Our free MLB picks are out for Friday, May 20th, 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!
Atlanta Braves @ Miami Marlins – 6:40PM ET
These two National League East rivals will play the first game of a three game series on Friday. It will be the second time they’ve met this season as the Miami Marlins currently hold a two games to one lead in the season series.
Tony Battalio
The defending World Series champions are having somewhat of a championship hangover after a rough start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season. As they come into this game with a record of 17-21 through their first 38 games of the year. They are currently in fourth place of the National League East division as they are eight games back from the division leading New York Mets. They are 5-5 in their last ten games and on a one game losing streak at the moment.
The Miami Marlins aren’t having a much better start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season as they come into this game with a record of 17-20 through their first 37 games of the season. They are currently in third place in the National League East division. They are seven and half games back of first and also on a one game losing streak. However, I look for the Marlins to snap that streak in this game as I think they will get the series opening with over the Atlanta Braves,
Tony’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-118)
Jeffery Thomas
The Miami Marlins and Atlanta Braves will kick off their divisional weekend series on Friday in South Beach. It will be a battle of two usually reliable pitchers when Charlie Morton and Trevor Rogers take the mound for their respective teams. However, it’s been a stgeuggle for both as Morton is just 2-3 with a 4.93 ERA while Rogers is 2-4 with a 4.45 ERA on the season.
Despite the disappointing start, both are coming off strong starts in their last outing and hopefully are rounding into form. Morton went 6 innings only giving up 2 hits and one run against San Diego while Rogers went 5.1, allowing one run in a win versus the Brewers. I knew these guys would snap back into a groove and now with them facing each other I think we are set up for a low-scoring pitching field on Friday evening so give me the under.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Under 7 runs (-105)
Marko Nadin
The Miami Marlins are third in the NL East with a 17-20 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 5-4 10th inning loss to the Washington Nationals. The Marlins are 8th in the league hitting 1.04 home runs per game and are ranked 13th with 4.35 scored runs per game. Trevord Rogers will start for the Marlins tonight who is 2-4 for the season with a 4.45 ERA. Miami has won 7 of the last 8 games against NL East opponents and have lost 6 of the last 8 when their opponent allowed 5 runs or more in their previous game.
The Atlanta Braves are 4th in the NL East with a 17-21 record. They have lost 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off a 2-1 series loss to the Milwaukee Brewers. The defending champions are fifth in the league hitting 1.26 home runs per game but are only 20th with 4.14 scored runs per game. The Braves will start Charlie Morton tonight who is 203 for the season with a 4.93 ERA. Atlanta has won 16 of the last 21 road games vs. a team with a losing record and 21 of the last 28 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-118)
Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles – 7:05PM ET
These two American League East rivals will play the first game of a three game series on Friday. It will be the second time they’ve met this season as the Tampa Bay Rays currently hold a three games to zero lead in the season series.
Tony Battalio
The Tampa Bay Rays are playing a short three game road series this weekend fresh off a series with the Detroit Tigers. They had a decent six game home stand as they won two series over the Detroit Tigers and their American League East divisional rivals, the Toronto Blue Jays. They will be playing a Baltimore Orioles team that they have yet to lose to this season and they will look to keep it that way as well. They are having a good start to the year as they come into this game with a record of 23-15.
It’s been yet another rough start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season for the Baltimore Orioles. As their rebuild looks to be continuing through another offseason. They come into this game with a record of 15-24 though their first 39 games of the season. They are currently in last place of the American League East division as the season approaches the 25% mark. As for the result of this one I am going with the Tampa Bay Rays to get the victory.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-134)
Jeffery Thomas
The Baltimore Orioles will host the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday night fresh off avoiding a sweep to the New York Yankees. Tha Yanks had won the first three games of the series but the Orioles dig deep and got a walk-off win in the finale by a score of 9-6. Anthony Santander hit the three-run homerun in the bottom of the 9th to salvage the sweep and move the Os to 14-24 on the year. Tampa Bay is making a quick stop on the road before returning home for 6 games against the Marlins and aforementioned Yankees next week.
The Rays have won their last two series, only dropping one game each to the Blue Jays and Detroit Tigers. They are trying to three-peat in the division but still sit in second place behind New York in the AL East but can easily make up that ground with so many games left in the season. I think this is a prime opportunity to gain some of that ground against a bad Baltimore team and they will get things started in this series opener. Facing Tyler Wells helps their cause too, as he is just 1-3 on the year with a 4.18 ERA and coming off an outing where he gave up 8 hits in just four innings of work. Give me the well-rested Rays to take care of business.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 (+120)
Marko Nadin
The Baltimore Orioles are at the bottom of the AL East with a 15-24 record. After losing 6 straight games and three consecutive games in the series against the New York Yankees, they defeated the AL division leader last night by 9-6. Baltimore 27th in the league scoring 3.47 runs per game and 21st allowing 4.37 runs per game. Tyler Wells will start for the Orioles tonight who is 1-3 for the season with a 4.18 ERA. Baltimore has won 4 of the last 5 games against a right-handed starting pitcher.
The Tampa Bay Rays are second in the AL East with a 23-15 record. They have won 5 of the last 7 games and are coming in off a 2-1 series win against the Detroit Tigers. The Rays are 14th in the league scoring 4.32 runs per game and 10th allowing 4.06 runs per game. Tampa Bay will start Jalen Beeks tonight who is 1-0 for the season with a 1.72 ERA. The Rays have won 7 of the last 9 when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game and 6 of the last 8 road games against a right-handed starting pitcher.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-134)
Los Angeles Dodgers @ Philadelphia Phillies – 7:05PM ET
This will be the second and last time these two teams meet after just facing off in a series last week. The Philadelphia Phillies currently lead the season series three games to one.
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Dodgers may be having a fantastic season but they had a lot of trouble with the Philadelphia Phillies last week. They lost three of the four games in what was perhaps their worst week of the year as they also dropped a couple of games to the Pittsburgh Pirates as well. However, they have now won five straight games and they will be looking to extend that streak in this series opener. They come into this game with a record of 25-12 through their first 37 games of the season.
The Philadelphia Phillies are coming into this game with a record of 18-20 through their first 38 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. Due to the weakness of the National League East division they are currently in second place as they trail the New York Mets by seven games. They come into this one with a 6-4 record in their last ten games. As for the result of this game I am going with the Los Angeles Dodgers to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-138)
Jeffery Thomas
Here we go with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies meeting yet again after just playing a four-game series in LA last week. The Phillies dominated that series, coming just a couple innings away from completing the sweep and are hoping their bats show up once again in this one. They averaged over 6 runs a game in that series and showed flashes of how good they can truly be when they hit their ceiling. Those flashes haven’t been consistent though, and that’s why Philly sits with a record of just 18-20 on the year.
The Dodgers on the other hand are 25-12, which is good for the second-best record in the National League. They are one of the best teams in all of baseball and I’m sure they weren’t too fond of being embarrassed in their home ballpark by these Phillies. This is the perfect spot for them to get some revenge and that’s exactky how I see this series playing out. Julio Urias is coming off a couple bad outings but expect him to snap back into form here and lead his guys to the victory.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-138)
Marko Nadin
The Philadelphia Phillies are second in the NL East with a 18-20 record. They have lost 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off a 201 series loss against the San Diego Padres. Philadelphia is 8th in the league scoring 4.69 runs per game and 17th in the league allowing 4.26 runs per game. Ranger Suarez will be the Phillies’ starting pitcher tonight who is 4-1 for the season with a 3.72 ERA. Philadelphia has won 4 of the last 5 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game and 6 of the last 8 home games against a left-handed starter.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are on top of the NL West with a 25-12 record. They have won the last 5 games and are coming off a 4-0 series sweep against the Arizona DIamondbacks. The Dodgers are the best scoring team in the league with 5.56 scored runs per game and are ranked second allowing 3.29 runs per game. They will start Julio Urias tonight who is 2-3 for the season with a 3.00 ERA. The Dodgers have won 71 of the last 100 games as favorites.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-134)
Cincinnati Reds @ Toronto Blue Jays – 7:07PM ET
The Cincinnati Reds and Toronto Blue Jays will be playing the first game of their three game weekend series in this one. As the Reds are fresh off of a two game sweep over the Cleveland Guardians. Meanwhile the Toronto Blue Jays come off of a series with the Seattle Mariners.
Tony Battalio
The Cincinnati Reds have an absolutely terrible start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season. However, over the last couple of weeks they have slowly heated up and have been getting into the winners column more often than not. They come into this series with a record of 11-26 through their first 37 games of the year as they currently sit in last place of the National League East division. They are 7-3 in their last ten games of the season.
The Toronto Blue Jays were expected to be one of the best teams in Major League Baseball this season. However, they have gotten off to a bit of an average start to the year as they come into this game with a record of 20-18 through their first 38 games of the season. They are 3-7 in their last ten games and currently on a one game losing streak. As for the result of this I am going with the Cincinnati Reds to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds (+144)
Jeffery Thomas
The Cincinnati Reds will take the trip north of the border to take on the Toronto Blue Jays in an interleague series. Cincinnati was in action on Thursday, taking down their in-state rival Cleveland Guardians by the score of 4-2. After a historically bad start to the year, they have been putting together a respectable run of late, going 8-4 in their last twelve games.
Toronto will hope this series is a springboard for their offense that has been pretty bad this year. They are averaging just 3.68 runs a game (10th in the AL) and batting a putrid .190 as a team with runners in scoring position. The Jays are also just 3-10 in their last ten games. Given the form of both teams coming in, and how shaky Jays starter Hyun-Jin Ryu has been, I think the Reds can be very competitive here.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds +1.5 (-138)
Marko Nadin
The Toronto Blue Jays are third in the AL East with a 20-18 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 5-1 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Toronto is 14th in the league hitting 1.11 home runs per game and 23rd in the league scoring 3.78 runs per game. Hyun Jin Ryu will be the starting pitcher for the Blue Jays tonight who has a 9.00 ERA for the season. Toronto has won the last 5 interleague home games against a team with a losing record and 23 of the last 32 after scoring 2 runs or less in their previous game.
The Cincinnati Reds are at the bottom of the NL Central with a 11-26 record. They have won 5 of the last 7 games and are coming off a 2-0 series sweep against the Cleveland Guardians. The Reds are 15th in the league scoring 4.25 runs per game and the worst defensive team in the league allowing 6.02 runs per game. Cincinnati will start Luis Castillo tonight who is 0-1 for the season with a 5.59 ERA. Cincinnati has lost 27 of the last 89 interleague road games vs. a team with a winning record and 3 of the last 10 when their opponent scores 2 runs or less in their previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-172)
Oakland Athletics @ Los Angeles Angels – 9:38PM ET
These two American League West rivals will play the first game of a three game series on Friday. It will be the second time they’ve met this season as the Los Angeles Angels currently hold a three games to one lead in the season series.
Tony Battalio
The Oakland Athletics are having a rough season both on the field and in the stands as they have the worst attendance and one of the worst records up until this point of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They come into this game with a record of 16-24 through their first 40 games of the season as they are in last place of the American League West division.
The Los Angeles Angels are having a fantastic year as they come into this game with a record of 24-16 through their first 40 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They are currently on a three game losing streak at the moment. They are 5-5 in their last ten games as they trail the Houston Astros by a game and a half for the top spot in the American League West. As for the result of this game I am going with the Los Angeles Angels to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (-190)
Jeffery Thomas
The Oakland Athletics will get another crack at rookie pitcher Chase Silseth when they begin this three-game series versus the LA Angels on Friday. Silseth made his MLB debut earlier this month against the As, shutting them out for six innings and only allowing one hit. He will be matched up against Oakland’s best pitcher, Paul Blackburn who is 4-0 on the year with a 1.67 ERA.
Blackburn has been lights out, giving up two runs or fewer in 6/7 starts this year. He also is 1-0 with a 0.67 ERA in two career starts against the Halos. Given this pitching duel and the ineptitude of Oakland’s offense, I think this game easily goes under the total.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Under 7.5 runs (-108)
Marko Nadin
The Los Angeles Angels are second in the NL West with a 24-16 record. The Angels have lost 3 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 3-0 series loss to the Texas Rangers. They are third in the league scoring 4.97 runs per game and hitting 1.40 home runs per game. The Angels will start Chase Silseth tonight who is 1-0 for the season. Los Angeles has won 5 of the last 7 after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game and 12 of the last 17 after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game.
The Oakland Athletics are at the bottom of the AL West with a 16-24 record. They have lost 4 of the last 5 games and are coming off a 14-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins. Oakland is second to last in the league scoring 3.36 runs per game and 12th allowing 4.07 runs per game. The Athletics will start Paul Blackburn tonight who is 4-0 for the season with a 1.67 ERA. Oakland has lost 6 of the last 8 when their opponent allows 5 runs or more in their previous game and 4 of the last 5 when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (-190)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
