The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Friday. It is headlined by a couple of showdowns on Apple TV, starting with Tampa Bay visiting Pittsburgh before Boston hosts Detroit. Other matchups include Mets vs Cubs, Braves vs Phillies and Blue Jays vs Diamondbacks.
Here are my best bets, and also make sure to check out our MLB picks for predictions throughout the 2026 season.
Tampa Bay Rays ML over Pittsburgh Pirates (+119)
Tampa Bay was 2-5 through 7 games but has since won 9 of its last 11. The Rays are on a 6-game winning streak thanks to sweeps of the Yankees and White Sox. Momentum should continue with Nick Martinez taking the mound on Friday. Martinez is still going strong at 35 years old and is in great form to begin the season. The right-hander has compiled a 2.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP through 3 appearances to go along with an 11-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 16.2 innings of work. The Pirates are countering with Bubba Chandler, who comes in with a 3.86 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. The 23-year-old’s alarming WHIP can be attributed to 12 walks in just 14.0 innings. Chandler pitched 4.1 innings of scoreless baseball in his season debut against Cincinnati but has compiled a 5.59 ERA in 2 April starts. He now faces a Tampa Bay club that has scored at least 5 runs in 6 consecutive games, so an in-form Martinez should get enough run support.
Check out our Rays vs Pirates prediction
Boston Red Sox ML over Detroit Tigers (-125)
Ranger Suarez is toeing the rubber for his new team on Friday. The southpaw struggled a bit in his first 2 starts with Boston, but his most recent appearance showed why the team invested in him so heavily this past offseason. Suarez fired 6.0 innings of shutout baseball against the Cardinals last Saturday, allowing just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 6 batters. Over the course of his career, he has held this Detroit roster to a .229 batting average in 35 total at-bats. The news is not as good for Detroit’s Casey Mize, who has been bamboozled by the Red Sox in recent years. Their lineup boasts a combined .341 average against Mize with only 8 strikeouts in 44 at-bats. Mize has been pretty good this season, although he did get torched by Minnesota for 5 runs in 4.1 innings earlier in April. Although the Tigers are in fine form, their last 3 wins have all come by a single run – it’s not like they are crushing teams. Boston has gotten in gear following a slow start to the season and has a good chance to win this one.
Here’s our Red Sox vs Tigers prediction
Arizona Diamondbacks ML over Toronto Blue Jays (-132)
The Blue Jays may be enduring a bit of a World Series hangover, which would be entirely understandable following their heartbreaking near-miss against the Dodgers. Since opening the season with a sweep of the A’s, the Jays have lost every series. The Diamondbacks, on the other hand, recently took 2 of 3 in their series against the Mets, Phillies and Orioles. Now they are back at home with far more momentum than the opposition. It should continue with a matchup against Toronto’s Eric Lauer. The 30-year-old lefty has struggled so far this season and was rocked by the Twins for 7 runs in his most recent appearance. The Snakes are generally lefty killers, so this is a good matchup for them – and for switch-hitters like Ketel Marte and Geraldo Perdomo. Mike Soroka probably doesn’t need a lot of run support…but he might get it anyway.
Take a look at our Diamondbacks vs Blue Jays prediction
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