Our free MLB Picks are out for Tuesday, August 24th, 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!
Tampa Bay Rays @ Philadelphia Phillies – 7.05PM ET
While the Tampa Bay Rays are fighting to stay on top of the AL East, the Philadelphia Phillies are struggling to keep in touch with the top of the NL East, sitting five games back from Atlanta right now. Will the Rays push further ahead in their quest or can the Phillies peg one back tonight?
Tim Newton
While the Phillies are second in their division, the NL East, and the Rays are on top of their division, the AL East, there is a massive 13.5 games difference between the two sides, and that has been evident over their recent form. Philadelphia may have gotten the best of the Padres, winning that series 2-1 in San Diego, they had won just one of their previous six games and are just 33-33 against teams above 0.500 for the season.
Contrasting that to Tampa, who have won six of their last seven, including two straight over the White Sox, and should be too good in this matchup. I am worried that Ranger Suarez is starting for Philadelphia, who has allowed just four runs in his four starts this season, all in August, but he typically lasts just four innings and then the Rays should be able to capitalize from there.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-120)
Katherine Mouradian
The Phillies are coming off a nice series win against the Padres (2-1) and the game they did lose went to a 10th innings, so it was a close one. The Rays are also coming off a series win, this time against the White Sox (2-1), and the game they did lose ended up going to 11th innings, so another close one! The Rays have won 10 of their previous 14 games on the road and have won five of their previous six games after having a day off.
Multi-home run game ➡️ multitasking.
That’s the #1 Phillies boy. pic.twitter.com/G84kH5NypQ
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) August 22, 2021
When it comes to the Phillies, they have won none of their previous five meetings with the Rays overall, and none of their previous four games after a day off. Given the recent record of the Rays against the Phillies, I’ll be on the Rays tonight. Plus their consistency this season will hopefully help the Rays seal the deal at reasonable odds!
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-120)
Mike Su
The Rays take on the Phillies in an interesting matchup with big playoff seeding implications. The Phillies need a win to keep their postseason hopes alive, given they are just 4.5 games back from the Braves. The Rays on the other hand have the best record in the American League, but have the red-hot Yankees trailing them by just 4 games.
On paper, the Rays have a big edge as they lead in every team statistic, however the Phillies are starting Ranger Suarez who has been phenomenal this season with a 1.47 ERA. This is a good matchup against the MLB’s 2nd best batting unit. Suarez is looking to bounce back from his last game where he pitched 4.2 innings and allowed 3 runs. The Phillies haven’t been in great form either, losing 6 of their last 10 games. The Phillies are in a crucial game but I don’t think they have the momentum to get a win here against one of the league’s best.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Ray -1.5 (+140)
San Francisco Giants @ New York Mets – 7.10PM ET
After playing a three game series in Oracle Park last week, the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets now play the first of three games in Citi Field tonight. While the Giants won that series 2-1, the Mets won the last game and just beat the Dodgers 7-2, bringing in momentum into this clash.
Tim Newton
I’m taking the Giants as underdogs in this one. While the Mets beat San Francisco last time they played, just a week ago, and are coming off a big win over the Dodgers, in LA, the Giants are the better team in this matchup. The pitching choice of Sammy Long for San Francisco is a bit of a head scratcher, given he is just 1-1 from eight games, four of which were starts, and has an ERA of 5.72.
However, the Mets have only scored more than five runs twice from their last 12 games and rank 26th for OPS and 28th for runs this season while the Giants rank 5th and 9th respectively. That is a big difference in hitting power and since San Francisco are 46-19 against teams below 0.500, I think they’ll be too good tonight.
Tim’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-104)
Katherine Mouradian
The Mets are having a tough couple of series’, first playing the Dodgers then the Giants, then the Dodgers again and now the Giants for the second! The Mets only managed to get one win against the Dodgers in their previous series, taking that series results to 1-3. The Giants played the Athletics last time out, and won that series, 2-1.
The series between the Mets and the Giants earlier in the month was won by the Giants, 2-1. The Giants have won 16 of their previous 21 games after they have had a day off, and have won four of their previous five games on the road. When it comes to the Mets, they have won only two of their previous seven meetings with the Giants and have won 13 of their previous 16 after a day off. The pitching matchup is nothing to write home about, but the Giants are clearly the more consistent team, I’ll be on the Giants.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-104)
Mike Su
The league’s best team take on the Mets, who scored a surprise 7-2 blowout win against the Dodgers in their last game. Meanwhile, the Giants earnt their 80th win for the season against the A’s, who are an undoubtedly better team than the Mets. This matchup seems pretty straight forward, a team coming off a big win gets put in their place by a title contending juggernaut. The only wrinkle in that plan is the pitching situation, where the Mets start Tyler Megill who has played well this season earning a 3.21 ERA in limited playing time. Megill played phenomenally in his last game pitching 6 innings for 6 strikeouts and allowing just 1 run.
On the other side, the Giants are starting the below average Sammy Long who has a relatively bad ERA of 5.72, however, that is in limited playing time as well. Both teams have a lot to play for with the Giants having just a 2.5 game lead in the division over the red-hot Dodgers, while the Mets look to make the playoffs despite having just a 6.2% probability. In spite of all this, I am taking the Giants, they are proven and should win this.
Mike’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-104)
Minnesota Twins @ Boston Red Sox – 7.10PM ET
After getting embarrassed by the Yankees in New York over the weekend, the Minnesota Twins now have to travel to Boston to take on the Red Sox. Boston have won three of the four matchups so far this season and need every win they can get in the race for the wild card slots in the American League.
Tim Newton
While the Red Sox are just 2-4 from their last six, which includes a 1-10 loss to the Rangers just two nights ago, I am taking them in the series opener against the Twins tonight. Minnesota just got beat down badly by the Yankees in their last series and have to stay on the road for a tough matchup in Boston. Adding some perspective to this, Minnesota is just 24-37 on the road while Boston is 39-25 at Fenway Park.
When looking at the starting pitchers, Minnesota’s Griffin Jax has a much better record, 3-1, than Boston’s starter Tanner Houck, 0-3, but when looking at their ERA, Houck has the edge 3.12 compared to 5.11. That means that in their games, Jax’s batting lineup has assisted him out better but I don’t think that will be the case tonight, given the game is in Boston and they have a much more explosive batting lineup overall.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox (-245)
Katherine Mouradian
The Red Sox are coming off a win against the Rangers, but they did lose one game against the team, which was pretty surprising. The Twins are coming off a series with the Yankees where they were shown up in pretty much every game, losing that series 0-3.
Let’s play. #MNTwins pic.twitter.com/RkaLmByRpl
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) August 21, 2021
The Twins have won only one of their previous five games on the road, and it’s the same stats when it comes to after the Twins have had a day off as well. The Red Sox have won none of their previous five games on a Tuesday, but they have won nine of their previous 13 clashes with the Twins. This series could be exactly what the Red Sox need to bounce back after a lackluster couple of series’. I’m backing the Red Sox for a convincing win here.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox -1.5 (-126)
Mike Su
The Red Sox are hungry for a win as they fight for a Wild Card spot and potentially the division lead as they only trail the Rays in the AL East by 6.5 games. They take on the Minnesota Twins, who have no playoff hopes and sit at the bottom of the AL Central division. Statistics wise, the Red Sox do have the edge in every team category and are a top 6 batting unit.
However, the pitching situation does make this game somewhat interesting as the Twins start Griffin Jax who does have a poor 5.11 ERA but a 3-1 record this season. Although Red Sox pitcher Tanner Houck has a good 3.12 ERA, he is yet to register a win this season and this could be a bad omen for the Red Sox. Another silver lining for the Twins is the Red Sox have lost their last 5 Tuesday games. These 2 factors aside, there is literally no reason for the Red Sox not to obliterate the Twins here.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Boston Red Sox -1.5 (-126)
Cincinnati Reds @ Milwaukee Brewers – 8.10PM ET
A top of the table clash between the two best teams in the NL Central face off in the first of a three game series in American Family Field tonight. The Milwaukee Brewers currently lead the Cincinnati Reds by 7.5 games in the standings but the Reds aren’t chasing the Brewers, they are chasing the final National League wildcard slot, which they currently own by one game over the Padres.
Tim Newton
Could the Reds steal one off the Brewers and edge closer in the standings at the top of the NL Central? While I definitely think they will get at least one over the next three nights, I don’t think it will be in this one. Milwaukee is starting Corbin Burnes, whose 2.13 ERA ranks second in the majors, while also sporting an 8-4 record from his 21 games, all of which were starts.
He hasn’t given up a run over his last 15 innings of work and should put the Brewers in a brilliant position to start this game. While he will have his work cut out for him, given Cincinnati are top four for both OPS and runs this season, they haven’t quite reached those heights over the last 15 days and the Brewers offense has actually performed better in that timespan, ranking 1st for OPS and 3rd for runs in that span. That means that Milwaukee has a better batting lineup at the moment and has a top level pitcher starting on the mound, giving them the edge in the opener.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-198)
Katherine Mouradian
The Brewers have a nice lead over the Reds in the NL Central, leading by seven and a half games. The Reds are currently on a four game winning streak after winning all four of their games in their previous series with the Marlins. The Brewers are also coming off a series win against the Nationals, but they did drop one game, winning the series 2-1. The Reds have won four of their previous five games after they have had a win, and they have won 25 of their previous 35 division games.
Looking now at the Brewers, they have won seven of their previous nine when it comes to the first game of a series and after they win a game their record is 4-1. Both teams are playing really well at the moment, and while the Reds have more to play for to close the gap between them and the Brewers, I think the Brewers, with Burnes on the mound, will get the job done on Tuesday night.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-198)
Mike Su
The Brewers take on the Reds in an NL Central Division matchup. Both teams are essentially a lock to make the playoffs, but this will be a division rivalry game and should be hotly contested. The Reds are hot on a 4 game winning streak, sweeping the Marlins by wide margins in every game, however the Brewers are the division leaders for a reason. Milwaukee are bringing the big guns into this matchup with Corbin Burnes starting at pitcher. Burnes has the MLB’s second best ERA at 2.13 and 5th most strikeouts with 175. In Burnes’ last game he pitched 6 innings allowing no runs and getting 3 strikeouts.
The Reds are starting Tyler Mahle who has been good this season with a 3.78 ERA and 10-4 record. Mahle will be a big factor if the Reds win this one and I personally think the Reds steal this game with him at the wheel, despite Burnes playing well recently. The Brewers have lost easy games to the lowly Nationals and Cardinals recently and aren’t in great form. The Reds are also 10-1 against pitchers with a WHIP of less than 1.15 meaning they deal well with good pitchers. I’m taking the Reds for an upset.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Cincinnati Reds (+166)
Los Angeles Dodgers @ San Diego Padres – 10.10PM ET
We round out the night with an NL West showdown between the second-placed Los Angeles Dodgers and the third-placed San Diego Padres. There is a massive 10.5 game gap between the sides but wins mean everything for both teams down the stretch, especially with both sides giving up seven runs in a loss last time out.
Tim Newton
While this is at Petco Park, I still think the Dodgers will be too good in this one. The Padres have gone just 2-8 over their last 10, going just 1-5 in their six games last week against the Rockies and Phillies. Meanwhile, LA won six of their seven games last week and are hitting their stride on both sides of the ball.
To add fuel to the fire, the Dodgers are coming off an embarrassing loss at home, to the Mets, and will want to atone for that in tonight’s clash. The worry is that LA actually has a negative record against teams above 0.500 while the Padres are 32-22, but this NL West rivalry should go in favour of the road team, at least for tonight.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-125)
Katherine Mouradian
The Dodgers are coming off a series win against the Mets, 3-1, and before they lost their last game, they were on a nine game winning streak. The Padres are coming off a tough series loss to the Phillies 1-2 and they have only won two of their previous 11. When coming off a rest day, the Dodgers have won 42 of their previous 59 clashes and they have won 19 of their previous 26 overall.
Clutch Belli! pic.twitter.com/hnDJ6gzzDe
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 22, 2021
On the flip side, the Padres have won all four of their previous meetings with the Padres in San Diego and have won 33 of their previous 49 games at home. Despite the recent stats of the Dodgers when playing in San Diego, they are clearly the better team, and with Urias on the mound, they can get the job done tonight.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-125)
Mike Su
The in-form Dodgers are looking to bounce back from a setback loss to the Mets. This looks likely as they play against the Padres who have been sliding down the stretch. The Padres are 2-8 in their last 10 games and have seen their playoff hopes get obliterated. This NL West matchup will be an interesting one as earlier in the season the Padres looked in a much better position to make the playoffs while the Dodgers weren’t playing to their potential.
Now the Dodgers are a lock to make playoffs while the Padres are unlikely to progress. The Padres aren’t going to have an easy time playing the Dodgers as the Dodgers start Julio Urias who has a great 13-3 record this season. Urias played great in his last game against the Mets with 5 strikeouts, while allowing only 2 hits and no runs. Urias will make the Padres suffer and I think that the Dodgers bounce back quickly from a winnable loss.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (+135)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
