Free MLB Picks Today for Wednesday, May 5th, 2021

Free MLB Picks Today for Wednesday, May 5th, 2021
Wed 5th May 2021

It’s another loaded Wednesday in the 2021 MLB season with all 30 teams taking the field for the second day in a row!

Our free MLB Picks are out for Wednesday, May 5th, 2021! Make sure you check our MLB Picks before the action kicks off.

Chicago White Sox @ Cincinnati Reds – 12.35PM ET

The White Sox and Reds will continue their three game set in Cincinnati on Wednesday, with Chicago looking to wrap up a series victory on the road in just two games. 

After being held scoreless by the Indians in the final game of their three match series on Sunday, the White Sox returned the favor to the Reds on Tuesday, winning the opening game of their set 9-0. 

Jose Abreu found some form with the bat, recording one run from two hits with three RBIs, however Dylan Cease’s performance with the ball set up the victory. Cease struck-out 11 Reds batters in six scoreless innings at the mound, allowing just one hit in that time. 

As for the Reds, their lineup was held to just two hits in the shutout loss, losing the hit count 2-13 on the night. Tucker Barnhart recorded both hits on offense, while Jeff Hoffman took the loss with the ball, allowing five hits and four earned runs in his 2.1 innings at the mound 

Dallas Keuchel will be taking the ball for Chicago on Wednesday having given up four hits and four runs in six innings during his last start against Cleveland. 

Although Keuchel (4.65 ERA) will enter this encounter with a slightly better ERA than Sonny Gray (5.93 ERA), we expect the Reds offense to get the better of Keuchel on Wednesday, as the Indians did in his last start. Especially when considering that Cincinnati were the No. 1 scoring team in the league prior to Tuesday’s shutout loss and they are at home for Wednesday’s game.

MLB Pick – Cincinnati Reds (-138)
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Arizona Diamondbacks @ Miami Marlins – 6.40PM ET

The Diamondbacks and Marlins will continue their three match series in Miami on Wednesday, after the home team drew first blood on Tuesday night. 

After being swept by Washington over the weekend, the Marlins returned home for Tuesday’s matchup and also returned to the winners list with a 9-3 victory over Arizona.

Brian Anderson and Lewis Brinson were the stars on offense, with Anderson recording two runs, one hit, a walk and three RBIs, while Brinson collected one run from two hits with three RBIs in the six run victory. 

Sandy Alcantara took the W with the ball, allowing just one earned run on six hits in six innings at the mound. 


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As for the Diamondbacks, Riley Smith allowed three earned runs in the first inning on Tuesday, before pegging things back in his following four scoreless innings. However with the game tied at 3-3, Kevin Ginkel and Alex Young gave up three earned runs each in the eighth inning, putting the game out of reach for Arizona. 

Pablo Lopez will be taking the ball for the Marlins for his seventh start this season, currently boasting a 2.34 ERA, 1.096 WHIP, 10 walks and 34 strikeouts over 34.2 innings of work so far this year. However, in his last three starts, Lopez is 0-1 with a 0.47 ERA.

Arizona’s Luke Weaver takes the mound for his sixth start of the season in this contest. Weaver has a 4.91 ERA, 1.286 WHIP, nine walks and 23 strikeouts over 25.2 innings this year. However, in his last three starts, Weaver is 0-2 with a 7.62 ERA 13 innings.  

Although the Diamondbacks offense has found form recently, Weaver has not. As Weaver currently has an ERA of 7.62 ERA from his last three appearances, we like Miami to make it two from two against Arizona on Wednesday. Especially when considering Lopez is coming into this encounter having pitched a seven inning shutout in his last outing.

MLB Pick – Miami Marlins (-148)
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Los Angeles Dodgers @ Chicago Cubs – 7.40PM ET

Having wrapped up Tuesday’s double header with a pair of wins, Chicago will look to close out a sweep over the reigning World Series champions on Wednesday night, when the Cubs host the Dodgers for the final match of their three game series. 

Chicago won the opening game of Tuesday double header 7-1, before clinching the series with a 4-3 victory in game two. 

Kyle Hendricks took the win with the ball in the series opener, allowing just one run in seven innings at the mound. While David Bote was the hero of game two, hitting a walk off single at the bottom of the ninth to claim the game and the series. 

As for the Dodgers, Tuesday’s two losses means they have now lost four consecutive series. Los Angeles’ ace Clayton Kershaw had one of the worst outings of his illustrious career in game one against Chicago, requiring 39 first inning pitches to secure the three outs. Kershaw allowed four hits and four runs in his one inning before being rotated out of what was his shortest career start.

Despite only allowing one earned run in his 4.1 innings, Trevor Bauer took the loss in game two, as Chicago recorded a pair of wins against the Dodgers two best pitchers. 

Although the Dodgers have avoided sweeps in each of their last three series losses, sending Walker Buehler to the mound for Wednesday’s match isn’t going to cut it. Buehler gave up seven hits and five runs in 6.1 innings during his last outing, and this Cubs lineup (that has already outscored Los Angeles 11-4 vs Kershaw and Bauer) should have no trouble putting up a winning score against him.

MLB Pick – Chicago Cubs (+138)
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Texas Rangers @ Minnesota Twins – 7.40PM ET

The Minnesota Twins will host the Texas Rangers for the third time in as many days on Wednesday, with the two clubs playing their third match of a four game series. 

After losing Monday’s series opening 5-6, Texas responded on Tuesday with a 6-3 victory. Although Minnesota led 3-1 at the top of the ninth, Willie Calhoun’s solo homer and Isiah Kiner Falefa’s sacrifice fly ball forced the game to a 10th inning. Adolis Garcia then homered in the extra inning as Texas scored five runs combined in the ninth and 10th to steal the victory.

Garcia recorded one run from three hits as well as three RBIs with the bat, while Kyle Gibson allowed just three earned runs and three hits in eight innings at the mound.


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As for the Twins, J.A Happ got them off to a fine start with the ball, allowing just four hits and one earned run in 5.1 innings at the mound. However, Taylor Rogers and Brandon Wadell coughed up five hits and three earned runs in their combined two innings, essentially handing the Rangers a victory.

Texas will send Hyeon-Jong Yang to the mound for his third appearance of the season. In his last outing, Yang held the potent Red Sox offense to zero runs and just one hit in 4.1 innings in a game the Rangers lost 6-1. Prior to that, the rookie conceded just two runs in 4.1 innings against the Angels. 

Even though the Twins offense has been good at points throughout this season, we like what we’ve seen from Hyeon-Jong Yang in 2021. Combined with the fact that the Rangers have scored 5+ runs in each of their last four games, we like Texas’ offense and their advantage at the mound to steer them to a win in this one.

MLB Pick – Texas Rangers (+148)
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Pittsburgh Pirates @ San Diego Padres – 8.10PM ET

A pair of National League rivals will close out our Wednesday schedule of MLB games when the Padres host the Pirates for the final game of their three match series in San Diego. 

After dropping game one of the series 0-2 on Monday, Pittsburgh responded with a 2-1 road win on Tuesday. Although the Pirates offense dominated the total hit count, Pittsburgh only managed a one run victory despite the 10-4 hitting advantage.

Adam Frazier and Erik Gonzalez were the only two players to pass home plate on the night, while Mitch Keller took the win with the ball, allowing just two hits and zero runs in his 5.2 innings at the mound. 

As for the Padres, their pitching staff were once again solid, backing up Monday’s shoutout with only two allowed runs on Tuesday. However, their lineup failed to gather any momentum, only managing the one run from four hits. 

In what will be a solid pitching matchup, J.T. Brubaker will be taking the ball for Pittsburgh with a 2.63 ERA and 30 strikeouts this season. Brubaker has allowed three runs or fewer in all five of his starts this year, however the 27 year old is coming off his worst outing of the season that saw him allow three runs on seven hits in five innings of work in a loss to the Cardinals. 

Yu Darvish will be taking the ball for San Diego, looking to tie a franchise record with sixth consecutive quality start. The Padres’ ace has been dominant since allowing four earned runs in his team debut, pitching his way to a 1.35 ERA over his last 33.1 innings of work. Darvish is coming off of arguably his best performance of the season, having struck out 12 batters in 6.1 frames against the Giants.

With neither side’s offense firing in the first two games of this series, we like the Padres to win this one at home with a slight advantage in the pitching matchup. As solid as Brubaker has been this season, Darvish has not allowed more than a single earned run in any of his last five starts.

MLB Pick – San Diego Padres (-255)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.

Jesse is and always has been a lover of sports. No matter the league, no matter the game, Jesse is constantly keeping up to date with the latest odds, news, injuries and stats. He has a strong interest in the NBA and the NFL, and he will always strive to keep you up to date with the best news, odds, predictions and picks that the ever engaging sporting world has to offer.