Free MLB Picks Today for Thursday, August 31st, 2023

Our free MLB picks are out for Thursday, August 31st, 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!

New York Yankees @ Detroit Tigers – 1:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a rough year for the New York Yankees and it has been a disappointing season as well, after they came into the year with expectations of winning an American League pennant. The injury bug has caught up to them once again, and this time it is going to cost them a playoff spot unless something changes very quickly. Honestly, for the New York Yankees, it would likely take a miracle for them to make the postseason at this point. That is because they currently find themselves in last place in the American League East division, while being the only team in the division with a losing record at the moment. They will be looking to get things on track in the finale of the series against Detroit on Thursday afternoon on the road. 

It has been a rough year for the Detroit Tigers as well, but they had far less expectations then the New York Yankees coming into the season. Detroit currently sits in third place in the American League Central division and because of how weak the American League Central has been this season Detroit still has an outside shot at making a run at the postseason. Detroit comes into this game under .500 and will take a lengthy winning streak for them to threaten Minnesota or Cleveland for first place but with over a month left in the season it certainly could be possible. Unfortunately for Detroit, I don’t see them getting the victory in this game as I have the Yankees picking up the win to wrap up this series.

Miami Marlins @ Washington Nationals – 7:05PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a decent season for the Miami Marlins this year, but it has been up and down as well. Finishing the first half of the season they found themselves occupying a playoff spot in the National League coming out of the All-Star break they hit a brick wall and then I’ll find themselves on the outside looking in that very same wildcard race. They will be looking to recover coming down the final stretch of the season and it starts with grabbing a victory over Washington in the opening game of this series on Thursday night in Washington DC. 

It has been a rough season for the Washington Nationals, but they have shown plenty of progress in their rebuild. They have built up a solid rotation of starting pitchers and their lineup is starting to blossom coming down the final stretch of the season. They will be looking to finish the regular season strong as they have pulled themselves out of last place in the National League east division, and they still have the potential of securing a winning record this season as well. As they come into this game with a record of 62-72 through their first 134 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. Unfortunately for Washington I look for Miami to pick up the victory here in this game.

San Francisco Giants @ San Diego Padres – 9:40PM ET

Tony Battalio

It has been a solid season for the San Francisco Giants and they have arguably flown under the radar throughout the year as well. They will be looking to open up this four game weekend series on the road at Petco Park with a victory over the San Diego Padres here on Thursday night. San Francisco currently find themselves in third place of the National League West division but they do occupy one of the top three spots in the National League wildcard race as well. They will be looking to extend their lead within the National League wildcard race with another victory in the opening game of the series on Thursday night.

It has been a rough year for the San Diego Padres after they came into the season with so many expectations. They were expected to win the National League West division, or at least compete to win the National League west division alongside the Los Angeles Dodgers. They were also expected to be one of the favorites to win the National League pennant as well, but none of that has checked out for this team. At the moment they have all but officially been eliminated from the postseason and they will be looking to play spoilers at this point in the year. I expect San Diego to pick up a victory in the opening game of the series on Thursday night over San Francisco, led by a solid performance from Fernando Tatis and Juan Soto at the plate.

Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10:10PM ET

Tony Battalio

The Atlanta Braves have been one of the best teams in all of baseball this season, and they currently occupy the best record in the National League. They will have Spencer Strider getting the baseball for the opening game of this massive weekend series in Los Angeles against the Dodgers in what could be a potential preview of the National League Championship Series in about a month or so. Atlanta has been almost unstoppable all season long and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling in the opening game of the series on Thursday night. The Braves come into this game with a record of 87-45 through their first 132 games of the 2023 Major League Baseball season. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are coming off of a series victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, and they will be looking to keep the momentum rolling when they welcome in the Atlanta Braves. This is a massive series for the Los Angeles Dodgers as they look to track Atlanta down for the top record of the national league, and if they can manage to win the majority of the four games this weekend, they will close the gap between them and the Braves. What about a month left in the year. Unfortunately for the Los Angeles Dodgers with Spencer Strider taking the baseball against Lance Lynn here on Friday night I do think it’ll be the Atlanta Braves that pick up the victory over the Dodgers to open up the series.

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