We’ve got some classic matchups today for what will be a great Saturday and of course we have the best MLB picks and predictions! Our tipsters have handpicked the best games and best picks to ensure that you start your weekend as a winner!
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox – 4.05PM ET
This Saturday afternoon clash between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox will be the third of a four game series. In the first game, the Red Sox managed to get the narrowest of wins, in 10 innings, winning 5-4. In the second game, the Red Sox made it two from two, winning 6-2.
Jesse Livermore
Given their lacklustre first half of the year with bat in hand, the Yankees tend to take solace out of having the stronger starting pitcher in their matchups. However, that will not be the case at Fenway Park on Saturday, as Boston will give Nathan Eovaldi the ball for his 20th start of the season in this matchup. Eovaldi has a 9-5 record and 3.57 ERA in 2021 and the right hander has allowed just six earned runs (five of which came in one game) in 17.2 innings across his last three starts. New York’s Jameson Taillon has also been solid recently, however he owns a 4.60 ERA this year and he is yet to face Boston at Fenway Park. Taillon will be throwing to a Red Sox lineup that ranks top five in the league for runs scored this season and owns a +35 run differential at home. Whereas New York owns a -6 differential on the road in 2021.
Jesse’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox (-172)
Tim Newton
After a bit of a shock in the first game of the series, Boston bounced back yesterday and are favored to win a third straight over the Yankees. However, it may not be so easy with Jameson Tallen taking the mound for New York. He has allowed just three runs over his last 18.1 innings pitched, across three games. Those are some very nice numbers for the Yankees’ right-hander and that is a positive sign for New York, who really need a win here. However, Boston are still the better team and have a good pitcher of their own starting with the ball. Nathan Eovaldi is having a career year and is already 2-0 in his three starts against the Yankees this season. I’m happy to take Boston to add to their AL East lead in this one.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox (-172)
Painting 101 🖌️ pic.twitter.com/C9OHmSB1Ea
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 24, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
The Red Sox are currently on a four game winning streak, thanks to a pretty convincing performance on Friday, and they go into this Saturday clash as the favorites. The road underdog tag doesn’t work very well for the Yankees; they have only won six in their previous 19 games when they are the road underdog. The Red Sox are doing really well when playing at home, they have won 10 of their last 12 games. The Yankees don’t usually perform well when playing the Red Sox either, they have won just two out of 11 games. I’ll be taking the Red Sox.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox (-172)
Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies – 6.05PM ET
This Saturday evening clash between the Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies will be the third of a four game series. In the first game, the Braves managed to get the win away from home, 7-2. In the second game, the Phillies were able to strike back, winning 5-1.
Jesse Livermore
Although Philadelphia has a strong record at home and Atlanta has below .500 record on the road, I am going to take the Braves to cover game three of this series on Saturday as underdogs. Since losing Ronald Acuna Jr. to a season ending ACL injury, the Braves have still managed to average almost five runs per contest. Atlanta recently signed Joc Pederson from the Cubs and Stephen Vogt from the Diamondbacks to bolster their lineup. Seeing as they will once again put their Acuna-less lineup to the test against Vince Velasquez on Saturday, I believe that the Braves are the more likely team to hit a winning score and like them to cover as my pick for this matchup. Velasquez has allowed 13 earned runs for an 0-2 record across his last three starts, throwing 13.1 innings in that time. As well as that, Atlanta’s Drew Smyly is 2-0 across his last three starts, having allowed just six earned runs in 16.1 innings in that time.
Jesse’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves +1.5 (-184)
Tim Newton
After picking the Phillies in the series opener and getting let down, they came out and turned things around yesterday, winning 5-1. That doesn’t make picking this game any easier tonight! However, I am siding with the Braves on the road in this one due to Philadelphia’s pitching selection. Vince Velasquez has been very ordinary when starting this season and the Braves great offense should be able to take advantage of this. While they scored just one run last night, they scored seven in the opener and I like them to reach similar heights in this one. Drew Smyly, Atlanta’s starter, is 7-3 as a starter this season and should be able to help restrict the Phillies’ lineup enough to allow Atlanta to bounce back.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (+106)
Katherine Mouradian
If you look back at just the last five road games for the Braves, they have actually won four of their last five. The Phillies are also struggling when they are the favourite, as of late, winning just one of their past five games. But the Braves are just three wins from their previous 11 clashes in Philadelphia. So, I’ll be looking at the total for this game, with the over looking like the order of the day. The over is 6-2 in the Braves previous 8 games overall, and when it comes to the Phillies, the over is 12-2 in their previous 14 games overall.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Over 9.5 (-110)
San Diego Padres @ Miami Marlins – 6.10PM ET
This Saturday evening clash between the San Diego Padres and the Miami Marlins will be the third of a four game series. In the first game, the Padres managed to get the narrowest of wins, winning 3-2. In the second game, the Padres made it two from two, winning 5-2.
Jesse Livermore
Although San Diego has struggled on the road this season, I don’t think Miami has the firepower to match it with the Padres in game three of this series on Saturday. As they have scored an average of just three runs per contest since the All-Star break and fewer than four runs per game on the season, the Marlins are usually heavily reliant on their advantage in the pitching matchup to keep them competitive in games. However, that advantage will be tough to come by as the Padres are giving Ryan Weathers the ball for his 12th start (18th appearance of the season. Weathers has a 4-2 record and 2.91 ERA this season, and the southpaw has allowed just six earned runs across his last three starts. Weathers’ impact plus a lineup that is averaging almost eight runs per game in the second half of the season, should result in a win for San Diego.
Jesse’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres (-133)
Tim Newton
The Padres have won the first two games of this series, four straight overall and I like them again tonight in this one. Miami hasn’t scored more than three runs in their last five games, going 1-4 over that stretch, while San Diego ranks 6th for both hits and runs so far this season. This is a mismatch in offensive firepower and the Padres will be too good, even though they are playing in Miami. The Marlins are just 22-23 at home this season while the Padres are 25-23 on the road and 27-21 against teams below 0.500, showing their ability to perform at a high level at all times. After winning 3-2 and 5-2 in the first two games, I’m expecting San Diego to take care of business yet again in another easy win.
Tim’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres -1.5 (+135)
.@FreddieFreeman5 + @ozzie = Good things happen!#ForTheA pic.twitter.com/VlmzWSVeRd
— Atlanta Braves (@Braves) July 23, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
The Padres are known as a team that struggles on the road, but if you look at their last seven road games, they have actually won five. I think this clash on Saturday will help to continue to improve their road stats. On the flip side, the Marlins have just won one game of their last six overall. The under also looks like the order of the day, it is 7-3 in the Marlins previous 10 games on Saturday, and is 5-1 in the previous six clashes between these teams in Miami.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Under 8 (-115)
St Louis Cardinals @ Cincinnati Reds – 7.10PM ET
This Saturday afternoon clash between the St Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds will be the second of a three game series. In the first game, the Reds got the better of the Cardinals, by the narrowest of margins, winning 6-5.
Jesse Livermore
Although the Reds entered the All-Star break as a realistic chance of competing with the Brewers for the No. 1 seed in the NL Central, a 2-5 record to start the second half of the season has seen them slip back into the pack with the likes of the Cardinals, who are 5-3 since the break in their own right. Although St Louis have been the superior team so far in the second half of the regular season, I am going to take the Reds at home in this matchup. Both starting pitchers have ERA’s in the low fours and seeing as Cincinnati possesses the more damaging offense, I like the Reds in this matchup between the two division rivals. The Reds have scored almost 80 more runs than the Cardinals in 2021, despite playing the same amount of games.
Jesse’s MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds (-190)
Tim Newton
Cincinnati took the opener and I like them to win again in this one. A 6-5 win isn’t overly convincing but given they are at home, the Reds will have the edge once again. Luis Castillo starting with the ball is an interesting choice for Cincinnati, given his poor start to the season. However, he seems to have turned things around of late and should be able to help restrict the Cardinals offense. While looking at starting pitchers, we can have a look at Jake Woodford. The St Louis rookie right-hander will start for just the third time in his career and second time this season. While he impressed in the minors and against the Cubs in his first start, he may not be able to replicate that and I am taking a chance that he won’t.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds (-190)
Katherine Mouradian
The favorite tag is something that the Reds love, they have 12 of their last 15 games when they start as the home favourite. Meanwhile the Cardinals have won five of their previous seven games overall and also nine of their previous 13 Saturday clashes. But what I’ll be getting on is the overs. The over has a record of 8-3-2 in the previous 13 clashes between the Reds and the Cardinals, and the over is 6-1-1 in the previous eight clashes between the two teams when playing in Cincinnati.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Over 9.5 (-104)
Colorado Rockies @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 9.10PM ET
This Saturday evening clash between the Colorado Rockies and the Los Angeles Dodgers will be the second of a three game series. The first game was an awesome game to watch, especially if you are a Rockies fan, they ended up getting a massive underdog win in the 10th innings!
Jesse Livermore
Seeing as the Rockies could only manage one victory against the Dodgers when the two NL West rivals recently met in Colorado, I am going to take the Dodgers to win and cover in Saturday’s matchup. Colorado are 13 games above .500 in 2021, however they are a league worst 34 games below a winning record on the road this season and they also boast the third worst traveling run differential in baseball, -96. As for Los Angeles, they own an impressive 31-17 record at Dodgers Stadium and they boast a league leading +82 run differential on their home field. As well as that, Los Angeles’ Tony Gonsolin has a sub three ERA, while Colorado’s Earned Run Average is currently 5.36. All signs are pointing to the Dodgers at home in this matchup.
Jesse’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles -1.5 (-120)
Tim Newton
Given that the Dodgers took two of three games the last time these sides played, on the road, and started well at home last night, I like them to keep that going here. LA had some disappointing performances to finish their series against the Giants, they will want to make a statement in this series against the Rockies and I like that to continue tonight. Kyle Freedland will start for Colorado and the Dodgers’ offense should be able to take advantage of his lacklustre play. In his last start, which was against LA, he gave up three runs on six hits across six innings and I like more of that action to happen again in this one. LA is one of the best teams in baseball and I think they will prove it tonight.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 / Over 8.5 (+220)
That JT swing. pic.twitter.com/1dotCILOjV
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 24, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
The loss on Friday night has taken the Dodgers to a three game losing streak. This certainly wasn’t a game that the Dodgers were expecting to lose, and I think you can’t keep a team like the Dodgers down for long. Expect the Dodgers to fire back on Saturday night. Especially when you consider the Rockies away record for this season so far stands at 10-34. Despite losing three games in a row, the Dodgers are the short priced favorite, so I’ll be backing them on the spread for more value.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-120)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
