We’ve got five free moneyline picks for five series opening matches on this busy Monday of MLB action!
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Colorado Rockies – 5.10PM ET
The Pirates and Rockies will kick off our Monday evening MLB schedule with the first match of their three game series in Colorado.
Monday’s game will be Pittsburgh’s fifth of a seven game road trip, as the Pirates recently kicked off their stretch of away games with a 3-1 series victory over the Cardinals in St Louis over the weekend. Pittsburgh outscored the home team 21-11 across the four game series.
As for Colorado, they will be returning home with just one win from their recent five game road trip. The Rockies split their two game set against the Mariners in Seattle before they were swept by the Brewers in Milwaukee over the weekend. As a result of being outscored 8-20 in their three losses to Milwaukee, Colorado’s 6-31 record on the road is now four wins fewer than the next worst team.
Rockies were shutout in Milwaukee on Sunday, 5-0. They are 6-31 on the road. They have been shut out in 11 road games. They are on pace for a 13-68 road record. Coors Field will be available for full capacity starting Monday against the Pirates.
— Nick Groke (@nickgroke) June 27, 2021
However, the Rockies own an impressive 25-16 record in Colorado and Kyle Freeland will look to improve on that record when he makes his seventh start of the season on Monday. The southpaw has an 0-2 record, 7.76 ERA, 1.99 WHIP and 19 strikeouts from 26.2 innings of action this year. Despite his poor ERA, Freeland was awesome in his most recent start, limiting the Mariners to just one run on five hits in six innings.
Tyler Anderson will make his 15th start of the season for the Pirates on Monday. The lefty has a 3-7 record in 2021, to go along with a 4.82 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 69 strikeouts from 81.1 innings. Anderson has thrown 6+ innings in each of his last three starts, allowing 11 earned runs on 21 hits in that time.
With a 6-3 record from their past nine games, we believe that the Pirates are playing strong enough baseball to upset the Rockies at home in Monday’s series opener. Other than Colorado’s record at Coors Field, all other indications in this matchup are suggesting that the Pirates are playing better baseball, and we like Pittsburgh’s lineup (who are averaging five runs per game from their last six matches) to get the better of the struggling Kyle Freeland on Monday evening.
MLB Pick – Pittsburgh Pirates (+110)
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Los Angeles Angels @ New York Yankees – 7.05PM ET
A pair of American League rivals will kick off their four game set in New York on Monday night when the Yankees host the Angels for their series opening clash.
Los Angeles will continue their east coast road trip on Monday night, as they will be looking to bounce back after being defeated in two of their three games against the Rays in Tampa Bay. The Angels had been outscored 6-17 in their losses on Friday and Saturday, however they avoided a series sweep on the road with a 6-4 win in their most recent game on Sunday.
New York were not so lucky in their series finale on Sunday, going down to the Red Sox in Boston 2-9. The loss gave the Red Sox a three game series sweep over the weekend, as the Yankees were outscored 7-18 across their three losses.
Michael King will look to snap New York’s losing streak when he makes his sixth start (13th appearance) of the season on Monday. The right hander has an 0-3 record, 4.05 ERA, 1.38 WHIP and 34 strikeouts from 40 innings of action this year. King has thrown 12.2 innings in his last three starts, allowing seven earned runs on 12 hits in that time.
Los Angeles will send Dylan Bundy to the mound for his 14th start of the season. Bundy has a 1-7 record in 2021, to go along with a 6.68 ERA, 1.39 WHIP and 60 strikeouts from 63.1 innings. In two of his last three starts, Bundy has allowed just three runs in 9.2 innings, however in the remaining appearance the right hander allowed seven runs on five hits in just 2.1 innings with the ball.
Although the Yankees lineup has struggled against top quality pitching this season, they should have no trouble getting the better of Dylan Bundy in New York on Monday. Bundy is 0-3 with a 7.91 ERA in four career road starts against the Yankees, and we like New York to continue that dominance in Monday’s series opener. As well as that, King has been a more than serviceable performer at the mound this season and New York will be supporting him with the ninth best pitching staff in baseball, owning a 3.60 team ERA.
MLB Pick – New York Yankees (-166)
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Baltimore Orioles @ Houston Astros – 8.10PM ET
The American League leading Houston Astros will host the AL’s last placed Baltimore Orioles in what will be the first match of their three game set on Monday night.
The Astros had their 11 game winning streak snapped over the weekend, losing the first match of their Saturday double header against the Tigers in Detroit. Houston finished their four game weekend series with a 2-2 split, despite outscoring Detroit 17-10 in that time.
As for the Orioles, they were recently defeated in three of their four games against the Blue Jays over the weekend. Baltimore conceded 31 runs across the four matches, resulting in them being outscored 12-31 during the series. The Orioles have a lowly 1-8 record from their last nine games and they are scoring just 2.88 runs per contest in that time.
“I think he’s one of the most underrated hitters in the game.” – Tom Verducci on @astros slugger Yordan Alvarez #TheRundown pic.twitter.com/Z6oAExqYvV
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) June 27, 2021
Thomas Eshelman will look to lead Baltimore out of this form slump when he makes his third start of the season. Eshelman has an 0-1 record, 7.27 ERA, 1.50 WHIP and just four strikeouts from 8.2 innings of action. After a promising season debut against the Blue Jays, Eshelman was costly in his last start, allowing six earned runs on eight hits in four innings.
Houston will counter with ace Zack Greinke on Monday night. Greinke has an 8-2 record in 2021, to go along with a 3.56 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 70 strikeouts from 98.2 innings. Although he has given up eight earned runs in his last three starts, Greinke dominated his most recent appearance which was against the Orioles, allowing just one run on five hits in 7.1 innings.
Seeing as the Astros have won the last three meetings between these teams, including a 13-0 victory back on June 23rd, we can’t see Houston being upset at home by the worst team in the American League. As well as that, Zack Greinke will give the Astros a huge advantage at the mound, as he is coming off a dominant performance in his last start (one run on five hits in 7.1 innings), which just happened to be against Baltimore. Houston has the best run differential in baseball and Baltimore has the worst, and with Thomas Eshelman boasting a 7.27 starting ERA for the Orioles, Monday’s matchup has the potential to get ugly.
MLB Pick – Houston Astros (-320)
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Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox – 8.10PM ET
A pair of AL Central rivals will kick off their four game series in Chicago on Monday night when the first placed White Sox host the fourth placed Minnesota Twins.
Chicago will continue their stretch of home games on Monday for what will be their third of six consecutive games at Guaranteed Rate Field. The White Sox recently split their two game home set against the Mariners, losing game one 2-3 before winning game two 7-5.
Minnesota will be feeling confident coming into Monday’s series opener, as they recently defeated the AL Central’s second placed Cleveland Indians twice in their three game set. Although they dropped game one 1-4 on Thursday, the Twins outscored the Indians 16-9 in their following two victories.
Kenta Maeda will be given the responsibility of continuing Minnesota’s winning streak when he makes his 12th start of the season. The right hander is 3-2 in 2021, to go along with a 4.85 ERA, 1.44 WHIP and 50 strikeouts from 52 innings of action. Although he struggled earlier in the season, Maeda looks to be back to his 2020 runner-up Cy Young form, having allowed six earned runs in his last three starts.
Chicago will give Lucas Giolito the ball for his 16th start of the season. Giolito has a 5-5 record, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and 110 strikeouts from 87.2 innings of action this season. The right hander has thrown six innings in each of his last three starts, allowing seven earned runs on 13 hits in that time.
Although the White Sox are at home and Gilioto has been the more consistent starting pitcher this season, we are going to take the Twins on the road for Monday’s series opener. After what can only be described as a disastrous first month of the season, Kenta Maeda has shown glimpses of his 2020 Cy Young contending form over the past month. As well as that, Nelson Cruz and Max Kepler have both destroyed Giolito throughout their respective careers, combining for seven homers at a +1.000 OPS. Seeing as Guaranteed Rate Field is known for conceding home runs, we are going to take the hard hitting Twins on the road on Monday.
MLB Pick – Minnesota Twins (+126)
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San Francisco Giants @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10.10PM ET
The two best teams in the National League will close out our Monday night MLB schedule when the Dodgers host the Giants for the series opening game between these two NL West rivals.
With wins in the opening two games of their weekend series against Oakland, San Francisco extended their winning streak to five consecutive games. However, the Giants failed to complete a series sweep at home on Sunday when they ended their winning streak with a 2-6 loss. Although they were outscored 10-11 in their series victory over Oakland, San Francisco still holds a three and a half game lead over Los Angeles for the top spot in the NL West.
Having recently played four home games against the Cubs, Monday will be the Dodgers fifth match of a six game stint at Dodger Stadium. Los Angeles won three of their four clashes against Chicago over the weekend, outscoring the Cubs 16-9 across the four games.
Trevor Bauer strikes out Fernando Tatis Jr. and they nod at one another out of respect pic.twitter.com/MTRIXHywzZ
— Jomboy Media (@JomboyMedia) June 24, 2021
Trevor Bauer will make his 17th start of the season for Los Angeles on Monday. Bauer has a 7-5 record, 2.57 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 129 strikeouts from 101.2 innings this season. The right-hander’s 129 strikeouts are the second most of any pitcher in the league this season, and Bauer also owns a 4-1 record and 2.45 ERA at home this year.
In what will undoubtedly be a spectacular pitching matchup, the Giants will counter with Anthony DeSclafani on Monday night. DeSclafani has an 8-2 record in 2021, to go along with a 2.77 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 80 strikeouts from 87.2 innings across his 15 starts. The right hander threw seven scoreless innings and allowed just three hits with nine strikeouts in his last start, and DeSclafani boasts an impressive 4-1 record and 1.84 ERA on the road in 2021.
Although San Francisco became the first team to pass the 50 win mark over the weekend, we are going to take the Dodgers at home in this matchup. As good as Anthony DeSclafani has been this season, the right hander owns a terrible 0-1 record and 14.73 ERA from two starts against Los Angeles this year. As well as that, Trevor Bauer is a proven performer at home this season and he is having an equally great (maybe greater) season in his own right, giving the Dodgers an edge in this matchup.
MLB Pick – Los Angeles Dodgers (-190)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel
