Top 5 MLB Games to Watch This Weekend – Where & When to Watch [PREDICTIONS]

Summer is finally here, which means it’s officially time for Major League Baseball to take the lead when it comes to the Big 4 American sports leagues. We have a great few months ahead of us, so here are the best MLB games to check out and start your summer on the right foot.

arizona diamonds at pittsburgh pirates, friday, june 22 @ 7:05 pm est on fs-a, att sportsnet-pit, and espn +

Pitching matchup: Patrick Corbin (6-3, 3.48 ERA) vs Ivan Nova (4-5, 4.42 ERA)

Patrick Corbin started off the 2018 season as one of the hottest pitchers in baseball, but has steadily declined as the year has worn on. Corbin had a 2.10 ERA over the course of April, a 3.82 ERA during May, and his trio of starts so far in June have warranted him a 5.60 ERA. The 28-year-old has also seen a steady decline in his fastball velocity as well, as it averaged around 93 mph toward the beginning of the year and now hovers around 89-90 mph. Corbin’s ERA on the year still sits at a comfortable 3.48, but he has a history of longevity issues, and it looks like they’ve come back to haunt him. Nonetheless, Arizona still sits atop the NL West, and a game against the mediocre Pirates will help us see if Corbin can improve upon his poor June numbers. On the plus side for Arizona, star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt is finally looking like himself again. After a below average start to the season Goldy has had a fantastic June, batting for a .413 average with 9 home runs and 21 RBIs, and has reached base on 50.6% of his at-bats. It looks almost as if star power has switched hands for the Diamondbacks, so we’ll see how both of these players round out the third month of the season and head into summer.

Predicted winner: Diamondbacks

philadelphia phillies at washington nationals, friday, june 22 @ 7:05 pm est on nbc 10 and masn

Pitching matchup: Zach Eflin (4-2, 3.43 ERA) vs Tanner Roark (3-7, 3.87 ERA)

The Phillies are only half a game behind Washington for second place in the NL East (as well as for the second NL Wild Card spot, but that doesn’t mean much in June), and they’re lucky that they don’t have to face current NL Cy Young favorite Max Scherzer during this week’s series. The opening game of this series is particularly interesting, however, thanks in large part to its pitching matchup. Zach Eflin made his way into Philly’s starting rotation in May and posted a 4.50 ERA through the month, but has turned it around big time throughout June, in which he has a fantastic 1.93 ERA and has won all three of his starts. Tanner Roark, on the other hand, has been quite the opposite. His May saw him post a nice 3.18 ERA over five starts (although he lost all three of his decisions), but his June ERA has been a terrible 6.06. Washington still remains at third in all of baseball when it comes to ERA thanks to the brilliance of Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Gio Gonzalez, but their offense needs to pick it up if they’re going to find their way to the top of the NL East, primarily star outfielder Bryce Harper, who has yet to regain the steam he had early on in the season.

Predicted winner: Phillies

st louis cardinals at milwaukee brewers, saturday, june 23 @ 4:10 pm est on fs-m, fswi, and dish455

Pitching matchup: Miles Mikolas (7-2, 2.69) vs Chase Anderson (5-6, 4.54 ERA)

The Brewers used their 2017 offseason to gear up and take down the Cubs for NL Central supremacy, and so far it’s working quite well. Milwaukee is getting very nice seasons out of newly acquired outfielders Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich, and their pitching ranks sixth in all of baseball when it comes to ERA. The latter stat is thanks in large part to 24-year-old reliever Josh Hader, who further proves himself to be among baseball’s elite bullpen arms as the season goes on. Hader has thrown for a fantastic 1.16 ERA over 38.2 innings this season, and Milwaukee has won all but two of the 24 games in which he has appeared. Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas has been nearly as impressive, however. After spending three seasons playing ball overseas in Japan, he signed a free agent deal with the Cardinals before the start of this season and has paid dividends immediately. May was a particularly fantastic month for Mikolas, as he tossed for a 1.89 ERA, with the Cardinals winning all five of his starts, showing that the 29-year-old is breaking out in a big way. He’s taken a bit of a step back in June, but is still having a very nice month regardless.

Predicted winner: Cardinals

seattle mariners at boston red sox, Sunday, june 24 @ 1:05 pm est on rootnw, nesn, and mlb network (out-of-market)

Pitching matchup: Marco Gonzales (7-4, 3.80 ERA) vs Chris Sale (6-4, 2.74 ERA)

The Mariners and Red Sox are both sort of victims of circumstance: they both sit in second place in their respective divisions, but they would also be in first place in any other division other in baseball than the AL East and AL West. Regardless, this still means that they are both among the Majors’ best teams and are always worth watching. Boston’s offense remains on of the best in baseball, trailing only the Astros in runs scored on the season. Outfielder Mookie Betts and outfielder/DH JD Martinez are both having monstrous seasons at the plate, and ace starter Chris Sale is having an equally great season at the plate. Seattle is still smoking hot over the past month or so, but the combination of Boston’s offense and Chris Sale’s arm is difficult for any team to overcome. However, if anyone can do it, the Mariners are way up there.

Predicted winner: Red Sox

kansas city royals at houston astros, sunday, june 24 @ 2:10 pm est on fskc and att sportsnet-sw

Pitching matchup: Jason Hammel (2-8, 4.88 ERA) vs Justin Verlander (9-2, 1.60)

Let me just say that this will likely not be a very good game from a competitive standpoint. The Astros are arguably the best team in baseball and the Royals have the second-worst winning percentage in the Majors, sitting above nobody but the lowly Orioles. However, this is sure to be a treat for anybody who isn’t a Royals fan or an Astros hater, as very few things in baseball have been more exciting this season than watching Justin Verlander pitch. Having an ERA below 3.00 toward the end of June typically means that that particular pitcher is among the league’s hottest, but having an ERA of just over half that at this point of the season is absurd. Verlander has been nigh unstoppable this season and is the clear favorite for the AL Cy Young award at the moment. He is on pace for what would be his best season to date, and that’s really saying something considering he’s a likely future Hall of Famer who won both the AL Cy Young and the AL MVP in 2011. This is probably going to be a blowout, but man has Verlander been fun this season.

Predicted winner: Astros

Article by Mike Conn