MLB Picks

The Chicago Cubs (42-28, 1st place in the NL Central) host the Pittsburgh Pirates (29-42, 5th place in the NL Central) in the 3rd game of their 4-game series. Veteran Matthew Boyd starts for the North Siders. Pittsburgh counters with Mike Burrows.

The top two teams in the NL West, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, meet in Dodger Stadium in a battle for 1st place. This rivalry is one of MLB's fiercest. San Francisco starts Logan Webb. LA responds with Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

The Detroit Tigers (44-24, 1st in the AL Central) visit the Baltimore Orioles (26-39, 5th in the AL East). Detroit sends its ace, defending AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the hill. Baltimore has played better since firing manager Brandon Hyde.

The Seattle Mariners visit the Arizona Diamondbacks in the final game of their 3-game series. Both teams are struggling and need a path forward. Seattle starts Bryan Woo. Arizona counters with Eduardo Rodriguez.

The Washington Nationals (30-35, 3rd in the NL East) face the New York Mets (42-24, 1st in the NL East) at Citi Field. The Nats send ace Mackenzie Gore to the hill against NY's Griffin Canning.

The 1st and 2nd place teams in the NL West, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, meet for a 3-game showdown with 1 game separating them. LA starts Dustin May. San Diego responds with Nick Pivetta.

The Toronto Blue Jays (35-29, 2nd in the AL East) seek to sweep the Minnesota Twins (34-30, 2nd in the AL Central). Both teams are Wild Card contenders. Bowden Francis starts for the Jays; Joe Ryan for the Twins.

The disappointing Boston Red Sox play the second game of their 3-game weekend series in the Bronx against the rival 1st place Yankees. BoSox ace Garrett Crochet faces New York's surprisingly solid lefty Ryan Yarbrough.

The Atlanta Braves (27-34, 4th place in the NL East) visit the San Francisco Giants (35-28, 3rd in the NL West). Atlanta continues to struggle and just blew a 6-run 9th inning lead to the D-Backs. San Francisco made substantive roster changes amid a slump.

The New York Mets meet the Los Angeles Dodgers for the 3rd game of their series in LA. This is a matchup between two of MLB's best and a possible playoff preview. Tony Gonsolin starts for LA against NY's Griffin Canning.

The Philadelphia Phillies visit the Toronto Blue Jays having been swept by the Brewers and losing 4 straight overall. The Blue Jays have won 5 straight and 6 of 7, crawling into contention. Cristopher Sanchez starts for Philly against the Jays' Bowden Francis.

The Cleveland Guardians visit the New York Yankees for a 3-game series in the Bronx. These clubs are longtime rivals and New York won 2 of 3 in Cleveland earlier this season. The Guardians start Tanner Bibee; the Yankees respond with Carlos Rodon.