Free Pick | MLB | Saturday | Sep. 2

Nelly’s is 9-1 in our last 10 MLB picks while off to a 1-0 start to the college football season!

#951 Miami Marlins (Cueto) -110 over Washington Nationals (Williams) 3:05 PM CT

Veteran Johnny Cueto is in line to return to action Saturday after an illness bout sidelined him for the second half of August. Cueto has not picked up a win in his six starts with Miami this season and his ERA is 5.57 but he has been a passable option on the mound the past two seasons and can be counted on for a decent result to keep Miami in this game. Cueto’s career HR/9 is below 1.00 but he has allowed nine home runs in just over 32 innings this season for a mark way above his typical results in the small sample size. Trevor Williams hasn’t pitched much better as an inning-eater for Washington posting a 4.82 ERA in 26 starts with a FIP nearly a run higher than that. His K/9 is just 6.8 and walks and home runs have been an issue. Williams has had a 5.67 ERA since the All-Star break including allowing four or more runs in four of his past six starts. He took a loss in Miami last week and he allowed eight runs in a pair of midseason starts against the Marlins. Miami scored another close-game win yesterday winning 8-5 in extra-innings to take a 2-0 start in this four-game series with Miami now 9-2 vs. Washington this season. The Marlins are back over. 500 and the bullpen edge is clear for the Marlins in this pairing. Washington’s offense has cooled as well with the team hitting just .202 with 3.1 runs per nine in the past 10 games and the Nationals have been held to three or fewer runs six times in the past 10 games. The Marlins are still just two games out of a wild card spot in the crowded NL wild card race and the late innings should provide an edge for Miami after both teams emptied the bullpens on Friday.

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