Saturday MLB Picks: Two AL Playoff Contenders Worth Backing

The playoff race is heating up and Saturday's schedule has a number of games with a lot on the line.

Both the Astros and Rangers are tied atop the AL West heading into today’s action. Texas hosts Toronto, as the Rangers have won five of their last six games. Houston tries to get on track against Atlanta after falling on Friday, 6-2.

Elsewhere, AL Cy Young favorite Cam Schlittler heads to the mound for the Yankees, facing a struggling Diamondbacks’ squad running out of opportunities. Arizona has lost five of six to fall five games back in the NL Wild Card race with eight games remaining.

We’ll break down two plays for the Saturday action. Remember to monitor the odds throughout the day, as the props, sides, and totals market are constantly changing.

Here are the free MLB picks for Saturday, September 19. Odds Courtesy of DraftKings.

Best MLB plays today

• Blue Jays (-125) at Rangers
• Astros (-121) vs. Braves

Blue Jays (-125) at Rangers - 7:05 p.m. ET

Toronto (76-78) has yet to beat Texas (77-77) this season in five matchups, capped off by Friday’s 7-1 defeat. The defending AL champions still have a shot to return to the playoffs, sitting two games back of the White Sox for the final Wild Card spot.

The Rangers send out veteran right-hander Cal Quantrill to the mound, as Texas is 5-1 in his past six outings. Quantrill has delivered at least six innings in each of those starts, while owning a walk rate of 5.7%.

The Blue Jays have struggled with their barrel and hard-hit rates this season, but Quantrill isn’t great in those categories, sitting in the 52nd percentile of barrel rate allowed and 64th percentile in hard-hit rate.

Jose Soriano counters for Toronto, as the Jays are 6-2 in his previous eight starts. Soriano pitched well in last outing at Texas as a member of the Angels, allowing two earned runs in six innings. However, the Rangers scored five late runs against the L.A. bullpen in an 8-3 win.

The price tells us that Toronto is worth a strong look here to finally break through against Texas.

Astros (-121) vs. Braves - 7:10 p.m. ET

Houston (77-77) has lost five of its last seven games to find its small lead atop Texas for first place in the AL West is gone. The Astros try to rebound against the Braves (90-64) tonight, who own a five-game edge over the Phillies for first place in the NL East.

The Astros send out Hunter Wesneski to the mound, as Houston is 7-2 in his nine starts this season. Houston owns a 3-1 mark in Wesneski’s four home outings, as he tries to rebound from his worst start of the season at Tampa Bay.

Grant Holmes is winless in his past two starts for Atlanta, dropping a pair of games against Philadelphia. The right-hander owns several weak advanced metrics, including allowing an xSLG of .436 and an xwOBA of .336.

Let’s back Houston to grab the home win over Atlanta.