Free Pick | MLB | Friday | Sep. 25

Nelly’s had a 3-0 sweep in the NFL last week with our phone picks and the Green Sheet sides went 12-4 in NFL Week 2!

Join Nelly’s for newsletter or phone service subscription today in football and consider our MLB playoff package with a strong late season run on the diamond, winning in six of the last seven weeks!

#971/972 UNDER 6.5 Tampa Bay Rays (Peralta) at Philadelphia Phillies (Sanchez) 5:40 PM CT

It is officially Autumn and the baseball forecast Friday is problematic in the northeast with significant wind pushing in and low totals are all over the schedule Friday. Tampa Bay has clinched the AL East and the #1 seed in the American League as this isn’t a meaningful game for the Rays, but the Phillies are not yet officially in the postseason. Arizona is two games behind Philadelphia with three to play as the Phillies have lost the past two days at home. Philadelphia could potentially move up in the wild card picture as well with San Diego, Chicago, and the Phillies all within two games. Luis Arraez is a question mark tonight in conditions where a great contact hitter would be helpful and Philadelphia has been held to three or fewer runs in seven of the past nine games. Cristopher Sanchez has provided a great season and while he has had a few late season bumps on his record he has a 2.21 ERA in 114 innings at Citizens Bank Park. Freddy Peralta was a great disappointment with the Mets, but he will look to redeem his worst start of the season as he was shelled in Philadelphia in June. Perala had a rough start in Denver in his first outing with the Rays, but he is 4-0 with a 0.94 ERA over his last five starts to make a case for a playoff role. The Rays have been held to two or fewer runs five times in the past 10 games, but the Rays also have great recent bullpen splits. The Rays are batting .205 in the past five games vs. left-handers while the Phillies are batting .200 vs. right-handers in the past five games as this would be a tough pairing for both lineups even without great pitching weather conditions.