Free MLB Picks Today for Sunday, October 1st, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Sunday, October 1st, 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!

Miami Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates – 3:05PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Miami Marlins officially clinched themselves a playoff spot on Saturday and they will be looking to grab a momentum boosting win here on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the regular season. It has been an up-and-down season for the Miami Marlins, but they got hot at the right time and managed to get themselves in a position to make the postseason and they will be looking to take advantage of that coming into the finale of this series on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Miami also has an opportunity to get themselves even higher in the pecking order as they could potentially jump Arizona for the second wildcard spot with a win. 

The Pittsburgh Pirates had an incredible start to the season, but they were unable to maintain that start and now they will be looking to finish off the regular season on a positive note with a victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday afternoon at home. Pittsburgh comes into the regular season finale with a record of 75-86 through their first 161 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. they will be looking to grab a victory in the finale of this series and stop the Miami Marlins from moving into the second wildcard spot in the National League as well. Unfortunately for Pittsburgh I don’t see that happening as I have Miami grabbing the victory in this game.

Tampa Bay Rays @ Toronto Blue Jays – 3:07PM ET

Tony Battalio

Tampa Bay will be looking to cap off the regular season with a solid victory over Toronto here on Sunday afternoon on the road in Canada. Tampa Bay had a historic start to the season, but they were unable to maintain that start and they now find themselves locked into the top wildcard spot in the American League rather than being the champions of the American League East division. That means they will be playing a series next weekend and they will be looking to take down their first round opponent in advance to the ALDS later on in the year.

Toronto will be looking to pick up a quality victory to wrap up the regular season against their American League East division rivals here on Sunday afternoon at home. Coming into the regular season Toronto was looked as a potential favorite to win the American League pennant, but they have arguably flown under the radar throughout the regular season. They certainly have all the talent in the world to make a deep run into the postseason as long as they remain healthy and consistent throughout the playoffs. I expect them to grab a huge momentum boosting victory here on Sunday afternoon at home against Tampa Bay to end the regular season as well.

Houston Astros @ Arizona Diamondbacks – 3:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The defending World Series champions will be looking to pick up a crucial victory to close out the regular season here on Sunday afternoon at Chase Field against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Houston has been consistent over the last few months of the season as they have put themselves in a position to return to the postseason and defend their World Series championship. They will have their position in the postseason clinched, heading into the final day of the regular season after their victory on Saturday night, and they Seattle Mariners loss officially locked them into the top three in the American League wildcard race. 

The Arizona Diamondbacks will be looking to pick up a crucial victory in the finale of the series after they lost on Saturday night to the Houston Astros for the second consecutive evening. They will be looking to avoid the three game sweep at the hands of the defending World Series champions, as they look to build up as much momentum as possible before heading into the postseason next week. With a victory they would lock up the second wildcard spot in the National League as well, which would not make much difference for them, but it would still help avoiding playing a division winner as well in the first round of the playoffs. That is exactly what I expect as I have them picking up the victory in this game on Sunday afternoon.

Texas Rangers @ Seattle Mariners – 3:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Texas Rangers will be looking to pick up a crucial victory in the finale of the series against the Seattle Mariners on Sunday afternoon on the road in the Pacific Northwest. They picked up a blowout victory over Seattle on Saturday to officially eliminate the Mariners from postseason contention, and now Texas will be looking to finish off the regular season with another victory before getting a weeklong layoff for the first round of the playoffs. They’ve had a solid year and despite some low points throughout the season, if this team can remain healthy and consistent, they have a legitimate opportunity to compete for an American league pennant. They will be looking to grab another victory here on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the regular season.

The Seattle Mariners had a solid season, but they are going to come up just short in the request for a second consecutive playoff appearance as they were officially eliminated on Saturday night with the win by the Houston Astros over the Arizona Diamondbacks. Seattle will be looking to kill the momentum of the Texas Rangers as well as give themselves plenty of momentum heading into the offseason with a victory over Texas in the series finale here on Sunday afternoon at home. Unfortunately for the Seattle Mariners, I don’t see that happening as I think they will be very deflated from their playoff. Elimination in Texas will pick up the victory in this game.

San Diego Padres @ Chicago White Sox – 3:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It was an awful season for the San Diego padres, and they will come up just short of making a top three spot in the National League wildcard race. They had plenty of expectations coming into the season as many people looked for them to compete for the National League West division title. However, after a rough start to the season, that was not the case, and ended up buried in the wildcard race early on as well. Despite them getting hot over the last couple months of the season, they did not have enough time to get themselves back into a postseason position and they will find themselves going home after this game on Sunday afternoon on the road in Chicago.

The Chicago White Sox will be happy that the regular season finale is finally here after the rough season they have had. They came into the year with plenty of expectations of competing for an American League Central division title but that has not been the case for Chicago this season and they will finish as one of the worst teams in all of Major League Baseball. They will be looking to cap off the regular season with a quality victory over the San Diego padres here on Sunday afternoon at home. However, unfortunately for the Chicago White Sox, I don’t see that happening as I look for the San Diego Padres to grab the victory in this game on Sunday afternoon.

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