Our free MLB picks are out for Thursday, May 5th, 2022! 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!
Toronto Blue Jays @ Cleveland Guardians – 6:10PM ET
The Toronto Blue Jays and Cleveland Guardians will be playing the first game of their four game series in this one. Cleveland is coming off of a series with the San Diego Padres, and Toronto is coming off of a series with the New York Yankees.
Tony Battalio
What a rough week it has been for both of these teams. As the Toronto Blue Jays ran into a red hot New York Yankees team and the Cleveland Guardians had to face the San Diego Padres. The Blue Jays will be looking to rebound from a series loss against the best team in baseball at the moment, as they were completely outclassed by the Yankees. The Blue Jays will be looking to bounce back in this one against the Guardians.
The Cleveland Guardians split a double header on Wednesday as they won game two of their day and night doubleheader with the San Diego Padres. The Guardians are having a slow start to the season as they come into this game below the .500 mark with a record of 11-13 through their first 24 games of the season. As for the result of this game I am going with the Toronto Blue Jays in game one.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-156)
Jeffery Thomas
The Cleveland Guardians will play host to the Toronto Blue Jays in the opener of this four-game series that extends through the weekend. They are coming off a doubleheader on Wednesday where they split with the San Diego Padres. Game 1 went to San Diego 5-4 and then Cleveland came back to win the nightcap 6-5 in extra innings. It was a great comeback win after trailing 5-2 in the eighth inning and they’ll hope that momentum carries over into this series with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Jays got a 2-1 win over the Yankees on Wednesday in the series finale to avoid the sweep and snap an 11-game winning streak New York was on.
The Guardians have not been getting the production from their pitching staff that they need and that doesn’t bode well for them facing this Blue Jays lineup. The amount of firepower these guys have can carry them to a win against most teams and having Jose Berrios on the mound gives them the clear advantage here.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-156)
Marko Nadin
The Cleveland Guardians are second in the AL Central with a 11-13 record. They were on a seven-game losing streak before sweeping the Oakland Athletics in three games and splitting the series against the San Diego Padres with 1 win apiece. The Guardians are third in the league with .252 AVG and are ranked sixth averaging 4.76 runs per game. Cleveland will start Aaron Civale tonight who is 0-2 for the season with a 10.67 ERA. The guardians have lost 17 of the last 23 games against AL East.
The Toronto Blue Jays are having a good start of the season as they are second in the AL East with a 16-10 record. The Blue Jays are coming off a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees from a series that they lost 2 games to 1. The Blue Jays are third in the league with 1.24 home runs per game but are 22nd scoring 3.76 runs per game. Toronto will start Jose Berrios tonight who is 2-0 for the season with a 4.13 ERA. The Blue Jays have won the last 5 games as road favorites.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Toronto Blue Jays (-156)
New York Mets @ Philadelphia Phillies – 6:45PM ET
The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will be playing the first game of their four game series in this one. This is the third time these two teams have met this season, as this will be the second series in Philadelphia. Right now New York leads the season series 4-2 with 13 games to go.
Tony Battalio
The New York Mets are the hottest team in Major League Baseball so far this season. They come into this game with a record of 18-9 through their first 27 games of the season. They are coming off of a series with the Atlanta Braves that ended in a 2 games to 2 split after four games. They will be looking to get this series off to a good start as they are meeting the Philadelphia Phillies for the third time this season.
The Philadelphia Phillies are having a bit of a rough start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They come into this game with a record of 11-14 through their first 25 games of the season. They are in fourth place in the National League East. They are 5-5 in their last ten games on the season. As for the result of this one I am going with the New York Mets to get a win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: New York Mets (+130)
Jeffery Thomas
The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies will once again square off for another series which will be their third of the season already. The Mets took two of three in both of the series so far and will hope to keep that success going versus their NL East division rivals. The Phillies are limping into this series after losing both games of a quick two-game set against the Texas Rangers. This three-game skid Philly is riding has them at 11-14, six games back of the Mets for first place in the division.
The Mets are the better team day in and day out but the pitching advantage in this game goes to the Phillies. Mets starter Taijuan Walker is a reliable guy when he’s healthy but he still hasn’t been able to handle a huge workload so far this season. Aaron Nola struggled a bit to start the year but he will start to regress towards the ace we’ve seen him be in the past and I think Thursday is a good spot to back him.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Philadelphia Phillies (-154)
Marko Nadin
The Philadelphia Phillies are 4th in the NL East with a 11-14 record including an 8-7 home record. The Phillies are going into the Series against the Mets after losing back-to-back games against the Texas Rangers. Philadelphia is ranked 9th in the league scoring 4.56 runs per game and seventh in the league with .244 AVG. The Phillies will start Aaron Nola tonight who is 1-3 for the season with a 3.90 ERA. The Phillies have won 4 of the last 5 home games as favorites.
The New York Mets are on top of the NL East with a 18-9 record. They are coming off a 9-2 loss to the defending champions Atlanta Braves in a series in which both teams won 2 games. The Mets are 4th in the league allowing 3.32 runs per game and second allowing .200 AVG. Taijuan Walker will make his season debut for the Mets as a starting pitcher tonight. The Mets have won the last 11 games when their opponent has allowed no more than 2 runs in their previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: New York Mets (+130)
Minnesota Twins @ Baltimore Orioles – 7:05PM ET
The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles will be playing the fourth and final game of their four game series in this one. Minnesota has clinched at least a share of the series so far after winning games one and two. In game three it was the Twins who got the win to clinch the series.
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Twins are still one of the hottest teams in baseball at the moment. As they come into this game in first place of the American League Central division. They currently have a record of 15-10 through their first 25 games of the season. Taking the mound for them in this series finale against the Baltimore Orioles will be Chris Archer. He comes into this start with a record of 0-0 through his first four appearances on the season. He currently has an Earned Run Average of 2.93 and has logged 15 and a third innings to go along with 14 strikeouts.
The Baltimore Orioles rebuild looks like it’s going to take at least another season as they come into this game at the bottom of the American League East standings. They currently have a record of 9-16 through their first 25 games of the season. Taking the mound for them in this series finale against the Minnesota Twins will be Spenser Watkins who is 0-0 on the year through four appearances. He currently has a high Earned Run Average of 2.55 at the moment. As for the result of this one I’m going with Minnesota to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins
Jeffery Thomas
The Minnesota Twins and Baltimore Orioles will play their series finale on Thursday after the Orioles got the win 9-4 on Wednesday. It was the Os first win of the series after two losses on the back of two-run home runs by both Cedric Mullins and Ramon Urias. It was just the second loss in 13 games for the first-place Twins who got a horrible outing from Dylan Bundy. He gave up 9 runs and 11 hits in just 3 ⅔ innings against his former team who knows him very well. The Orioles will now hope to get another win in the finale to at least salvage a split and not another series loss.
The Twins losing on Wednesday was one of the most surprising results of the week so far and I just don’t see a way this Orioles team beats them twice in a row. With Baltimore’s tendency to strike out a lot, Chris Archer should have a great game here and will be able to leave any men that do get on base there stranded. The Twins offense will bounce back from scoring just 4 runs, as they were averaging almost seven in the four games prior. Give me the Twins in this game big.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins -1.5
Marko Nadin
The Baltimore Orioles are at the bottom of the AL East with a 9-16 record. They are coming off a 9-4 win over the Minnesota Twins after losing the first two games of the series. The Orioles are 26th in the league scoring 3.43 runs per game and are ranked 21st allowing 4.38 runs per game. Baltimore will start Spencer Watkins tonight who has a 2.55 ERA for the season. The Orioles have lost 44 of the last 65 games following a win and 59 of the last 82 games overall.
The Minnesota Twins are on top of AL Central with a 15-10 record. They were on a four-game winning streak after dropping the last one to the Orioles. Minnesota is 13th in the league scoring 4.38 runs per game and 9 hitting 1.09 home runs per game. The Twins will start Chris Archer tonight who has a 2.93 ERA for the season. Minnesota has won the last four games when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game and 9 of the last 10 games on grass.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins
Miami Marlins @ San Diego Padres – 9:40PM ET
The Miami Marlins and San Diego Padres will be playing the first game of their four game series in this one. San Diego is coming off of a series with the Cleveland Guardians, and Miami is coming off of a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Tony Battalio
The Miami Marlins are coming into this game with a record of 12-12 through their first 24 games of the season as they sit right at the .500 mark on the year. They are coming off a series with the Arizona Diamondbacks where they were swept and now they will be looking to bounce back in this end of the week series with the Padres. Taking the mound for the Marlins in this game will be Jesus Luzardo who comes into this one with a record of 2-1 with a 3.10 Earned Run Average.
The San Diego Padres are coming off of a split doubleheader with the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday as they won game one but lost game two on a walkoff in the tenth. San Diego comes into the game with a record of 16-9 on the season as they are seven games above .500 through their first 25 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. As for the result of this game I am taking the San Diego Padres to get the win and extend the Marlins losing streak to five games.
Tony’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres (-116)
Jeffery Thomas
The Miami Marlins will travel West to San Diego to start up a four-game series with the Padres. The Marlins are coming off a brutal sweep at the hands of the Arizona Diamondbacks who won each game by exactly one run. The loss was the fourth straight for the Marlins after winning 6 straight to end the month of April. They are a super streaky team and now sit with a record of 12-12 and will try and get back over the .500 mark with a series win over the Padres. Sam Diego split a doubleheader with the Guardians on Wednesday and we’re able to hold firm to their second place spot in the NL West.
Both teams had to fly across the country for this game but the benefit goes to the home Padres who got to come home to their own beds while the Marlins hit a hotel. The Padres also hold the edge as far as being the better team at the moment, while Miami is coming off a sweep from one of the worst teams in the league. I like the Padres to keep Miami’s losing streak going.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres (-116)
Marko Nadin
The San Diego Padres are second in the NL West with a 16-9 record. They have won 6 of the last 8 games but are coming off a 6-5 10th inning loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The Padres are 4th in the league scoring 4.80 runs per game and 11th allowing 4 runs per game. They will start Nick Martinez tonight who is 1-2 for the season with a 4.12 ERA. The Padres have won the last 7 games after allowing 5 runs or more in their previous game and the last 5 games when their opponent scores 5 runs or more in their previous game.
The Miami Marlins are second in the NL East with a 12-12 record. After winning 7 straight games, they have lost the last 4 games including a series sweep by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Miami is 18th in the league scoring 4.14 runs per game and 12th allowing 4.01 runs per game. They will start Jesus Luzardo tonight who is 2-1 for the season with a 3.10 ERA. The Marlins have won the last 4 games after scoring 5 runs or more in their previous game.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Miami Marlins (-102)
St.Louis Cardinals @ San Francisco Giants – 9:45PM ET
The St.Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants will be playing the first game of their four game series in this one. San Francisco is coming off of a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, and St.Louis is coming off of a series with the Kansas City Royals
Tony Battalio
The St.Louis Cardinals have gotten the season off to somewhat of a decent start as they just wrapped up their season with their cross state rivals, the Kansas City Royals. The Cardinals ended up winning the series and in doing so won the season series as well. The Cardinals come into this game with a record of 14-10 through their first 24 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season.
The San Francisco Giants finished as the best team in baseball during the 2021 Major League Baseball regular season. Now they will be looking to repeat that feat but avoid the early postseason elimination this time around. They come into this new series with a record of 14-10 on the season as they are coming off of a loss in a two game series where they were swept by the defending National League pennant holders, the Los Angeles Dodgers. As for the result of this game I’m going with the Cardinals to get the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants
Jeffery Thomas
The St.Louis Cardinals took the series finale against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday to secure the series win. Since the month of May started, the Cards have won three of four games with two of those victories being shutouts. The pitching is coming together and with the offensive surges they can have occasionally (like the 10 runs scored on Wednesday) they are truly one of the most complete teams in the National League when everything is clicking. They will hope that is the case against the San Francisco Giants who lost in blowout fashion to the Dodgers on Wednesday night.
Logan Webb has been shaky his past three starts and now facing this Cardinals team that just scored 10 runs on Wednesday should be a problem. The Giants are also coming in losers of five of their last six and while they may be the better team on paper, I don’t have much confidence in their play at the moment. I think the Cardinals squeak out a win on the road in this one.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: St.Louis Cardinals
Marko Nadin
The San Francisco Giants are fourth in the NL West despite having a good 14-10 record. The Giants have lost the last three games and are coming off back-to-back losses to the Los Angeles Dodgers scoring only 1 run in each of those games. The Giants are 8th in the league scoring 4.68 runs per game, they are 11th with 1.07 home runs per game and 8th allowing 3.67 runs per game. San Francisco will start Logan Webb tonight who is 3-1 for the season with a 3.26 ERA.
The St.Louis Cardinals are second in the NL East with a 14-10 record. They are coming off a 10-0 win over the Kansas City Royals in a series they won 2 games to 1. The Cardinals are 16th in the league scoring 4.31 runs per game, 14th with .234 AVG and third-best defensive team in the league allowing only 3.28 runs per game. The Cardinals will start Miles Mikolas who is 1-1 for the season with a 1.52 ERA.
Marko’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
