MLB Games to Watch: April 27 - Picks & Predictions

Major League Baseball continues to heat up as great teams begin to separate themselves from the mediocre. Today, we have a few games that you should take the time to monitor and a few picks to help you out as well.

New York Mets at St. Louis Cardinals - 1:15 PM ET

Kicking off our afternoon is the New York Mets taking on the St. Louis Cardinals. Two strong pitchers are set to hit the mound today, Carlos Carrasco of the Mets and Steven Matz of the Cardinals. Carrasco has a record of 1-0 as a starting pitcher with an impressive ERA of 1.47 over 18 innings pitched.

Matz is 2-1 to start the season with a below-average 5.27 ERA. However, Matz has thrown 17 strikeouts in 13.2 innings pitched, which is quite a feat. We see this game being a battle of the pitchers, where potentially a single run could decide the game. 

Ricky's Pick - New York Mets -120

Oakland Athletics at San Francisco Giants - 9:45 PM ET

This one might require you to stay up late to watch it, but it's bound to be entertaining. The first game of the series was a rough one for the Athletics, losing 8-2 after a huge seventh inning by the Giants. Tonight, the Athletics will send Paul Blackburn out to the mound in an effort to slow the batters of the Giants. Blackburn is 2-0 this season with an ERA of 1.80. He's allowed 11 hits through 15 innings and thrown 14 strikeouts in the same amount of time.

For the Giants, the young Sam Long will take the mound. Long is making his first start today but has pitched 5.2 innings this season. San Francisco will try to rely on their batters today who hasn't steered them wrong yet. They've won their last five games and have scored the most runs overall in Major League Baseball. 

Ricky's Pick - San Francisco Giants -165