Our free MLB Picks are out for Wednesday, September 1st, 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!
San Diego Padres @ Arizona Diamondbacks – 3.40PM ET
These NL West rivals will face off for a third and final game in this series, with the San Diego Padres looking for the sweep. While they were competitive in the opener, the Arizona Diamondbacks couldn’t get anything going offensively last night and need to show something this afternoon.
Tim Newton
Unfortunately, I have no faith in the Diamondbacks in this one. They are in the bottom 10 for runs this season while the Padres are just two runs behind the top 10. That is a big disparity in offensive output. Adding to this, Arizona has the second worst team ERA in the majors, 5.14, and are starting Luke Weaver, whose ERA is 4.50. While better than his team’s average, he has pitched in just eight games this season and given up 3+ runs in five of those. He has found some form lately, allowing no runs from just five hits across 10.1 innings in his last two games, but I don’t think that will hold up this afternoon. San Diego has a better batting lineup than both Miami and Washington, who those two games were about, and the Padres still have a playoff spot to play for.
Tim’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres (-245)
Smoked 💨 pic.twitter.com/NWKLGZwkF0
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) September 1, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
This is the third and final game of this series between the Padres and the Diamondbacks. The Padres have managed to win the first two games in the series. The Diamondbacks have now lost five games in a row, and the Padres have won three out of their previous four. Looking at some other key stats now, the Padres have won just one of their previous 11 when it comes to the third game of a series, and only three of their previous 11 games on the road. The Diamondbacks have won only 29 of their previous 105 overall, but when it comes to playing games at home, they have won six of their previous eight. Also, the Padres have won just three of their previous 17 games in Arizona. This stat in particular really contradicts what has happened in the first two games of this series, with the Padres winning both! I’m going to have to stick with the Padres on this one as well, they have the better starting pitcher, and more to play for, as they are still in contention for the playoffs.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres (-245)
Mike Su
The woeful Diamondbacks take on the desperate-for-wins Padres in what should be a predictable result. The Padres have boosted their playoff chances by winning their past two games and now have a 31.2% likelihood of making the playoffs. I expected the Padres to go all out to ensure they keep winning to ensure they can make an unlikely playoff run. However, the teams meet in the desert at the Diamondback’s home and that is a worrying sign for the Padres. Despite their poor overall record with a lowly 44 wins and 90 losses, the Diamondback haven’t been bad at home lately. In fact, prior to this series they had won six of their last seven at home. On the flip side the Padres are not good away from home, sporting a 2-7 record in their last eight away games before this series. However, The Padres have taken the first two two games in this series and I expect them to add a third, due to their better pitching and overall team.
Mike’s MLB Pick: San Diego Padres -1.5 (-135)
New York Yankees @ Los Angeles Angels – 7.07PM ET
After piling on 13 straight wins, the New York Yankees have come crashing back down to earth with four straight losses. The Los Angeles Angels have handed them the last two of those and will look to add another this evening.
Tim Newton
I have no idea what is going on with the Yankees at the moment, but I think they can turn it around tonight. Gerrit Cole is riding shotgun for the last game of the series and when he has the ball in his hand, the Yankees always seem to do well. He pitched in three games during August, allowing just one run across 17.2 innings and registering the win in all three. Those are some impressive numbers and he now faces a weak Angels offense and should be able to keep his individual momentum going. That should allow the Yankees to play from the front, something they are much better at doing. Packy Naughton may have a 1.69 ERA but he has pitched just 5.1 innings across two games, neither of which were starts. Going up against a batting lineup as explosive as New York’s isn’t what he would want to be doing and I think that will show in the end result.
Tim’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (-162)
Katherine Mouradian
The series wraps up tonight with the Yankees and the Angels, and the Angels have won both the two games in this series so far. The two wins so far have been pretty close, the first game was decided by one run and the second game was decided by two runs, but the Angels are doing just enough! Digging into some of the key stats now, the Yankees have won 22 of their previous 28 games when they are the favorite and they have won 11 of their previous 16 games on the road. Looking at the Angels now, they have won 19 of their previous 26 when it comes to the third game of a series, and have won five of their previous seven games played on a Wednesday. The Yankees have to be due for a win, and to top it off, Cole has found his groove. I’ll be on the Yankees tonight!
Katherine’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-270)
Mike Su
The Yankees take on Shohei Ohtani and the LA Angels. The Yankees have found their feet in the latter part of the season and have found themselves just 8 wins behind the Rays despite a flurry of COVID and injury issues. However, they have now lost four in a row against mid level competition with two losses against the Athletics and two against the Angels. LA have actually won four of the six matchups against the Yankees this season and are looking to win their 4th game in a row overall. In their last two games against the Yankees, the Angels have been batting well despite facing relatively good pitching, scoring 14 runs. Ohtani has added three of those and we all know how much I rate him. Looking at the pitching situation, I think it is extremely interesting. The Yankees are fielding Gerrit Cole who is a known commodity and has been great this year, being a top 10 pitcher in the MLB this season. The Angels on the other hand are fielding Packy Naughton who is a rookie that has only pitched 5 innings this season but has been decent, allowing three runs and recording two strikeouts in five innings of play. I think this matchup will be a complete turn around of the past 2 games between the 2 teams, which have been shootouts. I think this game will go unders with a lone run from Ohtani and a low total from the Yankees unit from a surprise performance from Naughton.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Under 8.5 Runs (-105)
Boston Red Sox @ Tampa Bay Rays – 7.10PM ET
The Tampa Bay Rays have taken the first two games against the Boston Red Sox, their AL East rivals, but the pain hasn’t stopped yet. There are still two more games left in this series and the Rays are looking to extend their lead in the division.
Tim Newton
Picking the under in a game with two batting lineups as good as these is a scary prospect, but it looks like the best bet for tonight’s game. While it is set low, just 7.5 runs, both starting pitchers have been able to restrict runs lately and should help this total stay low. Chris Sale has played three games this season, all wins, and has allowed just four runs across 15.1 innings of action. Drew Rasmussen has played in 30 games, but started in just five and each of his last three have been starts. In those games he has pitched 13 innings and allowed just two runs across those, including keeping Boston to one run from four innings on the 12th. Those are both impressive numbers and while the batting lineups are really good, the bullpens should shine in this one.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Under 7.5 (-118)
If you played the Rays in August, you probably didn’t have a great time. https://t.co/ZtjnLimPvu pic.twitter.com/66nllzFkyb
— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
This is the third installment of the series between the Red Sox and the Rays, the Rays have been pretty dominant so far, winning the first two games. The Red Sox have now lost three games in a row, whereas the Rays are flying and have won nine games in a row. The Red Sox have won just two of their previous 11 when playing a start with a WHIP that is less than 1.15 and they have won 34 of their previous 67 games on the road so far this season. On the flip side, the Rays have won 21 of their previous 28 when playing a team that has a winning record, and they have won 39 of their previous 52 when it comes to the third game of a series. Both starting pitchers have been performing well, but considering the amount of Red Sox players that are out at the moment, I think it’s going to be another Rays win tonight.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays (+100)
Mike Su
Two of my favourite teams play again in an interesting matchup. The Rays have been red-hot winning their last 9 games. When their division league looked like it may have been in doubt, the Rays turned on the jets and pulled away from the Yankees and Red Sox, who are second and third respectively. The Red Sox are the opposite of the Rays losing their last 3 games, with their playoff chances taking a big hit with each loss. For this matchup both teams are turning to wildcards. The Red Sox are starting Chris Sale at pitcher. Sale has only thrown 15 innings this season but has an insane 2.35 ERA and has 21 strikeouts in those 15 innings. In his last game Sale allowed just 2 runs and had 8 strikeouts. The Rays are turning to Drew Rasmussen, who has just 35 innings pitched this season for a good 3.46 ERA. However, Rasmussen has actually been very good this season against the Red Sox. Rasmussen has pitched 6 innings against the Yankees for 7 strikeouts and allowing just 1 run. I think this matchup will be a pitching masterclass from these wildcards, leading to a low scoring matchup.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Under 7.5 runs (-118)
Milwaukee Brewers @ San Francisco Giants – 9.45PM ET
The Milwaukee Brewers have claimed a second straight victory over the San Francisco Giants, in Oracle Park. A 3-1 win was followed up with a 6-2 win last night and now they face off again. Can the Giants bounce back or will the Brewers keep adding to the pain for the Giants, who now lead the AL West by just half a game!
Tim Newton
While the Giants have lost three straight games, getting outscored by 15 runs in those games, I am backing them to turn it around tonight. This is the first game in the series where they have the edge in starting pitchers. Milwaukee is starting Brett Anderson, whose 4-8 record and 4.27 ERA are both uninspiring. Meanwhile, San Francisco are starting Kevin Gausman, who is arguably their best starting pitcher. He is 12-5 for the season with a 2.49 ERA and was 3-0 from five starts in August. It is worrying me that the Brewers are one of the most in-form teams in baseball right now but I think the Giants have to bounce back at home, especially with the pitching choice.
Tim’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-164)
Katherine Mouradian
We are at the halfway point in this four game series, and the Brewers are currently leading the way, winning the first two games. The Brewers have now won three games in a row, whereas the Giants have lost three games in a row. The Giants have won 20 of their previous 28 games overall and have won 20 of their previous 27 games on a Wednesday. Looking at the Brewers now, they have won all five of their previous games on a Wednesday, and they have won 35 of their previous 51 games on the road. I’m going with consistency here with Gausman and the Giants to get the win on Wednesday night.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants (-164)
Mike Su
The Brewers look to make it four wins in a row and look to win their third in a row against the league best Giants.There were questions of whether or not the Brewers would be able to play well against top level competition and they have answered those questions with conviction. The Brewers have looked phenomenal in their past two against the Giants, holding them to just three total runs. Do I think this level of domination continues? No. The Giants are too good and have too much at stake to lose another. The Dodgers are now just 0.5 games behind the Giants for the division lead so I expect the Giants to go all out to win this game. The Giants are playing their best pitcher in Kevin Gausman, who is a top 10 pitcher in the league with a 2.49 ERA and has 176 strikeouts in 152 innings played. The Giants batting should also improve as they face the very average Brett Anderson who has a 4.27 ERA and only 54 strikeouts in 86 innings. I expect the Giants to destroy the Brewers and get their mojo back.
Mike’s MLB Pick: San Francisco Giants -1.5 (+125)
Atlanta Braves @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10.10PM ET
Coming off the back of a series loss to the Rockies, the Los Angeles Dodgers have rallied to claim the first two games of this series against the Atlanta Braves. That may be a surprise result as the Braves are in good form on top of the AL East and just claimed a series win over the Giants, but San Francisco are flailing at the moment and LA are just half a game back from top place of the NL West, meaning everything is on the line in this one.
Tim Newton
I’m liking the Dodgers to get out the brooms and sweep the Braves in this one. They look hungrier right now, and have a lot more to play for. While the Braves’ lead in the NL East has slipped to just 2.5 games, the Dodgers are chasing the NL West-leading Giants and the best record in all of baseball. They have kept Atlanta to three runs or less through the first two games and are now starting Max Scherzer in this one. That is a massive positive for the home team, given Scherzer is 12-4 this season with a rock solid 2.51 ERA. In his five games with LA, since moving at the deadline, Scherzer has pitched 29 innings and allowed just five runs, registering the win in four of those games. They are some crazy numbers, averaging almost six innings and allowing just one run per game. He is class, the Dodgers are class and that will be on display yet again tonight.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers / Under 7.5 (+200)
Go-ahead RBI double from Corey? Betts. pic.twitter.com/SvQvEs6zjc
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 1, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
This is the final game in this series between the Braves and Dodgers, and the Dodgers have won the first two games. But the Dodgers haven’t been able to run away with any of the wins, winning the first game by two runs and the second game by one run. The Dodgers have won all five of their previous games on a Wednesday and have won 22 of their previous 28 meetings with the Braves in Los Angeles. Looking now at the Braves, they have won all four of their previous clashes when it comes to the third game of a series, and they have won 20 of their previous 26 games on the road. In the Dodgers and Braves previous 56 meetings, the Dodgers have won 38 of the games. The Dodgers and Scherzer are on fire at the moment, and they are closing in on the top spot in the NL West, I simply cannot bet against them at the moment.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-200)
Mike Su
The Dodgers sit just half a game behind the Giants for the NL West division lead and they will be playing their best baseball to get to that top spot. The Dodgers have bested the Braves for two games in a row and have played phenomenal defense allowing just five total runs in those two matchups. The Braves also need a win though as they sit atop the NL East division with just a 2.5 game lead over the Phillies. The Phillies are right up the Braves’ tail winning their last five games, keeping the pressure on Atlanta. The playoff implications of this matchup are huge and I think the better team will prevail again. I have raved at length about how good the Dodgers are as a team and how they are statistically the best team in the league. Adding to this, they are starting gun pitcher Max Scherzer, who is first in the league in WHIP with a 0.88 rating and fifth in the league in ERA with a 2.51 ERA, which should guarantee the Dodgers victory.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers (-200)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
