Just five days remain of the regular season! There are still playoff spots to be played for and the action is heating up. We have made our best MLB picks for the top five games scheduled for Wednesday, September 29th.
Look below to find our free MLB Picks for the five best games on today’s schedule!
New York Yankees @ Toronto Blue Jays – 7.07PM EDT
The New York Yankees managed to notch their seventh straight win last night, defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 7-2. With the loss to Toronto, as well as Boston losing, New York now has 2.5 games of breathing room in the first Wild Card slot and will look to add more space with a win in tonight’s game, the second of three in this series.
Tim Newton
Could the Yankees add another win to their streak and virtually eliminate the Blue Jays from playoff contention tonight? I certainly think they can, especially with Gerrit Cole starting on the mound for them.Two games back Cole was booed off the field by the New York faithful and in his last start he responded with a six-innings performance that saw him allow just three runs, a game New York won 8-3. Cole has a 16-8 record from his 29 starts this year along with a very handy 3.08 ERA.
While it isn’t massively better than the figures of Jose Berrios, it is good enough for me, especially when New York’s batting lineup is outperforming Toronto’s at the moment. Berrios is just 12-9 from 31 starts this season but has a good ERA of 3.48, which has slightly improved over his last seven games to 3.35. However, he is facing a New York side that has averaged 6.3 runs per game over their winning streak. The main driving force behind that has been Giancarlo Stanton, who added another home run last night, his fourth straight and fifth from his last six games. Over his last four games Stanton has an RBI of 13 and that sort of effort with the bat will support Cole and get the Yankees over the line.
Tim’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-116)
Bronxie Bombers. #SquadUp pic.twitter.com/RlTF5bBNiK
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) September 29, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
The Yankees continue their excellent winning streak with a win against the Blue Jays in the first game of the series. This puts the Yankees two games ahead, and in first place for the AL Wild Card spot. This result also pushes the Blue Jays back further, now sitting one game behind the Red Sox, who currently are clinging on to the second and final Wild Card spot in the AL. The Yankees have won 40 of their previous 57 when it comes to the second game of a series, and they have won 36 of their previous 52 games played on a Wednesday.
Over to the Blue Jay now, they have won 21 of their previous 29 overall and have won five of their previous seven when it comes to the second game of a series. I think this one could really go either way, but based on both teams’ recent form and how the Yankees played yesterday, I’m going to stick with the Yankees. I expect both pitchers to have a great game, with a close affair, but ultimately a Yankees win.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-116)
Mike Su
After a dominant win against the Blue Jays, the Yankees are now 2 games clear of the Red Sox for the first Wild Card spot. Although a loss was not what the Blue Jays wanted, the Red Sox also lost yesterday meaning the Blue Jays remain just 1 game behind for the final Wild Card spot. The Blue Jays’ strong batting unit was nowhere to be seen despite facing a pitching lineup that had little star power. The Yankees used everyone from their bullpen and had 6 different pitchers in the last game.
In this matchup the Yankees won’t need to use the depth in their bullpen as the Yankees will be starting Gerrit Cole. Cole has been great this year with a 3.08ERA, 1.04 WHIP and phenomenal 237 strikeouts in 175 innings. Cole has been a machine and has been strong against the Blue Jays this year. Cole has allowed just 8 runs in 23 innings against the Blue Jays this season and we should expect much of the same as the Blue Jays have been trending downward. Although the Blue Jays are starting Jose Berrios who has been good this season, he is not enough to defeat a Yankees team that is making a run down the stretch.
Mike’s MLB Pick: New York Yankees (-116)
Philadelphia Phillies @ Atlanta Braves – 7.20PM EDT
In a low scoring affair last night, the Atlanta Braves came out on top, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in this top of the table clash. That win now puts Atlanta 3.5 games clear of the Phillies on top of the NL East table and they will want another win tonight, in the second of three games, to help secure their postseason berth.
Tim Newton
I saw last night as the perfect opportunity for the Phillies to steal a game but they were unsuccessful and now I don’t see Atlanta giving up this one. Philadelphia were supposed to have the edge in starting pitchers last night but their batting lineup didn’t rock up as expected. They now have to face Max Fried tonight, who is much better than Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola.
Fried is 13-7 with a 3.12 ERA from his 27 starts this season but looking at his last seven games, he has been incredible. Fried has a 3-0 record, a ridiculously low 1.65 ERA and has given up just nine earned runs across a massive 49 innings of work over that stretch. Comparing that to Nola, it isn’t hard to see why I am with the Braves. Nola’s last seven games has returned a 2-1 record and massive 5.18 ERA, giving up 23 runs across 40 innings of work in the time. Philadelphia won’t be able to get runs on the board and it will open up the opportunity for Atlanta to win their fifth straight game whilst icing the division.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-142)
Katherine Mouradian
The Braves managed a victory in the first game of this series, and now stretched their winning streak to four. The Phillies are now three and a half games behind the Braves for the top spot in the NL East, which is looking like a difficult task at the moment. The Phillies have won none of their previous four games when they are the underdog, but they have won 14 of their previous 18 division games. The Braves have won all five of their previous games when playing a team that has a winning record, and they have won six of their previous seven games after winning their previous game.
If anything I’m leaning slightly towards the Braves, but I’m thinking this game will go under, just like the first game. The under has hit five times out of the Phillies previous six games after a loss, and has hit five times out of the Braves six games when playing a team that has a winning record. Give me the unders for this one.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Under 8 (-106)
Mike Su
The Phillies have shot themselves in the foot losing a winnable game to the Braves. Although the Phillies put on a tremendous pitching display holding the Braves to just 2 runs, their batting unit managed to score just 1 run. This puts the Phillies 3.5 games behind the Braves with just 6 games to go in the season. The Phillies would need a miracle to pull it off. A win in the next game would be the nail in the coffin for the Phillies, so look for the Braves to send in the cavalry to win this one.
The Braves will be starting arguably their best pitcher, Max Fried. Fried has been a unit this year with a 3.12 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 13-7 record this season. Bad news for the Phillies is that Fried has played strongly in the last week with 0 runs allowed in his last 9 innings of play. In 2 games against the Phillies this season Fried has been alright with 14 strikeouts and 6 allowed runs in 10 innings. Fried won’t necessarily be enough to win the Braves the game, but if their batting unit can perform better, then I think the Braves can pull out a close victory and seal the division title.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Atlanta Braves (-142)
Milwaukee Brewers @ St Louis Cardinals – 7.45PM EDT
It was win number 17 for the St Louis Cardinals last night, adding another victory to their streak, beating the Milwaukee Brewers 6-2. The sides now face off again tonight, in the second of three games in this series, and both teams will want a win with the playoffs right around the corner.
Tim Newton
Will the Cardinals winning streak ever end? Their play has been exceptional over this stretch and I am surprised that the sportsbooks are still putting them up as underdogs for some of these games. However, looking at tonight’s game, this looks as good a chance as any for their streak to come to an end. Miles Mikolas is starting for St Louis and that isn’t a good thing for them. While he has pitched in two games during this streak, giving up just two runs across 12.2 innings of work, his three games before that saw him give up 13 runs across 13 innings.
If Mikolas is anywhere close to those sorts of performances from the start of the month, rather than his more recent ones, then the Brewers should be able to capitalize. In saying that, you can’t just dismiss his recent form, including a seven innings game where he restricted these Brewers to just two runs. St Louis continues to impress and they have won in high-scoring affairs as well as defensive contests, so their versatility should be on show again tonight.
Tim’s MLB Pick: St Louis Cardinals (-117)
Your 👏 Playoff 👏 Bound 👏 St. Louis Cardinals! pic.twitter.com/zWOn5k9W2p
— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) September 29, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
Annnnd the Cardinals magnificent winning streak rolls end. At this point, we have to think, which team will be good enough to stop them? The Cardinals have officially claimed the final spot in the NL Wild Card, so they will have to go the hard way, to keep progressing through the playoffs, but they have to be a red hot chance to do so. Thanks to early form, the Brewers took out top spot in the NL Central, but they have been struggling as of late. The Brewers have won none of their previous five games when playing a team that has a winning record, and they have won none of their previous six games against a team in the NL Central.
The Cardinals, on the other hand, have won all five of their previous clashes when it comes to the second game of a series, and they have won all six of their previous games when playing a team with a winning percentage of above .600. The pressure is certainly now off both teams, with them now both officially confirmed to go through to the playoffs. With the Cardinals now playing with no pressure, does this mean they take their foot off the pedal? I don’t think so, they don’t want to let up, to ensure they take this winning feeling and mammoth streak all the way to the Wild Card game. I’ll be on the Cardinals yet again!
Katherine’s MLB Pick: St Louis Cardinals (-117)
Mike Su
The Cardinals have been insane the last few weeks with a 17 win streak, while the Brewers haven’t been so hot with just 4 wins in their last 10 games. With their win yesterday, the Cardinals secured the 2nd Wild Card spot in the National League and did it at home against their division rival. The Cardinals may drop off as they have secured their playoff spot and may want some rest as they know that they won’t be able to catch the Dodgers who have 101 wins and the first Wild Card spot. On the other hand the Cardinals may want to continue their win streak and enter the playoffs firing on all cylinders.
It definitely looks like the Cardinals will be taking their foot off the gas to rest their key players with Miles Mikolas starting. Mikolas has only played 39 innings this season and has been average with a 4.15 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Mikolas has been decent in his one game against the Brewers with 2 runs allowed in 7 innings, in a 10-2 win. If Mikolas can repeat this effort, the Cardinals may actually win. However, I think it is more likely the Brewers take a win here and bounce back just in time for the playoffs while the Cardinals take a rest.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Milwaukee Brewers (-103)
Oakland Athletics @ Seattle Mariners – 10.10PM EDT
The Seattle Mariners have well and truly thrust themselves into postseason contention, winning nine of their last 10 games since last Sunday. Six of those nine wins have been over the Oakland Athletics, including last night’s 4-2 result. The sides now face off for the third straight night in what is the last matchup between the two teams for the season.
Tim Newton
Can the A’s salvage anything against the Mariners for the season? Oakland has only managed four wins from the 18 games played between the two sides this season, including losing 11 straight in the season-series. However, pride is on the line in this matchup and I would expect that the A’s want nothing more than to pick up the win over their AL West rivals and put a dent in their postseason chances. Based on that premise, along with some other contributing factors, I am taking the A’s to buck the trend.
Firstly, Frankie Montas is a much better starting pitcher than Logan Gilbert. A 13-9 record with a 3.48 ERA from 31 starts is impressive, but Montas has been on fire lately, going 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA over his last seven. When looking at Gilbert’s figures, he is just 6-5 with a 4.83 ERA for the season and is only 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA over his last seven starts.
Oakland should have the early advantage with Montas bringing in much better form than Gilbert and then the extra incentive of damaging their rival’s chances of making the postseason should carry them through to victory.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics (-116)
Katherine Mouradian
It’s the final game of the series and the Mariners have managed to win both games so far, which puts them just half a game behind the Red Sox for the final Wild Card spot in the AL. It also pushes the Athletics further down, and barring some sort of miracle, they are now out of playoff contention. The Athletics seem to be falling apart at the seams, while the Mariners have only lost one game out of their previous nine.
So can the Mariners wrap this series up 3-0? Only time will tell! The Athletics have won five of their previous six games on the road, and they have won 37 of their previous 55 games played on a Wednesday. The Mariners have won five of their previous six games played on a Wednesday, and they have won 44 of their previous 77 games played at home. Both pitchers have had some inconsistency issues, but given that the Mariners have so much more to play for, I’ll be putting my money on the Mariners to sweep the series, and win four games in a row.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Seattle Mariners (-102)
Mike Su
The Athletics are all but out of the playoffs after their last loss to the Mariners. In order to make the playoffs, the A’s would need to somehow claw back a 3 game lead from the Red Sox while fighting off the Mariners. The Mariners on the other hand find themselves in the middle of the playoff race with just 4 games remaining. The Mariners are half a game behind the Red Sox who hold the last Wild Card spot and are primed to make a final push. In this crucial game for the Mariners they will be facing a desperate A’s team.
The Mariners will be starting Logan Gilbert who has a bad 4.83 ERA and 1.19 WHIP. The As will be starting Frankie Montas who has a 3.48 ERA and 1.19 WHIP this season. The A’s have the obvious edge when it comes to pitching, and the starting of Gilbert is a little head scratching considering the importance of this game. The A’s batting unit is also superior to the Mariners and may have a field day against Gilbert. I think the A’s get a desperate win here behind strong defense and a big batting performance.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Oakland Athletics -1.5 (+155)
San Diego Padres @ Los Angeles Dodgers – 10.10PM EDT
The Los Angeles Dodgers won a messy contest in LA last night, beating the San Diego Padres 2-1. The two NL West sides face off for the second of three meetings tonight and the Dodgers will want to put their best foot forward with just two games the difference between them and the Giants on top of the NL West standings.
Tim Newton
This isn’t a question of will LA win. This is a question of how much will they win by.
The Dodgers are rolling out Max Scherzer to start the game and that only means one thing in LA. Scherzer has started in 10 games for the Dodgers since they traded for him, and he has an 7-0 record in those games, plus LA won the other three anyway. He has given up just 11 runs from 63 innings of work over those 10 games but will come out with a point to prove in this contest. Scherzer had one of his worst performances of the season last time out, giving up five runs to Colorado. While LA still managed to win the game by two runs, he won’t be happy with his efforts and will come out focused for this one.
I’m riding the Dodgers even more when you add in the fact that San Diego is starting Ryan Weathers, who is in his first season in the majors and has a 4-7 record and 5.01 ERA from his 29 appearances, 17 of which were starts. In his last five starts, Weathers has given up 28 runs across just 18.2 innings of work and given how good LA’s batting lineup can be, they should take advantage.
Tim’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-132)
21 shut ’em down for win No. 15. pic.twitter.com/xjsX0oy01e
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 29, 2021
Katherine Mouradian
The Dodgers got the win they needed, but they still can’t close the gap to the Giants in top spot in the NL West, because the Giants keep winning as well! The Dodgers are two games behind dethroning the Giants, and with only a handful of games left, it’s hard to see them making up that ground. The Padres continued their terrible September run, which saw them move from a potential Wild Card spot, to being officially knocked out of postseason contention pretty quickly.
The Padres have won none of their previous five clashes when it comes to the second game of a series, and they have won two of their previous nine games played on a Wednesday. The Dodgers, on the other hand, have won 50 of their previous 66 when it comes to the second game of a series, and they have won seven of their previous nine games played on a Wednesday. I’m going to stick with the Dodgers, for obvious reasons, and the fact that the Padres have won just 22 of their previous 74 meetings in Los Angeles. The Padres are limping home and the Dodgers are a team that is good enough to take full advantage of this. Expect a big win from the Dodgers tonight.
Katherine’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-132)
Mike Su
With just 5 games left and a 2 game gap to close, the Dodgers need to win everything. They also need the Giants to lose but without going undefeated until the end of the season, the Dodgers will likely find themselves as a Wild Card instead of the number 1 seed. The Dodgers are no stranger to winning streaks as they have had several long winning streaks this season, the question is, whether or not they’ll be able to conjure a winning streak when it matters most.
The Dodgers will be starting their best pitcher and one of the league’s highest paid pitchers, Max Scherzer. Scherzer has certainly earned his money with an out of this world performance this season. Scherzer has the best ERA in the league with a 2.28 ERA, the best WHIP in the league with a 0.83 WHIP and is 4th in the league in strikeouts. He has undoubtedly been the best pitcher in the league. Behind Scherzer, the Dodgers’ top 5 batting unit and a team desperate to get the number 1 seed, the Dodgers should destroy the Padres.
Mike’s MLB Pick: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 (-132)
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*Odds and spreads correct at time of publication, courtesy of FanDuel.
