MLB Late Night Picks & Predictions for Thursday, May 21: Rusty Rodon?

Danny Burke

Written by: Danny Burke

Last Update: Thu May 21, 2026, 5:50 pm ET

Read Time: 5 minutes

Carlos Rodon Throwing

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There are four games on Thursday night's MLB slate, and below I'll be breaking down some spots that stand out.

So, let's go ahead and jump into my MLB late-night picks and predictions for Thursday, May 21.

MLB Late Night Picks & Predictions for Thursday, May 21

Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees

The Yankees and Blue Jays wrap up this four-game American League East series on Thursday night, with New York looking to secure its third win of the set.

All three games have been tightly contested, each decided by a single run. The Yankees picked up a 7-6 win on Monday before following it up with a 5-4 victory on Tuesday, while Toronto answered back with a 2-1 win on Wednesday.

The Blue Jays are expected to take a bullpen approach in this matchup, with Braydon Fisher likely drawing the start before turning things over to Spencer Miles for the bulk of the workload.

Miles has looked sharp in that role lately, totaling 6.2 innings across his past two appearances while allowing just four hits and zero earned runs. He's also recorded seven strikeouts with only two walks during that span, and his xFIP has stayed below 2.80 in both outings.

On the other side, veteran left-hander Carlos Rodon will make his third start of the season. His first outing came against Milwaukee, where he lasted 4.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on two hits while walking five and striking out four. Then, in his second start against the Mets, he went just 3.2 innings, surrendering two earned runs on three hits with six strikeouts and three walks. His xFIP sat at 6.07 in the Milwaukee outing before improving to 3.06 in Queens.

Rodon has been a shaky option over the past year, and this doesn't feel like the ideal spot to trust him against a Toronto lineup that has steadily improved against left-handed pitching over the past month.

I like the value on the Blue Jays here and will be taking a shot on their side.

Pick: Blue Jays Moneyline (+130)

Jose Soriano throwing heat for the Angels

The Angels and Athletics wrap up their four-game series on Thursday night after Oakland grabbed back-to-back wins following Los Angeles' 2-1 victory in the opener. The Athletics responded by exploding for 14 runs on Tuesday before sneaking out a 6-5 win on Wednesday.

Jose Soriano gets the ball for the Angels, and while his 2.41 ERA jumps off the page, his 3.99 expected ERA draws some potential concern. Still, Soriano has been effective for most of the season and has averaged 6.5 strikeouts per start, clearing this number in five of his 10 outings.

However, his strikeout production has cooled off a bit lately, as he's recorded more than six punch outs just once over his past five starts.

That could be important against an Athletics lineup that has done an excellent job limiting strikeouts against right-handed pitching. Over the past month, the Athletics owns a 19% strikeout rate versus righties, which ranks third best in Major League Baseball, and that disciplined approach at the plate has remained consistent over the past couple of weeks.

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Colorado Rockies vs Arizona Diamondbacks

After facing each other in the Mile High City last week, the Rockies head to the desert to face the Diamondbacks once again.

In that initial series, Arizona snagged two out of three games, totaling 19 runs.

Tonight's starter, left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez, will get another crack at the Rockies. In last week's start, he went 5.1 innings, surrendering nine hits and three earned runs, while punching out six batters and walking none. His FIP came out to 0.86 in that game, which is even more impressive knowing that game was at Coors Field.

To be transparent, there are some concerns with Rodriguez and his underlying metrics. Despite his strong ERA of 2.53, his xERA shows 4.48 and his xFIP sits at 4.36. The good news is his hard-hit rate is only at 36%, and over the past month Colorado has been atrocious versus lefties, hitting a 74 wRC+, .125 ISO and a .659 OPS.

I'm looking for Rodriguez to put together another quality performance against the Rockies.

Pick: Diamondbacks Run Line -1.5 (-104)

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Danny Burke
Danny Burke

Danny Burke is a betting analyst with a decade of sports media experience. He got his start at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, sharing picks on the local ESPN affiliate. After college, he hosted shows for VSiN in Las Vegas before returning to Chicago to launch 'Rush Hour', the first daily sports betting show from an Illinois casino. He also co-hosted 'Props and Locks' on Fox32’s Bears pregame show and ran 'Bet On, Chicago' on WLS-AM 890.

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