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Look below to find our free MLB picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies – 1.05PM ET
This clash sees the Braves travel away to Citizens Bank Park to take on the Phillies as they attempt to rectify their 0-2 start to the season. In comparison the hosts are 2-0 and doing great. One side will come out happy, yet the other extremely disappointed.
Starting with the away side they currently have a RDIFF of -5, one of the worst in the league so far. Both of Atlanta’s losses have been to the Phillies as well. First it was 2-3 and then they were humbled 0-4. The Phillies got 3 on the board during the 5th stage of the game which really hurt the Braves.
Pete Wheeler is shaking. pic.twitter.com/7NwXYTzoB1
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 4, 2021
Zack Wheeler started for the victors (during the 4-0 clash) as he became the first pitcher for the side since 2017-Ben Lively to have 2+ hits and RBIs in a match. He retired 17 straight and even had he not batted his side still would’ve taken out the commanding win. The 30-year-old was just that good during this clash.
Not to mention he also threw 90 pitches, 62 of which were strikes. Now the question remains what damage can he cause during this affair? When Atlanta has to face him again they will be scared, make no two guesses about it.
MLB Pick – Philadelphia Phillies (+106)
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Toronto Blue Jays @ New York Yankees – 1.05PM ET
It’s the Blue Jays and the Yankees who meet at the Bronx for the third time in a row as they each attempt to go one up in this season series. The first match saw Toronto prevail tightly to the tune of a 3-2 score-line. After that though New York turned it on to win 5-3. This clash will no doubt be another one that’s thoroughly fun to watch.
The opening homer of the match was produced through New York with a Gary Sanchez line drive to left field. After that it was Marcus Semien for Toronto with a fly ball to left field. These were big moments for the 2X All-Star and 2019 All-MLB Second Team Member respectively. There will be anticipation to see what both are capable of producing here.
With Toronto playing away from home as mentioned before, it will be interesting to see whether they can attempt to fix their poor road form. Last season they were 15-19 away from Sahlen Field. All the best teams have positive records when faced with the prospect of playing away from familiar territory, so that’ll be big for them here.
MLB Pick – Toronto Blue Jays (+144)
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Baltimore Orioles @ Boston Red Sox – 1.10PM ET
Fenway park is historic and has been home to the Red Sox since 1912. They’ll be hoping that they can recapture some of that magic history and use playing in Boston to their advantage as they attempt to turn around their 0-2 start to the season against the Orioles. In comparison the Orioles are 2-0.
Having lost most recently to the Orioles 2-4 and in the two sides season opener 0-3 the Red Sox will be desperate to show something, literally anything to their fans that can convince them that this will in fact be an encouraging season for them. This comes after they finished last in the AL West last season with 36 defeats to their name.
Baltimore wasn’t much better as they ended up 25-35 and only a single position ahead of Boston. However, they showed no signs of that in the two side’s latest meeting!
2-0.
Series dub. pic.twitter.com/GgAEN99kk3
— Baltimore Orioles 😷 (@Orioles) April 3, 2021
To quote Matt Harvey as per the official MBL website, “Our guys came in and pitched great after me.” He had such a selfless approach despite his solid performance. The veteran held Boston to two runs over 4 2/3 innings, while he also struck out four and walked one.
A lot of eyes will be on Baltimore here to see what they can do next and I’m sure it’s going to be special.
MLB Pick – Boston Red Sox (-176)
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Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs – 2.10PM ET
Chicago topped the NL Central Division last season with a 34-26 record. They are now pitched against (no pun intended) Pittsburgh who finished last with a 19-41 record. And with the Pirates having won the opener 5-3, then going down 1-5 to the Cubs this third leg at Wrigley Field is bound to produce something unexpected … yet again.
In Chicago’s latest thrashing they were actually down one in the 1st period. But after they scored two in the 2nd, they led for the rest of the match.
And what a throwback performance it was from former World Series champion Jake Arrieta. The Pitcher and #49 for the Cubs started for Chicago for the first time amazingly in 418 games, his last game at Wrigley also ironically coming against the Pirates when he spun six shutout innings.
He displayed some of that vintage form right here as well with six frames again and forcing them to go on just one first inning run. Among his other highlights were five strikeouts. The 35-year-old can hopefully come up with more vintage production right here.
Losing by four is a tough pill to swallow and no doubt the Pirates will be revved up here as they attempt to rectify the pain inflicted on them by the Cubs.
MLB Pick – Chicago Cubs (-190)
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Houston Astros @ Oakland Athletics – 4.07PM ET
Houston have scored 9 each time over their last two two matches against Oakland. First it was 9-5 then more recently it was 9-1. Then the opener was won 8-1. They have been absolutely dominant over these three games and there’s nothing obvious to suggest that things will change in the third edition at the Oakland Coliseum.
In a sign of how dominant the Astros can be when it’s all put together by them, they put 3 on the board in the 5th period and 4 on the board in the 9th period. No disrespect to Oakland here but big questions have to be asked of the Athletics about what happened here? BIG, BIG questions.
Infield 101 ft. Elvis Andrus 🔥 #RiseAndGrind pic.twitter.com/FiatS0nDZa
— Oakland A’s (@Athletics) April 3, 2021
Jose Altuve, Michael Brantley and Alex Bregman are what happened! They combined to score 14 of their sides 17 runs. While in addition they also had a hitting percentage of .583% to go along with three home runs and seven RBIs. This monster-headed trio simply could not be stopped!
And in all fairness to Oakland those sorts of damaging players would rip apart a lot of teams, just like what happened to them.
Cuban-born Yordan Alvarez also played a big part in the thrashing. The hitter went 3/5 despite hitting sixth. The former AL Rookie of the Year was effective when he was out on the pitch.
Do the Athletics even bother showing up for this one? We think not.
MLB Pick – Houston Astros (-102)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
