Our free MLB picks are out for Monday, April 18th, 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!
San Francisco Giants @ New York Mets – 7:10PM ET
The San Francisco Giants and New York Mets will be playing the first game of their four-game series in this one. The Giants are coming into this one with a record of 7-2, while the Mets are 7-3 on the season.
Tony Battalio
The San Francisco Giants are coming into this one with a ton of momentum as they are coming off of a three game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians. Now they will be looking to follow up on that with another great series against the New York Mets. The Giants were the best team in baseball last year and they will be looking to repeat that feat in this game but also get farther in the playoffs as well. They certainly have the talent to do so in this one.
The New York Mets are built to make a deep Major League Baseball playoff run this season. As they come into this game in first place of the National League East at the moment. They will be looking to follow up on three straight series wins to open the season and get their fourth on the year in this one against the Mets. As for the result of this game, I am taking the San Francisco Giants to pick up the win over the New York Mets in this one.
Tony’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (+102)
Jeffery Thomas
The San Francisco Giants will travel to the Big Apple to start up a four-game series with the New York Mets on Monday. It was a slow 2-2 start for the Giants to start the season, but since then they have rattled off five straight wins, including a three-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians over the weekend. The Mets have been hot lately too, winning four of their last five against the Phillies and Diamondbacks, including a 5-0 shutout win over Arizona on Sunday. The Mets are now 7-3 on the year, their best 10-game span to start a season since a 9-1 start back in 2018.
The New York Mets have that great record but I’m questioning how good the teams are that they faced. The Nationals and Diamondbacks are teams that are not built to win right now and the Phillies are one of those middling teams that could get in the postseason with the right bounces. I just don’t think they should be looked at as a team on the Giants’ level yet until they show us more and against the better teams. For that reason, I’m going to take Alex Cobb and the San Francisco Giants to get this win on the road.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (+102)
Marko Nadin
The New York Mets have started the season pretty well as they are on top of the NL East with a 7-3 record. They are coming off a 5-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks winning the series by 2-1. The Mets are ranked sixth in the league scoring 5.22 runs per game with 1.32 home runs per game. They will start Tylor Megill tonight who is 2-0 for the season. The Mets have won the last 5 games when their opponent has allowed no more than 2 goals per game and 7 of the last 9 games as favorites.
The San Francisco Giants are second in the NL West with a 7-2 record. They have won the last 5 games coming off a 3-0 series sweep against the Cleveland Guardians. The Giants are the best defensive team in the league allowing only 2.2 runs per game on a .209 average and 0.33 home runs. The Giants have won 8 of the last 10 games against the Mets. They will start Alex Cobb who is 1-0 this season with a 3.60 ERA. The Giants have won the last 4 games after allowing no more than two runs in the previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Under 6.5 Runs (-106)
Tampa Bay Rays @ Chicago Cubs – 7:40PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays and Chicago Cubs will be playing the first game of their four-game series in this one. The Rays are coming into this one with a record of 5-5, while the Cubs are 5-4 on the season.
Tony Battalio
The Tampa Bay Rays won’t have to travel too far for this one against the Chicago Cubs. They are just coming off of a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox and now they will move to the north side to play the Cubs. The Rays are predicted to be one of the best teams in Major League Baseball this season but they are off to a slow start this season as they come into this game with a 5-5 record through their first ten games. They snapped a four-game losing streak with a win on Sunday against the Chicago White Sox.
The Chicago Cubs weren’t expected to be that great this season and for this year that is checking out as they come into this one with a record of 5-4 through their first nine games of the season. The Cubs are coming into this series off of a 2-2 split with the Colorado Rockies over the weekend. As they will return to Wrigley Field for a seven-game homestand that stretches from Monday-Sunday. As for the result of this one I have the Tampa Bay Rays picking up the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-138)
Jeffery Thomas
The Tampa Bay Rays will stay in the Windy City to kick off a three-game series with the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Tampa was able to get a win over the other Chicago team, the White Sox, on Sunday to avoid the weekend sweep and stop a four-game losing streak. In those four losses, the offense could only get 9 runs in those four games but exploded for 9 on Sunday alone in the 9-3 win. The Rays are now back to .500 and will hope to get a win over the Cubs to get above that mark. The Cubs were also in action on Sunday, beating the Colorado Rockies 6-4 to snap a two-game skid.
Both of these teams have gotten off to inconsistent starts this season. A lot more was expected of the Rays who haven’t been overly impressive and the Cubs have seesawed between winning games they shouldn’t and losing ones they shouldn’t so it’s here to tell who they are so far. One thing I do know is Kyle Hendricks is usually a tough pitcher to face at home and with the Rays not being the most trustworthy team right now, I’m comfortable backing the Cubs to keep this within a run.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Chicago Cubs +1.5 (-154)
Marko Nadin
The Chicago Cubs are second in the NL Central with a 5-4 record. They are coming off a 6-4 win over Colorado finishing the series against the Rockies 2-2. The Cubs have the best hitting average in the league with .281 and are also on top with .811 OVS. The CUbs are ranked 7th in the league scoring 5.08 runs per game. They will start Kyle Hendricks tonight who is 0-1 for the season on a 7.00 ERA. The Cubs have won 8 of the last 9 games against AL East opponents and 4 of the last 5 played on grass.
The Tampa Bay Rays are third in the AL East with a 5-5 record. After losing back-to-back games against Oakland and the White Sox, the Rays snapped the four-game losing streak with a 9-3 win against the White Sox last night. The Rays score and allow 4.45 runs per game which puts them in 13th place offensively and 16th defensively. Tampa Bay has won 7 of the last 10 games against the Cubs and 4 of the last 5 interleague games on the road. They will start Shane McLanahan who is 0-1 this season with a 3.00 ERA.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Chicago Cubs (+118)
Los Angeles Angels @ Houston Astros – 8:10PM ET
For the second time, this season these two American League West division rivals will meet on the baseball field. This time the series moves to Houston for three games as the Astros hold a 3-1 advantage with 15 games remaining between the two this year.
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros are both coming into this 2022 Major League Baseball season with a ton of expectations. So far neither of them has quite lived up to those expectations that were set for them. But it is still April and both of these teams are very capable of getting hot as the season progresses and become serious American League pennants and World Series, contenders. Their fellow divisional rivals the Texas Rangers and the Seattle Mariners are also in the same boat as well this season.
The American League West Division is likely going to be a four-team race between the previously mentioned Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels, and Houston Astros. With the two teams in this game being the presumed front runners for the crown as well. This is the second time these two franchises will face off this year as in the first series of the season the Astros won it three games to one in Los Angeles. As for the result of game number one of this series I am once again taking the Houston Astros to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Houston Astros (-162)
Jeffery Thomas
The Los Angeles Angels and Houston Astros will start up their second series in two weeks on Monday in H-Town. The last series was the first few games of the season for each team and it was the Astros who came out on top in three of the four games. 21-10 was the scoring difference between the Astros and Rangers, who appeared to be on two different levels but now both find themselves with 4 losses on the year. It’s the Angels with the better record as of right now at 6-4, a half-game better than the 5-4 Astros. That will be settled in the coming days though so this is going to be a fun series.
The Astros aren’t coming into this one in the greatest form, most specifically at the plate. They’ve only scored 2.2 runs a game in their last five games, going 2-3 in that span while the Angels are coming in on three straight wins. A straight bet on form has me leaning towards the Angels, who will surely be looking to exact some revenge on their division rivals after that optioning series.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (+136)
Marko Nadin
The Houston Astros have started the season with a 5-4 record which puts them second in the AL West. The Astros are coming off a 7-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners in a series that they lost 2-1 and allowed 18 runs. Houston is 8th in the league allowing 3.68 runs per game but 28th offensively scoring only 3.56 runs per game. The Astros have won 3 of the last 4 and 7 of the last 10 games against the Angels. They will start Luis Garcia tonight who was 11-8 last season with a 3.48 ERA.
The Los Angeles Angels are on top of the AL West with a 6-4 record. They have won the last three games of a 3-1 series against the Texas Rangers. The Angels are second in the league hitting 1.52 home runs per game and 9th scoring 4.96 runs per game. At the same time, the Angels are 23rd in the league allowing 4.65 runs per game. They will start Michael Lorenzen tonight who is 1-0 for the season with a 1.50 ERA. The Angels have won the last 6 games after their opponent has scored 5 or more runs in the previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Houston Astros (-162)
Baltimore Orioles @ Oakland Athletics – 9:40PM ET
The Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics will be playing the first game of their three-game series in this one. The Athletics are coming into this one with a record of 5-5, while the Orioles are 3-6 on the season.
Tony Battalio
This series is being contested between what most people would consider being the worst two teams in the American League this season and maybe even all of Major League Baseball. As the Baltimore Orioles get set to face off with the Oakland Athletics in the Bay Area. It’s been the same song and dance for years for both of these franchises now as the cycle of rebuilds looks set to continue for a while longer as well. Both teams come into this one with average records on the season as well.
The Baltimore Orioles are coming into this one sitting at the bottom of the American League East division. They are currently 3-6 through their first nine games of the season. They do have one bright spot in the season as they are coming off of a series victory over the New York Yankees after taking the first and the last game against the Bronx Bombers. While the Athletics are 5-5 heading into this one. As for the result of this game, I’m taking the Orioles to get the win as they are riding a little bit of momentum right now.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Baltimore Orioles (+160)
Jeffery Thomas
The Baltimore Orioles are coming off a surprise weekend series win over the New York Yankees and now will travel out to California to take on the Oakland Athletics. It wasn’t clutch hitting that won the Os the series, as they were just 2 for 28 with runners in scoring position, but great pitching that carried them. They only gave up 6 runs total in the series and will need to carry that effort over against an Oakland team that has four games scoring at least 6 runs out of their last six games. The As are coming off a series loss to the Toronto Blue Jays, only winning one of three.
The Athletics aren’t a team I’m super crazy about but anytime I can get a decent price on fading the Orioles I will take it. I’m not going to overreact to them winning the Yankees series, as even bad teams win 70+ games. Instead I’m going to fade the Os against Frankie Montas and company.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics (-190)
Marko Nadin
The Oakland Athletics are third in the AL West with a 5-5 record. They are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays in a series that they lost 2 games to 1. The Athletics are fifth in the league scoring 5.5 runs per game with 1.35 home runs per game. They have won 7 of the last 10 games against Baltimore. Oakland will start Frankie Montas tonight who is 1-1 for the season with a 4.76 ERA. The Athletics have won 4 of the last 5 games against a right-handed starter and 5 of the last 7 games overall.
The Baltimore Orioles are travelling to the West coast after a 5-0 shutdown win over the New York Yankees. Anyway, the Orioles are at the bottom of the AL East with a 3-6 record. Baltimore is fifth in the league allowing only 3.38 runs per game but score even less than that as they are ranked 30th in the league with 2.36 runs per game. The Orioles have won 3 of the last 4 games against the Athletics but have lost 40 of the last 59 games following a win. They will start Spencer Watkins who has a 3.00 ERA this season.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics (-190)
Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10:10PM ET
The Atlanta Braves and Los Angeles Dodgers will be playing the first game of their three game series in this one. The Dodgers are coming into this one with a record of 7-2, while the Braves are 5-6 on the season
Tony Battalio
For the first time since the National League Championship Series the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers will face off. This series will also mark the first time Freddie Freeman will face off with his old team after he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers over the offseason. The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming into this game with a record of 7-2 as they have the best record of Major League Baseball at the moment.
The Atlanta Braves are having a bit of a championship hangover to start the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They come into this game sitting in second place in the National League East division with a record of 5-6 through their first 11 games of the season. A lot of people are picking the Braves to potentially repeat as World Series champions. As for the result of his game I am taking the Los Angeles Dodgers to get the win over the Atlanta Braves.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-198)
Jeffery Thomas
If there were any questions about the Los Angeles Dodgers after their 1-2 start, it was all put to bed quickly, as they have now won six straight following a 9-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday. They’ll now test that run against a Braves team that took a tough 2-1 on Sunday Night Baseball to the San Diego Padres. The loss pushed the defending champs to under .500 and while it’s not a cause for concern right now this early, it could become one if they get swept by the Dodgers.
This is a meeting of the last two World Series Champions on Monday and it should be a fun one. Clayton Kershaw will take the mound for the first time since being yanked from the game while pitching a perfect game, so if his stuff is anywhere near the level it was at in that game, this will not be close. I don’t think we’ll see another near perfect game, but I do see a win for LA, who is the much better team in almost every aspect and will be at the comforts of home.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-198)
Marko Nadin
The most interesting series this week will be the one where the Los Angeles Dodgers are hosting the defending champions Atlanta Braves. The Dodgers have a good start of the season as they are on top of the NL West with a 7-2 record. The Dodgers have won the last 6 games including a series sweep against the Cincinnati Reds. The Rodgers are ranked on top of the league scoring 5.81 runs per game and allow the lowest hitting average of .175. They will start Clayton Kershaw tonight who is 1-0 for the season.
The Atlanta Braves are second in the NL East with a 5-6 record. They split the series against San Diego and are coming off a 2-1 loss. The Braves are ranked 17th in the league scoring 4.27 runs per game and 25th allowing 5.10 per game. They have won 3 of the last 5 games against the Dodgers and 4 of the last 5 games as a road underdog. The Braves will start Huascar Ynoa tonight who is 0-1 for the season with a 15.00 ERA.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-198)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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