Philadelphia Phillies' J.T. Realmuto, right, and Bryce Harper celebrate after Realmuto's three-run home run off New York Yankees starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery during the first inning of a baseball game Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, in Philadelphia. Matt Slocum | Associated Press

Friday MLB Odds and Picks from Eckel: Yankees vs Rays, Braves vs Phillies, Astros vs A's, and some HR thoughts

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays, 6:40 pm EDT, Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 pm EDT, Houston Astros at Oakland A's, 9:10 pm EDT.

There’s no time to panic, even in a shortened 60-game season.

A second straight non-productive night — Oakland won for us in an afternoon delight, but the Reds and White Sox didn’t do us any favors Thursday night.

Not to worry, there is a full slate of MLB games Friday and it’s time to pick some winners.

New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays, 6:40 pm EDT

Pitchers: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Blake Snell

Odds: Yankees -120; Rays +105

Atlanta Braves at Philadelphia Phillies, 7:05 pm EDT

Pitchers: Kyle Wright vs. Vince Velasquez

Odds: Braves -110; Phillies -110

Houston Astros at Oakland A's, 9:10 pm EDT

Pitchers: Zack Greinke vs. Chris Bassitt

Odds: Astros -110; As -110

The Cycle

Single: The Yanks head to Tampa, their home away from home, to take on a struggling Rays team. Look for the Yanks’ bats to wake up and for Tanaka to shut down the Rays. Take New York.

Double: Velasquez has not been the pitcher the Phils hoped he would be, and he’s especially bad against Atlanta (1-6, 5.20 ERA). Wright is one of the Braves top young prospects and should get the road win. Take Atlanta.

Triple: In the game of the night I have to go with Houston on the road against Oakland, simply because of Greinke. The veteran is 8-2 in his career against the A’s and is 10-1 in his career in games played in the Bay Area.

Home Run: It’s been a few days since Aaron Judge went deep, so let’s go with Judge, Ronald Acuna and Max Muncy.

MLB