for the season with a 1.81 ERA. The Astros have won 20 of the last 27 games against teams with a winning record and 8 of the last 11 second games of a series.

The Seattle Mariners are second in the AL West with a 54-46 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a loss in the series opener in Houston. The Mariners are 23rd in the league scoring 4.13 runs per game and 5th in the league allowing 3.83 runs per game. Seattle will start Robbie Ray tonight who is 8-7 for the season with a 3.90 ERA. Seattle has won 11 of the last 13 second games of a series and 25 of the last 31 games overall.

If you need more news, information and predictions, head over to our MLB hub page for all your baseball needs!

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