Whether your team is kicking off their weekend series or wrapping up a midweek set, we’ve got you covered with five free moneyline picks for today’s MLB action!
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
Washington Nationals @ Atlanta Braves – 12.20PM ET
A pair of NL East rivals will kick off our Thursday afternoon MLB schedule when the Braves host the Nationals for the fourth and final game of this series.
As a result of Wednesday’s 5-3 victory, Washington have taken a 2-1 lead in their series against Atlanta heading into game four on Thursday. The Nationals lost the series opener 3-5 and have since won the following two games by a combined score of 16-9.
Juan Soto gave Washington an early lead with a two run homer at the top of the fifth, before Yan Gomes hit a go-ahead homer at the top of the eighth to put the game out of reach for the Braves.
DON’T RUN ON YAN AND PROBABLY SHOULDN’T PITCH TO HIM, EITHER.
That’s a go-ahead, 8th-inning #GomerHomer!@Yan_AGomes // #NATITUDE pic.twitter.com/prKY3h6Ehc
— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) June 3, 2021
Patrick Corbin will make his 11th start of the season for the Nationals on Thursday. Corbin has ultimately struggled this year, with a 3-4 record, 6.23 ERA and 1.52 WHIP from 52 innings of work. The southpaw has conceded 11 earned runs on 23 hits in 15.2 innings across his last three starts.
Although Ian Anderson was initially scheduled to start for the Braves on Thursday, Bryse Wilson will make the spot start in this game. Wilson has an even 2-2 record in 2021, to go along with a 4.38 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 24.2 innings this season. The young right hander was awesome in his last start, holding the Pirates to just one run on five hits in 6.2 innings.
The Braves offense is scoring an average of 4.90 runs per game in 2021, which is good for the eighth best average in the league. Atlanta’s lineup is also more productive against left handed pitchers this year, boasting a .819 OPS against lefty starters compared to a .731 OPS against right-handed starters. Given that Corbin is a southpaw and he is having an awful season, we like the Braves to put up a big winning score at home on Thursday. Especially when considering that the Nationals are a bottom 10 scoring team in the league, that has scored three runs or fewer in five of their last seven starts.
MLB Pick – Atlanta Braves (-132)
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Texas Rangers @ Colorado Rockies – 3.10PM ET
Two of the bottom teams in their respective leagues will look to gain some momentum on Thursday afternoon when the Rockies host the Rangers for the third and final game of their series.
The Rockies continued their good form in Colorado on Wednesday, winning their second consecutive game against the Rangers to claim a series victory with one game to play. Colorado have outscored Texas 9-5 through the first two games, continuing their solid form at home this season.
As for Texas, they have now lost their last eight consecutive games, scoring three runs or fewer on six occasions in the stretch of losses.
Mike Foltynewicz will try to steer the Rangers away from another series sweep on Thursday when he makes his 12th start of the season. Foltynewicz has a 1-5 record, 4.31 ERA, 1.293 WHIP and 44 strikeouts over 62.2 innings of work this year. He threw seven innings in his last start and allowed just two runs on six hits in a game the Rangers lost by one run.
The Rockies are expected to counter with Jon Gray at the mound on Thursday afternoon. Gray has a 4-5 record from his 11 starts this year, to go along with a 3.71 ERA, 1.236 WHIP and 50 strikeouts from 60.2 innings. With a 6.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP from his last 14.2 innings, Gray has struggles in his last three starts.
Given that Colorado has a respectable 18-12 record at home this season, we like the Rockies to continue their good form at Coors Field on Thursday. Although he has struggled recently, Gray has still put together a better season than Texas’ Foltynewicz, who will likely struggle against a Rockies lineup that is more than serviceable at home. Especially when considering that the Rangers have a 9-21 record on the road, including 13 consecutive losses outside of Texas.
MLB Pick – Colorado Rockies ()
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Arizona Diamondbacks @ Milwaukee Brewers – 7.40PM ET
The Diamondbacks and Brewers will kick off their four game series in Milwaukee on Thursday night.
After nine consecutive games in Arizona, Thursday will be the D-Backs first of six consecutive games on the road. Arizona lost their most recent game against the Mets 6-7 at home on Wednesday. The loss handed New York a 2-1 series victory and gave the Diamondbacks their eighth loss in 10 games and 15th loss from their past 17 games.
The Brewers did not play or travel on Wednesday and they will come into this four game series fresh after splitting their two game set against the Tigers at home. Milwaukee won game one against Detroit 3-2, before going down 7-10 on Tuesday.
Although the Brewers have seven wins from their past 10 games, they have a poor 13-15 record at home this season.
Final. pic.twitter.com/A1IQFMXZFV
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@LosDbacks) June 2, 2021
Brett Anderson will look to improve the Brewers record at home on Thursday when he makes his ninth start of the season. Anderson is 2-3 this year with a 4.18 ERA, 1.45 WHIP and just 20 strikeouts from 32.1 innings with the ball. The southpaw has thrown 12 innings in his last three starts, allowing seven earned runs on 16 hits in that time.
The Diamondbacks will send the struggling Jon Duplantier to the mound for his second start of the season. Duplantier owns a 7.71 ERA and 1.93 WHIP in 2021 after allowing four earned runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings in his previous start. The right hander has a 4.79 ERA throughout his career.
Although Milwaukee has a subpar record at Miller Park, Arizona has a more worrying 2-15 record from their past 17 games and a dire 9-21 record on the road this season. Having had a day’s rest and not travelled, the Brewers are not only the better team in this matchup but they are also fresher. With that in mind, we like Milwaukee to get the better of the struggling Diamondbacks on Thursday.
MLB Pick – Milwaukee Brewers ()
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Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals – 8.10PM ET
A pair of AL Central rivals will kick off their four game series in Kansas City on Thursday night when the Royals host the Twins.
Having not played or travelled on Wednesday, Kansas City will enter Thursday’s series opener fresh and full of confidence after outscoring Pittsburgh 17-8 in their two game series sweep earlier this week.
As for Minnesota, they were recently defeated in two of their three games against the Orioles in Baltimore. The O’s tied the three games series at 1-1 as a result of their 7-4 victory on Tuesday, before completing a 2-1 series victory over the Twins on Wednesday with a 6-3 victory. Minnesota’s loss on Tuesday gave Baltimore their first win after 14 consecutive losses.
J.A Happ will make his 10th star of the season for the Twins in Thursday’s series opener. Happ is 3-2 this year with a 5.24 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 35 strikeouts across 46.1 innings with the ball. The southpaw has thrown 14.2 innings in his last three starts, allowing 12 earned runs on 18 hits in that time.
Kansas City will counter by sending Kris Bubic to the mount for his fourth start (eighth appearance) of the season. Bubic is 1-0 this year and boasts an impressive 1.52 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 22 strikeouts from 29.2 innings with the ball. The left hander has allowed just three earned runs on 11 hits across 17 innings in his last three starts.
The Royals are coming into this match having won seven of their last 10 games, including an active three game winning streak. Given that their lineup has scored an average of 7.2 runs per game in their last five matches (including 6.3 runs per game from three encounters with the Twins) and Bubic will be giving them an advantage at the mound, we like Kansas City to win this series opener at home. Especially when considering that Bubic beat Minnesota when they last met and the Twins lineup has scored three runs or fewer in five of their past seven games.
MLB Pick – Kansas City Royals ()
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New York Mets @ San Diego Padres – 10.10PM ET
The two best pitching staffs in baseball will do battle on Thursday night when the Padres host the Mets for the first match of their four game series in San Diego.
Although they entered this week with the best record in baseball, San Diego will be looking to bounce back against the Mets in this upcoming series, after recently being swept by the Cubs in Chicago. As a result of their 1-6 loss on Wednesday afternoon, the Padres were outscored 6-17 in their three losses at Wrigley Field.
After taking a 2-1 series victory from their three games against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, the battered and bruised Mets will continue their nine game stint on the road on Thursday.
Taijuan Walker will look to continue the Mets winning ways on the road when he makes his 10th start of the season. Walker comes into this match with a 4-1 record, 1.84 ERA, 0.939 WHIP and 49 strikeouts across 49 innings. In his last three starts, Walker has thrown 15 innings and collected a 2-0 record to go along with a 0.60 ERA, 0.73 WHIP and 14 strikeouts.
Yu Darvish, Sick 84mph Slider. 🤒 pic.twitter.com/dQZvge0kCm
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 23, 2021
In what has the makings of a mouthwatering pitching matchup, San Diego will send Yu Darvish to the mound for his 12th start of the season. Darvish has a 5-1 record this year to go along with a 2.16 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 79 strikeouts over 66.2 innings of action. Darvish is also 2-0 in his last three starts, owning a 2.37 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 20 strikeouts over 19 innings of work.
The Padres (2.85) and Mets (3.11) are the two best teams in baseball this year when looking at team ERA. However, San Diego’s lineup is averaging 4.6 runs per game this season, while the Mets are averaging just 3.6 runs per contest this year.
While the Mets have been awesome at the mound this season, the fact remains that their lineup isn’t generating enough offense to see them consistently beat quality opponents. Even though Walker has been amazing this season, Darvish has been just as good and we can’t see New York’s struggling lineup hitting a winnable score against him at home on Thursday. The Padres are healthier, better offensively and at home in this matchup, and we like them to return to the winners list with a W in this series opener.
MLB Pick – San Diego Padres (-188)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
