Free MLB Picks Today for Friday, September 8th, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Friday, September 8th, 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!

Milwaukee Brewers @ New York Yankees – 7:05PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Milwaukee Brewers have been having a decent season and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling in the opening game of this series against the New York Yankees on Friday night. Milwaukee will also be looking to put some distance between themselves and the Chicago Cubs with a victory over the New York Yankees here on Friday as the Brewers look to pull away in the National League Central division title race. Milwaukee comes into the opening game of this series with a record of 77-62 through the first 139 games of the 2023 major league baseball regular season. Following Chicago’s loss on Thursday night Milwaukee now holds a two game advantage on the Cubs, and they will be looking to extend that advantage with another win here over a struggling Yankees team.

The New York Yankees will be looking to bounce back after the rough showing on Thursday night in the finale of their series against the Detroit Tigers. New York has all but been officially eliminated from the postseason this year as a rough year full of injuries has finally caught up to them. They slid all the way to the bottom of the American League East division, and they were never able to recover after getting their back off of the injured list. At this point in the season, they will be looking to play for momentum to put towards next year, and to avoid finishing the year with a losing record. Unfortunately for the New York Yankees, I don’t see them picking up the victory here in this one on Friday either as I have Milwaukee grabbing the win.

Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox – 7:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been an incredible season for Baltimore, and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling in the opening game of the series against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night at Fenway Park. Baltimore currently has the best record in the American League, and they will be looking to finish out the regular season strong and build up an even bigger lead in the American League East division over the Tampa Bay Rays with a victory here in the opening game of the series on Friday night. Baltimore comes into the opening game of this series with a record of 88-51 through their first 139 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. 

Boston has had a solid season but they have flown under the radar because of the success of Tampa Bay, Baltimore, and Toronto within the American League East division. They will still be looking to make a late season playoff push coming into the final month of the season and it starts with picking up some key victories over the weekend against Baltimore at home. Boston comes into the opening game of this series with a record of 72-68 through their first 140 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Despite being way out of the division title race, they are only five games out of the third wildcard spot in the American League. However, unfortunately for Boston, I don’t see them picking up the victory in this game on Friday night.

San Diego Padres @ Houston Astros – 8:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The San Diego Padres came into the 2023 Major League Baseball season with tons of expectations and they were expected to be one of the contending teams to bring home a World Series this season as well. However, that has not been the case at all, as they come into the opening game of this series with a losing record and they all but officially eliminated from the playoffs at this point in the year. San Diego comes into the opening game of this series with a record of 66-75 through their first 141 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. They are currently in fourth place in the National League West division. 

The defending World Series champions come into the opening game of this series looking to pick up a crucial victory at home as Houston looks to get themselves back into first place of the American League West division. Houston had a slow start to the season but they have picked it up as the summer months have come and gone and they will be looking to have a consistent finish to the regular season as they try to win yet another American League West divisional title. Not only will they be looking to chase down the Seattle Mariners but they will also be looking to extend their lead in the American League wild-card race as well with a victory over San Diego here on Friday night. That is exactly what I expect as I have the Houston Astros grabbing the win in this game to open up the series. 

New York Mets @ Minnesota Twins – 8:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The New York Mets came into the season with one of the highest payrolls in all of baseball, but they have not lived up to that type of production on the field. As they currently have a losing record, they will likely miss out on the postseason, despite the massive amount of talent on their roster. New York also had a little bit of a sale at the trade deadline as they shipped off both Justin Verlander, and Max Scherzer and made it known that their window to compete for a World Series was closed for the time being. At this point in the season, they will be looking to play for pride, and they will look to build up momentum for next season, as they open up this three-game interleague series against the Minnesota Twins on Friday night on the road.

Minnesota is coming off of a series where they took two out of three games from Cleveland and with another successful performance over the weekend they can move one step closer to locking up the American League Central division as well. They currently have a six game lead over the Cleveland Guardians at the moment, and they will be looking to extend that lead with another victory in the opening game of the series on Friday night at home. Minnesota has been hot over the last couple of weeks and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling and that is exactly what I expect as I have them picking up the victory in the opening game of the series on Friday night.

Cleveland Guardians @ Los Angeles Angels – 9:38PM ET

Tony Battalio

Cleveland will be looking to get things going as they look to make up their six game deficit to the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central division. They opened up their series against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night on the road, and they looked solid for eight and a half innings before the team fell apart in the bottom of the ninth. That is something that has plagued this Cleveland team throughout the season, as terrible bullpen appearances have cost them 20 or more games on the year. Cleveland ended up collapsing as the Los Angeles Angels tied the game in the bottom of the ninth. 

The Los Angeles Angels lineup looked lethargic until they came alive in the final few innings of the game. They were able to come back from the two run deficit that Cleveland put them in to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth. At this point in the season, the victory does not mean much for the Los Angeles Angels, but it is a crucial blow to the Cleveland Guardians, as it essentially puts them one step further away from getting into the playoffs this season. However, Cleveland has been solid at bouncing back after losses this season and I expect them to do that here on Friday night.

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