Free MLB Picks Today for Sunday, August 22nd, 2021

Free MLB Picks Today for Sunday, August 22nd, 2021
Sun 22nd August 2021

Our free MLB Picks are out for Sunday, August 22nd, 2021! 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 @ Baltimore Orioles – 1.05PM ET

The NL East leading Atlanta Braves conclude their three game series at Oriole Park, against the Baltimore Orioles. This series has seen a dominant performance by the Braves and they will be looking to wrap things up this afternoon.

Tim Newton

While Atlanta has taken the first two games of this series, taking their winning streak to eight games while extending Baltimore’s losing streak to 17, last night showed some worrying signs. The Orioles’ 4-5 loss was their first loss over this streak that was by less than two runs, highlighting that the Braves may be taking this series lightly.

Adding to that is the fact that Baltimore’s starting pitcher, John Means, has a better ERA than Atlanta’s starter, Touki Toussaint, while both have an even 0.500 record. Toussaint hasn’t been used much this season, only pitching in six games, but three of those have been on the road and his ERA improves from 4.01 overall to 2.41. Given that his batting lineup is superior to the one he is pitching too, and his small sample indicates that pitching on the road is no dramas, the Braves should get the job done. 

Tim’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-164)

Katherine Mouradian

The Braves are loving life at the moment and have won eight games in a row, in this final game of the series with the Orioles, they have a real shot of making it nine games on the trot. On the other side, the Orioles continue to dig themselves an even deeper hole, losing 17 games in a row, with no light at the end of the tunnel.


The Braves have won 11 of their previous 12 games on the road and when playing a left handed starter, they have also won 19 of their previous 26 games in total. Looking at the Orioles now, they have won just 18 of their previous 59 games at home and have won only nine of their previous 32 when it comes to the third game of a series. The Braves should be winning this one on Sunday afternoon. 

Katherine’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-164)

Mike Su

After losing the first 2 games of their series to the Braves, the Orioles remain in purgatory. 17 losses in a row and no hope in sight til season’s end, the Orioles are not in a position to win this game. Despite the hopelessness that sits within the Orioles team, there is one reason why they could win this next game.

They finally have the edge in this series when it comes to the pitcher, starting John Means who has been solid the entire season despite their horrid record. Means has a 3.44 ERA and 1.01 WHIP which is pretty good considering the woeful talent around him. Means has the edge on Touki Touissiant who has a slightly worse 4.01 ERA and 1.15 WHIP. Now, I’m not saying Means is enough to give them the win but he is enough to make it interesting. Therefore, I’m going with the Braves for a straight out win rather than the line.

Mike’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-164)

Minnesota Twins @ New York Yankees – 1.05PM ET

*Note: This game has now been postponed due to poor weather.*

The New York Yankees conclude their current home-stand and also this four game series with the Minnesota Twins. With the series currently sitting at 3-0 in favour of the Yankees, another win in this game will help the Yankees in the quest for claiming top spot in the AL East.

Tim Newton

While the Twins came into this series with a heap of momentum, the Yankees did as well and they have asserted themselves well. The Yankees, who are now two games ahead of the last wild card slot in the American League and still only four games back from Tampa for the AL East crown, have everything to play for and that is the way this series has gone.

They’ve put up 24 runs through the first three games, restricting Minnesota to eight, including just three from the last two games. There is a massive difference in ability and determination in this series and should be the difference in the fourth.

Tim’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (TBA)

Katherine Mouradian

It has been all the Yankees for this entire series, winning all three of the previous games with the Twins quite convincingly. The Yankees seem to be super focused on getting all the wins they can to claim top spot in the AL East, they are only four games behind the Rays. The Twins have won four of their previous five when it comes to the fourth game of a series, but have won only 11 of their previous 39 when playing a left handed starter.
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On the flip side, the Yankees have won only one of their previous six when it comes to the fourth game of a series, but have won 115 of their previous 169 games at home. After seeing how the Yankees have been playing against the Twins in the first three games, I’m expecting more of the same again on Sunday. Back the Yankees for another convincing win.

Katherine’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (TBA)

Mike Su

The Yankees look to finish off the Twins in this 4 game series after winning the first 3 by wide margins. The Yankees continue their great form with 9 wins in a row as they continue to build a lead over the Boston Red Sox in the AL East. It has been 6 games since the Yankees have won a game by less than 2 runs and there is no reason for this not to continue against the deflated Twins.

The Twins are 16 games from .500 and have no chance of the playoffs. They look just to regroup before next season where they look for answers to exit the basement of the AL Central division. The Yankees on the other hand are full of life and are finally getting somewhat healthy. I love betting on teams that are in form and building momentum so I have to stick with the Yankees line here.

Mike’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (TBA)

Chicago White Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays – 1.10PM ET

This showdown between the best of the AL East and the best of the AL Central concludes this afternoon, with the series currently standing at 1-1. Can the Tampa Bay Rays seal the deal at home or will the Chicago White Sox continue to surprise on the road?

Tim Newton

I’m taking the White Sox to steal the rubber on the road. While they needed two extra innings to win the first clash and Tampa dominated the second, I like the selection of Reynaldo Lopez to start this clash. From his 11 games, three of which were starts, Lopez has a 2-0 record, an incredible 1.08 ERA and has given up just one run from 14 innings pitched in August.

His last two games have seen him start both and pitch eight innings total, giving up just two hits and no runs across those. Meanwhile Tampa have Chris Archer starting, who has seen just two games of action, with only one of those being starts. He has given up four runs from 4.1 innings of work across those two games and that doesn’t bode well against a class unit that Chicago has. While the starters aren’t everything, it will give the road team an advantage early and they should be able to hold on with it.

Tim’s MLB Pick: Chicago White Sox (+112)

Katherine Mouradian

This has got to be the game of the day, with the series level at 1-1, it all comes down to this! The first game of the series went to the 11th innings, with the White Sox narrowly getting the win, the Rays were able to fire back at home in the second game, winning 8-4. So, what are the important stats to look at for this clash?


Well, the Rays have won 45 of their previous 64 games on a Sunday and have won 37 of their previous 51 when it comes to the third game of the series. With the White Sox, they have won five out their previous six games played on a Sunday and have 30 of their previous 59 games on the road. With Lopez on the mound for the White Sox, and his amazing recent performances, which includes allowing just six hits and one run in his previous 14 innings, I’ll be taking the White Sox here.

Katherine’s MLB Pick: Chicago White Sox (+112)

Mike Su

The Rays start Chris Archer at pitcher, who has barely played this season against the White Sox. Archer has been a respectable pitcher throughout his career with a 3.88 ERA. However Archer has only played 2 games this season, for a grand total of 4 innings. In those games, Archer has been bad, but the 32 year old has had plenty of rest and I expect him to revert to the mean in this game and get a sneaky win. The White Sox on the other hand are starting Reynaldo Lopez, who has played phenomenally this season with a mind-boggling 1.08 ERA.

In 25 innings, Lopez has 26 strikeouts while allowing just 3 home runs. In fact Lopez has 15 more strikeouts than hits. However, Lopez has a career average ERA of 4.59 so I expect him to revert to the mean and return back to earth. The Rays and White Sox have split the series, thus far so it is a toss up, so I am going to go with the team who has proved they can perform when it matters. 

Mike’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-130)

San Francisco Giants @ Oakland Athletics – 4.07PM ET

This cracking series between the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics concludes this afternoon. The series is currently tied with the Athletics winning the first game, 4-1, and the Giants bouncing back to win the second, 6-5. Who finishes their week on a high? Find out below. 

Tim Newton

While the Giants needed to wait until the last innings of the second game to see the lead for the first time this series, they got there and I think they will carry momentum from that into this afternoon’s clash. There is a reason they are 9.5 games better off so far this season and adding to that, Logan Webb is starting on the mound and his 2.92 ERA is extremely impressive, as is his 7-3 record from 18 games, 17 of which were starts.

The query is that he is just 2-3 with a 4.20 ERA on the road, but that is still better than Frankie Montas’ stats so far this season. He is just 9-9 with an ERA of 4.04 overall but when pitching at home those numbers balloon to a 4-6 record and 4.40 ERA. Given that and the fact that the Giants have a better batting lineup than the A’s, I’m all over San Francisco in this. 

Tim’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-102)

Katherine Mouradian

It all comes down to this third and final game, with the series currently level at one game a piece. The Athletics really need to start turning things around as they have won only two of their previous seven. Whereas, the Giants have won four of their previous seven. The Athletics have won all five of their previous games at home and when it comes to interleague games they have won 11 of their previous 16.
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Looking at the Giants now, they have won 14 of their previous 18 games when it comes to the third game of a series, and have won all four of their previous games on a Sunday. I’m looking at the under for this game though, the under has hit three out of the Athletics previous five games overall and has hit five out of the Giants previous seven games on the road.

Katherine’s MLB Pick: Under 8 (-102)

Mike Su

The Athletics remain close favourites against the best team in the league. This is unwarranted as they have lost 6 of their last 10 while the Giants have been great winning 7 of their last 10 games. The Giants are knocking on 80 wins with 79 in the bag so I expect them to show some fight to cement an 80 win season. Looking over the stats and form, I see no reason why the Giants lose this game.

They out rank the Athletics in every key team statistic and the Giants have an edge with pitching for this specific game. The Athletics perform poorly against good pitchers, losing 5 of their last 7 games against starting pitchers with a WHIP below 1.15, which is what the Giants have with Logan Webb starting. Webb and the Giants should have no issue against the Athletics despite the bookies giving the Athletics a close edge..

Mike’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants -1.5 (+160)

New York Mets @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 4.10PM ET

The Los Angeles Dodgers have won all three games in this series so far, while the New York Mets need to lift if they want to get a win in the books against the Dodgers. While the Dodgers have won all three of the games in this series so far, the score lines have been far from embarrassing for the Mets, with the scores being 4-1, 3-2 and 4-3.

Tim Newton

While the margins of victory haven’t been as big as I have expected, it is no surprise to see that the Dodgers have won all three games so far this series and have the opportunity to sweep this afternoon. LA is now 6-0 against the Mets this season and should go on to win this as well, but the value seems to be with New York at the line.

To be getting almost even money for the Mets +1.5 is great considering they have lost by just one run in each of the last two games and have Marcus Stroman starting in this. While his record is just 8-12, that is mainly because the Mets’ batting lineup is average at best. His 2.84 ERA is extremely impressive and that improves to 2.75 when pitching on the road. Considering the Dodgers’ batting lineup hasn’t gotten off yet in this series, I think Stroman can keep them quiet and the Mets close. 

Tim’s MLB Pick: New York Mets +1.5 (-118)

Katherine Mouradian

The Dodgers can wrap up this series 4-0 with a win on Sunday afternoon. They have now won nine games in a row and they are closing in on the top spot in the NL West, now just one and a half games behind the Giants. The Mets have won just one of their previous nine games, which includes six games against the Dodgers and three games against the Giants, so it was always going to be a tricky block of games for the Mets.


The Dodgers have won 66 of their previous 93 games at home and have also won 45 of their previous 60 games on a Sunday. Whereas, the Mets have won only three of their previous 11 games played on a Sunday and won 15 of their previous 52 games on the road when playing a left handed starter. The Dodgers are within sniffing distance of the Giants at the top of the NL West, and I think that will make them even hungrier to get the win here tonight, back the Dodgers for a convincing win.

Katherine’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-105)

Mike Su

The Dodgers look to make it 4 in a row against the Mets. The Mets have lost all their momentum despite being a 60 win team. The Mets have lost 8 of their last 10 games and now have just a 4.7% chance of making the playoffs after 3 losses in a row to the Dodgers. The Dodgers on the other hand look great, winning 9 in a row and are just 1.5 wins behind the San Francisco Giants for the division lead.

The Mets do have the edge in pitching which should make this game somewhat interesting but the difference between the Mets’ starter Marcus Stroman and the Dodgers’ pitcher David Price is tiny. The Dodgers are the best defense in the MLB and are top 10 in every statistic despite a somewhat rocky start to the season. The Dodgers are better than their record shows and they are finally playing up to the level that they should. The Mets have no chance here against the red-hot Dodgers.

Mike’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-105)

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

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