MLB Picks Today: Expert Predictions & Best Bets for Tuesday, September 22, including Rays vs Yankees
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a more than full 16-game slate on Tuesday. The Ray and Yankees are playing a double-header, while the schedule is also headlined by Brewers vs Phillies, Guardians vs Red Sox and Padres vs Dodgers.
Here are my best bets, and also make sure to check out our MLB picks for predictions throughout the 2026 season.
Philadelphia Phillies ML over Milwaukee Brewers (-140)
The Phillies still have a chance to snag the #1 wild-card spot in the National League, which would give them home-field advantage in the first round of the postseason. They are sitting just one game back of the Cubs and Padres. Milwaukee is still trying to fend off the Dodgers for home field throughout the NL playoffs, but it has already secured first-round bye. The Brewers aren’t going to entirely call of the dogs just yet, but urgency can’t be at an all-time high. Tuesday’s pitching matchup also favors Philadelphia. Zack Wheeler is sporting a 13-5 record, 2.99 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 177-to-46 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 150.1 innings of work. Milwaukee is countering with Dustin May, who is 7-9 with a 4.61 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. The right-hander has allowed 16 earned runs in his last 18.2 innings.
Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Under 6.5 (+102)
Tampa Bay’s Drew Rasmussen vs New York’s Max Fried is the best pitching matchup on Tuesday’s board. Rasmussen comes in with a 15-5 record, a 2.72 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and a 163-to-29 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 165.1 innings. Fried has not allowed more than one run in any of his last seven outings. The lefty most recently pitched last Tuesday against the Twins, crafting 7.0 innings of shutout baseball while yielding six hits and zero walks to go along with six strikeouts. As if the starting pitchers in this matchup are not dominant enough, two stellar relieving units will be on display. New York is second in all of Major League Baseball in bullpen ERA at 3.14. Tampa Bay registers at 4.01 in that department. A total of 6.5 is often alarming for Under bettors, but in this instance it’s hard to see how runs are going to be scored.
Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves Over 9 (-120)
The Braves clinched the NL East this past weekend, but manager Walt Weiss already said that he is not about to take his foot off the gas pedal (for what it’s worth, his team still has an extremely remote chance of earning a first-round bye). With the usual cast of characters in their lineup, the Braves should have no trouble victimizing Reds starter Brandon Williamson (5.56 ERA, 1.53 WHIP and a horrendous 31-to-27 strikeout-to-walk ratio). Ronald Acuna Jr. is batting .342 in September and his current five-game hitting streak features two multi-hit performances. Acuna has delivered three home runs and eight RBIs over the past five contests. Both Matt Olson and Michael Harris II are 1-for-1 with homers lifetime against Williamson. Atlanta is handing the ball to JR Ritchie, who is 1-3 with a 5.03 ERA, 1.47 WHIP and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 58-to-38 that would be horrible by pretty much anyone’s standards other than his Cincinnati counterpart.
