Our free MLB picks are out for Wednesday, May 18th, 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!
Detroit Tigers @ Tampa Bay Rays – 1:10PM ET
The Detroit Tigers and Tampa Bay Rays will be playing the finale of their three game series in this one. They are currently tied at one game a piece after the Tigers win in game one and the Rays bounce back win in game number two on Tuesday.
Tony Battalio
The Detroit Tigers will now be looking for a way to bounce back after they lost the middle game of this three game series by a 8-1 blowout to the Tampa Bay Rays. The series is now tied at a win a piece for both of these teams and the winner of Wednesday’s finale will clinch the series victory as well before heading into their weekend slates. The loss knocks Detroit’s record on the year down to 13-24 through their first 37 games of the season.
The Tampa Bay Rays got a much needed win in game number two of this series to make the finale much more important. They come into this game with a record of 22-15 through their first 37 games of the season, as their offense and defense were clicking on all cylinders in Tuesday’s huge 8-1 blowout victory. As for the result of this finale, I am going with Tampa Bay to grab the victory and clinch the series victory as well over the Detroit Tigers.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (-205)
Jeffery Thomas
Tampa Bay took the second game of this three-game series by a score of 8-1 on Tuesday. This win snapped a four-game winning streak by Detroit as Shane McClanahan threw a dominant 7 innings, striking out seven and only giving up one earned run. I think in this series finale there is serious value with the underdog despite the result on Tuesday.
This is because there is not much disparity between the two starting pitchers. The Rays’ offense has been below average recently while the Tigers are playing some of their best baseball of the season at the moment. I think the Tigers can easily keep this one within a run.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Detroit Tigers +1.5 (-137)
Marko Nadin
The Tampa Bay Rays are second in the AL East with a 22-15 record. They came into the series against the Tigers after a 2-1 series win over the Toronto Blue Jays and won the series opener by 8-1. The Rays are 15th in the league scoring 4.28 runs per game and with 4.14 allowed runs per game. Drew Rasmussen will be the starting pitcher for Tampa Bay tonight who is 3-1 for the season with a 2.67 ERA. Tampa Bay has won 5 of the last 7 games against a left-handed pitcher and the last 4 games they played on Wednesday.
The Detroit Tigers are at the bottom of the AL Central with a 13-24 record. Last night’s loss to the Rays snapped the Tiger’s four-game winning streak. Detroit is the worst offensive team in the league scoring only 2.90 runs per game and hitting 0.53 home runs per game. The Tigers will start Eduardo Rodriguez who is 1-2 for the season with a 3.72 ERA. Detroit has lost 6 of the last 7 games played on Wednesday, 5 of the last 6 third games of a series and 10 of the last 13 road games.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Detroit Tigers (+172)
Minnesota Twins @ Oakland Athletics – 3:37PM ET
The Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics will be playing the finale of their three game series in this one. They are currently tied at one game a piece after the Twins win in game one and the Athletics bounce back win in game number two on Tuesday.
Tony Battalio
The Minnesota Twins were upset by the Oakland Athletics in game two of this series and now they will be looking to bounce back and grab the win in the finale to get the series victory. They come into this one with a record of 21-16 through their first 37 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They are currently in first place of the American League Central division which is coming as a surprise because the Chicago White Sox were expected to be the clear favorites this season.
The Oakland Athletics are having a rough season despite grabbing the win over the Minnesota Twins in game number two of this series. Now they will be looking to grab their second straight win and clinch the series victory in the process. They are having trouble attracting fans to the ballpark which virtually eliminates any type of home field advantage they could potentially have from a crowd standpoint. As for the result of this series deciding game I am going with the Minnesota Twins to grab the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins (-164)
Jeffery Thomas
Oakland is a team that I will never advise anyone to back at the moment. The offense is not producing anything at the plate and that puts immense pressure on their pitching staff in each and every game.
It’s a pressure that their staff isn’t capable of handling on a consistent basis which has led to a lot of their losses. The Twins are the better team with more firepower and a better starting pitcher in this matchup so I love them in this spot.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins (-164)
Marko Nadin
The Oakland Athletics are at the bottom of the AL West with a 16-23 record. They defeated the Twins 5-2 last night and put an end to their three-game losing streak. The Athletics are scoring 3.33 runs per game which ranks them second to last in the league and they are 9th in the league allowing 3.86 runs per game. Daulton Jeffries will start tonight for Oakland who is 1-6 for the season with a 4.84 ERA. The Athletics have lost the last 8 home games against a right-handed starting pitcher and 7 of the last 9 games against a team with a winning record.
The Minnesota Twins are on top of the AL Central with a 21-16 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games and have not scored more than 3 runs in the last 4 games. The Twins are 20th in the league scoring 3.95 runs per game but are ranked 6th in the league allowing 3.55 runs per game. Minnesota will start Sonny Gray tonight who is 0-1 for the season with a 3.68 ERA. They have won 13 of the last 16 games as favorites and 5 of the last 7 road games. They have lost 6 of the last 8 games against right-handed games.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Minnesota Twins (-164)
Atlanta Braves @ Milwaukee Brewers – 1:10PM ET
The Atlanta Braves and Milwaukee Brewers are playing the finale of their three game series in this one. They are currently tied at one game a piece after the Brewers win in game one and the Braves bounce back win in game number two on Tuesday.
Tony Battalio
The defending World Series champions are having a rough start to the 2022 Major League Baseball season. It seems like they are going through a championship hangover as they come into this game with a record of 17-20 through their first 37 games of the year. They will be looking to grab a huge series victory after they beat defending National League Cy Young winner, Corbin Burnes on Tuesday.
The Milwaukee Brewers are off a fast start in the 2022 Major League Baseball season. They come into this game with a record of 23-14 through their first 37 games of the season. They are currently in first place in the National League Central division. They will be looking to bounce back and get the win in the finale to clinch the series victory on Wednesday afternoon. As for the result of this game I am going with the Brewers to grab the win.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-142)
Jeffery Thomas
The Atlanta Braves were able to rebound from their loss in the opener of this series by getting the win on Tuesday to even things up. It’s still a struggle for the Braves to find their footing following their World Series run last season and it’s possible they just never become the team everyone is expecting. Atlanta is just 17-20 on the year and it appears the loss of Freddie Freeman in the offseason is something they can’t rebound from.
Tuesday’s win was nice but I don’t see them repeating that on Wednesday against Brewers ace Corbin Burnes. Burnes has been shutting down every lineup he’s been facing, allowing over 2 runs in a start only once this season, way back on Opening Day. The Braves are countering with Max Fried who is coming off a start where he allowed 9 hits and gave up 4 earned runs. I gotta side with the pitching and home advantage here and take the Brew Crew to rebound from a no show game on Tuesday.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-142)
Marko Nadin
The Milwaukee Brewers are on top of the NL Central division with a 23-14 record. They have won 3 of the last 5 games but are coming off a 3-0 loss to the Braves last night, the fourth time this season failing to score a single run in a game. The Brewers are fifth in the league scoring 4.91 runs per game and third in the league with 1.39 home runs per game. Milwaukee will start Corbin Burnes tonight who is 1-2 for the season with a 1.77 ERA. The Brewers have won 4 of the last 5 home games and 19 of the last 28 games overall.
The Atlanta Braves are 4th in the NL East with a 17-20 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games. The defending champions are 18th in the league with 4.13 runs per game and are 6th hitting 1.25 home runs per game. Atlanta will start Max Fried who is 4-2 for the season with a 3.14 ERA. The Braves have won 6 of the last 10 games against Milwaukee and have lost 5 of the last 7 road games and 4 of the last 5 games against a right-handed starting pitcher.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-142)
Pittsburgh Pirates @ Chicago Cubs – 7:40PM ET
The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs are playing the third and final game of their three game series in this one. The Cubs have already clinched the series and will be looking to clinch the sweep on Wednesday.
Tony Battalio
The Pittsburgh Pirates are once again having another rough season as it seems likely that their playoff drought will continue. They have had 25 losing seasons out of their last 28 and look to be on pace to add another one to that total as they come into this game with a record of 15-21 through their first 36 games of the season. They are looking to avoid getting swept in this one by the Chicago Cubs. They are 4-6 in their last ten games and are currently in fourth place of the National League Central division.
The Chicago Cubs aren’t having a much better season as they come into this game with a record of 15-20 through their first 35 games of the season. That puts them in third place of the National League Central division as they are seven games behind the division leading Milwaukee Brewers. As for the result of this finale I am going with the Chicago Cubs to grab the win and complete the sweep over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Chicago Cubs
Jeffery Thomas
The Chicago Cubs got yet another shutout victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday and will look to go for the sweep Wednesday evening. So far this series the Cubs have outscored the Pirates 16-0 in the first two games and have now ran their winning streak up to four games.
The Pirates are in a horrible funk at the plate right now, averaging just 1 run a game in their last six games. I don’t think much will change in the finale of this series. No matter who Pittsburgh is facing on the mound right now they can’t hit and I think it’s safe to continue fading them until we see things turnaround. We are also seeing the Cubs playing some of their best baseball of the year right now so let’s roll with them once again to complete the sweep.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Chicago Cubs
Marko Nadin
The Chicago Cubs are third in the NL Central with a 15-20 record. They have won the last 4 games which is their longest winning streak this season. The Cubs are 14th in the league with 4.32 runs per game and 15th in the league with 4.17 runs per game. The Cubs will start Drew Smyly who is 1-4 for the season with a 3.64 ERA. Chicago has lost 5 of the last 7 games as favroites, 15 of the last 21 games against a right-handed pitcher and 9 of the last 11 against teams with a losing record.
The Pittsburgh Pirates are 4th in the NL Central with a 15-21 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games, failing to score a single run in the last two games. The Pirates are 27th in the league scoring 3.41 runs per game and 28th allowing 5.47 runs per game. Pittsburgh will start Mitch Keller tonight who is 0-5 for the season with a 6.61 ERA. The Pirates have lost 40 of the last 56 games against teams with a losing record, 53 of the last 73 road games and 40 of the last 51 third games of a series.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Chicago Cubs
Los Angeles Angels @ Texas Rangers – 8:05PM ET
The Los Angeles Angels and Texas Rangers are playing the finale of their three game series in this one. The Rangers have already clinched the series and will be looking to clinch the sweep on Wednesday.
Tony Battalio
The Los Angeles Angels have been decent this season but surprisingly they have already lost this three game series to the Texas Rangers. They will be looking to avoid getting swept by their American League West divisional rivals in this one on Wednesday. They come into this game with a record of 24-15 through their first 39 games of the 2022 Major League Baseball season. It has been a longtime coming for the Angels as they struggled in recent years despite having a couple of top ten players in baseball.
The Texas Rangers dropped a couple bags on players over the offseason to strengthen their roster. At the beginning of the 2022 Major League Baseball season they struggled but as the season has picked up steam so have they as they now come into this game with a record of 16-19 through their first 35 games of the year. As for the result of this series finale I’m going with the Los Angeles Angels to grab the win and avoid the sweep.
Tony’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (-164)
Jeffery Thomas
The Texas Rangers were able to steal a win in game 2 of this series with the Los Angeles Angels by a score of 10-5. Corey Seager got the 7-run eighth inning started with a bloop double that went along with his home run way back in the first inning. Mike Trout of LA stayed hot in the loss, going yard for the 10th time this season.
Texas has now won the first two games of this series and now has a chance for a sweep of their division rivals. I don’t think it will happen though, as the Angels will be relying on their superstar Shohei Ohtani to stop the bleeding. He will be opposed by Dane Dunning who isn’t anything special and in fact is coming off a start last time out where he gave up 5 earned runs.
Jeffery’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels (-164)
Marko Nadin
The Texas Rangers are third in the AL West with a 16-19 record. They have won the last three games incluf=ding the first two of the series against the Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers are 15th in the league with 4.30 scored runs per game and 23rd allowing 4.44 runs per game. The Rangers will start Dane Dunning who is 1-2 for the season with a 4.06 ERA. Texas has won 4 of the last 5 games against a right-handed starting pitcher and 6 of the last 8 games as underdogs.
The Los Angeles Angels are second in the AL West with a 24-15 record. They have lost 3 of the last 5 games. The Angels third in the league scoring 4.97 runs per game and fourth with 1.35 home runs per game. Shohei Ohtani will be the starting pitcher for the Angels tonight who is 3-2 for the season with a 2.78 ERA. The Angels have won 10 of the last 11 third games of a series, 8 of the last 10 road games as favorites and 14 of the last 20 games against teams with a losing record.
Marko’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Angels -1.5 (+102)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
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