{"id":20501,"date":"2023-07-07T13:13:16","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T17:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/?p=20501"},"modified":"2023-07-07T13:13:17","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T17:13:17","slug":"free-mlb-picks-today-5-mlb-games-predictions-for-7-7-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wagertalk.com\/news\/mlb\/free-mlb-picks-today-5-mlb-games-predictions-for-7-7-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Free MLB Picks Today – 5 MLB Games Predictions for 7\/7\/2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tony Meija drops FIVE free MLB Picks for 7\/7\/2023. Visit Tony’s expert profile<\/a> now! You can also find free MLB picks<\/a> across Wagertalk’s experts all year long. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out Tony Meija’s free picks and THEN buy his amazing 4% MLB Play for Today<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Buy Tony’s 4% Play on MLB Today<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Pulse: Daily MLB Betting Report for Friday, July 7<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

CUBS (+150) at YANKEES (-175), 7:05 p.m. ET, Total: 8.5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York\u2019s biggest offseason acquisition, lefty starter\u00a0Carlos Rodon<\/strong>, will finally debut after missing the first few months with a forearm strain, followed by a chronic back issue. The Yankees invested $162 million in the free agent and are eager to work him in, but it\u2019s unlikely that they\u2019ll work him more than five innings with the All-Star break on deck. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He struck out eight over 3.2 shutout innings in his most recent minor league start at the high-A level but will obviously face a tougher test against the Cubs. Former Yank\u00a0Jameson Taillon<\/strong>\u00a0gets the ball for Chicago in this interleague series opener and has really struggled. He\u2019s given up at least one home run in five straight starts and the Cubs have only won in two of his 14 outings. He\u2019s primarily a fly ball pitcher, so the Yankees could utilize the long ball against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAY: Cubs vs Yankees Prop Pick: <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Anthony Rizzo\u00a0<\/strong>is the player to target in any total bases, home run or hits + runs + RBI props. The former Cub has owned Taillon throughout their careers, coming into this one 10-for-22 with a pair of home runs. The first baseman has done his fair share of striking out lately, so he\u2019ll undoubtedly be thrilled to see Taillon on the mound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reds vs Brewers Prediction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

REDS (+105) at BREWERS (-125), 8:10 p.m. ET, Total: 8<\/strong>
\u00a0Reds rookie pitcher\u00a0Andrew Abbott<\/strong>\u00a0has lived up to the hype over his first six starts, winning four outright and sporting a 1.21 ERA and an 0.88 WHIP. He struck out 12 in his longest big league outing to date against the Padres last time out, getting a no-decision but working into the eighth inning. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cincinnati has yet to lose in any of his starts, but the Brewers will become the first team to get a second look at the 24-year-old lefty, who debuted against them with six innings of 1-hit ball on June 5 in a dominant debut. He\u2019s definitely getting respect from the books since the Crew is a relatively short favorite despite the presence of ace\u00a0Corbin Burnes<\/strong>\u00a0on the mound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Milwaukee has been in good form too, finishing off a split with Cubs after claiming four of five against the Mets and Pirates. Burnes is just 6-5 on the season but gave up just two runs on one hit on July 1 in Pittsburgh. He hasn\u2019t faced stud rookie\u00a0Elly De La Cruz\u00a0<\/strong>yet but has fared well against the Reds throughout his career, coming in 2-1 with a 2.77 ERA in 15 career games against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAY:<\/strong> Reds vs Brewers Prediction\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Playing the first-five under and keeping the bullpens out of it looks awfully tempting given Abbott\u2019s early returns and Burnes\u2019 ability to find a groove on the mound. Opponents are hitting .213 against Milwaukee\u2019s ace this season. Backing the high side on Abbott\u2019s strikeout prop is also worth looking into since the rookie has notched 30 over his last three starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mariners at Astros Prediction:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

MARINERS (+105) at ASTROS (-125), 8:10 p.m. ET, Total: 8<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pitchers\u2019 duel could be in the cards for this second of a four-game set between AL West teams at Minute Maid Park. Mariners ace\u00a0Luis Castillo<\/strong>\u00a0is just 5-6 but has a WHIP of 1.07 and has largely been a victim of a lack of run support. He\u2019s given up home runs in five straight outings but looks to be settling in, striking out 13 batters and only walking one in helping Seattle beat the Nationals and Rays in his last two starts, ending a run of four consecutive defeats. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Astros are sending talented young righty\u00a0Hunter Brown\u00a0<\/strong>to the mound in a bounce-back spot on the heels of his shortest outing of the season on July 1 as the Rangers roughed him up for 10 hits over four innings in a 5-2 loss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown has only back-to-back starts once in what has been a successful season. Current Mariners are just 1-for-4 against him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAY:\u00a0Mariners vs <\/strong>Astros Prediction: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

First-five under call could be the move here, as could the over on Brown\u2019s strikeout prop since he\u2019s registered at least six K\u2019s in seven of nine outings. It\u2019s also worth knowing that Houston\u2019s\u00a0Alex Bregman<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Jose Abreu<\/strong>\u00a0are a combined 1-for-17 against Castillo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mets at Padres Prediction:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

METS (+105) at PADRES (-125), 9:40 p.m. ET, Total: 7.5\/8<\/strong>
The Mets remain out on the West Coast after a successful stint in Phoenix and have had a strong start to July.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Justin Verlander<\/strong>\u00a0will get the ball in this series opener and is beginning to overcome an injury-riddled start to his stint with the Mets, allowing just one run over his last 10 innings of work. The 40-year-old veteran has some tough road splits however, coming in 1-2 with a 5.67 ERA outside of Queens as opposed to a 2.19 ERA at Citi Field. It\u2019s a short sample size to be sure, but worth watching before blindly pulling the trigger on the under in this matchup against\u00a0Yu Darvish<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verlander has fared well against San Diego\u2019s big guns, as\u00a0Xander Bogaerts, Manny Machado, Juan Soto<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0Gary Sanchez<\/strong>\u00a0are a combined 15-for-96 (.156) with just two home runs against him. Darvish has had a rocky stretch, working seven innings only once in his last 11 outings while allowing more than three earned runs in five of his last seven starts. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s been inconsistent and sports a 5-6 record and a 4.84 ERA. The Mets beat him 5-0 on April 10, handing Darvish his first loss of the season by scoring five runs in 6.1 innings and riding\u00a0Max Scherzer<\/strong>. New York SS\u00a0Francisco Lindor\u00a0<\/strong>delivered the big hit that knocked Darvish out, while\u00a0Starling Marte<\/strong>\u00a0has gone 8-for-20 against him and has been solid for his team after a miserable start to 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAY: \u00a0<\/strong>Mets at Padres Prediction: <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Backing Marte to top his runs, hits and RBIs prop looks like the top play here. New York\u2019s right fielder homered on July 4 and has done his best work on the road this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rockies at Giants Prediction:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

ROCKIES at GIANTS, 10:15 p.m. ET, Total: TBD<\/strong>
Colorado sends\u00a0Austin Gomber<\/strong>\u00a0to the bump and hopes he can continue his recent form since he closed June in good form, allowing two earned runs in win over the Angels and Tigers. The lefty has a 6.64 ERA and hasn\u2019t fared great on the road, coming in 2-4 outside of Denver. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Rockies have only won in three of his eight starts outside Coors Field.\u00a0Austin Slater\u00a0<\/strong>will almost certainly be in the mix for San Francisco since he\u2019s 9-for-15 in his career against Gomber, registering some pretty significant Austin-on-Austin crime with a pair of triples and three doubles.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wilmer Flores<\/strong>\u00a0is also potentially worth backing against Gomber since he\u2019s reached safely in his last three games, coming in 5-for-8, and has gone 5-for-15 in his career against Gomber.\u00a0Mike Yastrzemski<\/strong>\u00a0is someone worth staying from since he\u2019s gone 1-for-11 against Gomber (.091) with four strikeouts.
The Giants hadn\u2019t named a starter for this series opener against their NL West rival as of Thursday night but were able to snap a 4-game skid with a 2-0 win over Seattle on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anthony DeSclafani<\/strong>\u00a0was originally scheduled to pitch but admitted to being fatigued in lasting just three innings and surrendering three home runs against the Mets in a 4-1 loss on Saturday before giving way to\u00a0Sean Manaea.\u00a0<\/strong>Following five June starts in which he ended up with a 6.65 ERA DeSclafani admitted that he\u2019s \u201crunning on fumes a little bit\u201d and landed on the injured list with shoulder fatigue. Manaea and\u00a0Jakob Junis<\/strong>\u00a0may ultimately wind up handling the pitching duties for the host Giants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE PLAY:<\/strong>\u00a0Rockies at Giants Prediction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Rockies OF\u00a0Kris Bryant\u00a0<\/strong>is 3-for-4 with a pair of homers against Manaea and would definitely be worth a play since the Giants will likely utilize him to eat some innings. The \u2018over\u2019 may also be worth investing in, as would a runs + hits + RBI prop involving Slater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n