Free MLB Picks Today for Saturday, September 16th, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Saturday, September 16th, 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!

Atlanta Braves @ Miami Marlins – 4:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been an incredible season for the Atlanta Braves this year, and they are officially National League East division champions at this point of the season. They will be looking to keep the momentum rolling as they try and clinch, the best record in the National League and one of the best records in all of baseball over the last couple weeks of the regular season. Atlanta is only four victories away from crossing the 100 win mark for the season and they have picked up six victories in their last 10 games on the year as well. They will be looking to get one game closer with another solid performance here on Saturday night against the Miami Marlins on the road in Miami. 

It has been an up-and-down season for the Miami Marlins, as they had a much better first half of the season compared to their second half of the season after the All-Star break. Coming into the second game of the series against the Atlanta Braves, they still find themselves on the outside looking in when it concerns National League wildcard race. The National League wildcard race is very tight and it will likely come down to the final weekend of the season this year, as four different teams are all within a half of a game of the third wildcard spot. Unfortunately for Miami, I don’t think they will pick up the victory here in this one as I look for Atlanta to grab the win on Saturday night.

New York Yankees @ Pittsburgh Pirates – 6:35PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a rough season for the New York Yankees but the moment they still have an outside shot of making the postseason. They will have to be perfect throughout the remainder of the regular season, and it starts with grabbing a victory here against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night at PNC Park. Had the Yankees not dealt with all the injuries that they did going into and coming out of the All-Star break, then they would likely be secure in the top three of the American League wildcard race at the moment. However, they are on the outside looking in and they certainly have some work to do going into the second game of the series against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday night. At the moment, the Yankees are seven games out of the third wildcard spot in the American League with an elimination number of nine.

It was a fantastic start to the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates as they picked up 22 victories in their first 30 games of the year, and at the time they had the best record in the National League as well. However, it is all been downhill since then, for Pittsburgh as they are heading towards yet another season of missing out on the playoffs and yet another losing season as well unless something changes rather quickly coming down the final stretch of the year. Pittsburgh comes into the second game of the series on Saturday night with a record of 69-79 and if they want to finish the year with a winning record, they will have to win 13 out of their last 14 games. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh I don’t see them getting the win in this one as I have New York picking up the victory.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Baltimore Orioles – 7:05PM ET

Tony Battalio

Tampa Bay will be coming into the third game of this four game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Saturday night looking to pick up a much-needed victory. After their one run victory on Thursday night to open up the series, Tampa Bay trounced Baltimore by six runs on Friday night to take their second consecutive game of the series. Now, with a third consecutive victory here on Saturday night, they would officially clinch the series as well as set up a sweep opportunity on Sunday against the Orioles. Not only that, but they would further close the gap in the American League East division coming down the final stretch of the season. 

Baltimore will be finding a way to beat Tampa Bay after two consecutive losses to the Rays on Thursday and Friday night. Baltimore currently has the best record in the American League and they have had a firm control of the American League East division for the last couple of months as well. However, if they managed to lose the Tampa Bay here on Saturday night, for the third consecutive evening, that firm grip on the division will quickly slip away and the last two weeks of the season will get very interesting. They are tired heading into Saturday night’s game, but I do expect Baltimore to bounce back and pick up a much needed victory here in this one.

Cincinnati Reds @ New York Mets – 7:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a roller coaster of a season for the Cincinnati Reds and they will be hoping that they are not done peaking heading into the final two weeks of the season. They will desperately need to pick up a victory over the New York Mets in the second game of the series on Saturday night as they look to keep their hopes alive in a very tight National League wildcard race. At the moment Cincinnati is one of four different teams that are within less than one game of the third wildcard spot in the National League. At the moment they currently hold the tiebreaker, and they will be looking to extend their lead in the wildcard race with a victory here in this one.

There’s not much to say about how this New York Mets season turned out after they came into the year with one of the highest payroll in all of Major League Baseball. They have been a complete disappointment, and at this point of the season, they will just be looking to string together some victories as they try to build momentum before heading into next season. They also have a massive opportunity to spoil the Cincinnati Reds playoff hopes this season if they can get a victory here on Saturday night and wrap up the series on Sunday with a victory as well. However, I don’t see that happening as I have the Cincinnati Reds picking up a victory here on Saturday night on the road in New York City.

Chicago Cubs @ Arizona Diamondbacks – 8:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Chicago Cubs will be looking to bounce back after the Arizona Diamondbacks blew the doors off of them in the opening game of the series on Friday night at Chase Field. After having a very slow start to the season, Chicago played well throughout the summer to put themselves in a position to make the playoffs this season, but they will be hoping that the train doesn’t fall off the tracks coming into the final two weeks of the year. They will be desperate to pick up a victory in the second game of the series on Friday night against Arizona as they look to keep pace with the other wildcard teams in the National League. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks picked up a massive victory as they tied the Cincinnati Reds for the third wildcard spot in the National League with their win on Friday night against the Chicago Cubs. Now Arizona will be looking to replicate that performance for a second night in a row here on Saturday evening at home as they look to take over the third wildcard spot from Cincinnati and potentially even chase down Chicago for the second wildcard spot as well. Arizona has been playing well throughout the year despite the little dip in production they had coming out of the All-Star break. I expect the Arizona Diamondbacks to grab a second consecutive victory over Chicago here on Saturday night to officially clinch the series before heading into Sunday’s finale.

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