Free Pick | MLB | Friday | May 8

Nelly’s is 4-1 in our last five MLB side plays – we’re also having a great NBA playoff season so far!

#956 Arizona Diamondbacks (Nelson) +115 over New York Mets (McLean) 8:40 PM CT

The Mets are 5-5 in the past 10 games to find better form following the long losing skid in April, but this is a 14-23 team that is -28 in scoring. This is a third stop on a west coast trip for the Mets and yesterdays expected off day was used for a make-up game after Tuesday’s game in Denver was postponed. Nolan McLean had great results in eight starts in 2025, and he has delivered All-Star caliber numbers in seven starts in 2026. The Mets are 1-6 when he starts however and while some of that can be attributed to bad luck, he has also cleared six innings just three times as the Mets can be reliant on a shaky bullpen in most of his starts. Arizona has posted decent bullpen results in recent weeks, and Ryne Nelson is a better pitcher than his current numbers suggest. In just over 31 innings Nelson has allowed almost 55 percent of his baserunners to score for far worse luck than McLean had endured in his record. Nelson is a flyball pitcher that can be a home run risk, but the Mets have hit the fifth fewest home runs in baseball at this point in the season. Arizona has lost six of the past seven games, but they have faced the Cubs and Pirates in the past two series including facing several top NL starting pitchers. McLean can make a case to being a top tier NL starter as well, but Arizona typically holds a decent home field edge with a 10-8 record this season and this is an appealing underdog price to fade one of the worst teams in baseball by the current results.