Teams are gearing up for the MLB All-Star Game after the first ballots were finalized, and the finalists for each position were announced. That means the league is headed for the halfway mark of the season, with an eye on the trade deadline on July 31. That makes this stretch extremely crucial. Here are the picks and predictions for all the games on Friday, June 27: MLB picks, predictions and best bets for Friday, June 27 #1. Pirates vs MetsBest Bet: Mets ML (-163)Prediction: Mets 5, Pirates 4The New York Mets are the favourites to put some runs early on against Pittsburgh Pirates starter Mitch Keller who has a 1-10, 4.02 ERA record this season. Juan Soto (19 HRs) has taken over the lead for the Mets’ home run leader from Pete Alonso while the latter continues to lead in Average (.292) and RBIs (65). They are the ones to watch out for. #2. Orioles vs RaysBest Bet: Rays ML (-130)Prediction: Rays 5, Orioles 4The starting pitching matchup is a close encounter between Tampa Bay Rays’ Ryan Pepiot (5-6, 3.04 ERA) and Baltimore Orioles’ Tomoyuki Sugano (5-4, 3.55 ERA). But the teams’ current form indicates the Rays having a better outing. Tampa Bay has won four of the last five, while Baltimore has won just one. #3. Guardians vs CardinalsBest Bet: Cardinals ML (-129)Prediction: Cardinals 5, Guardians 4Cardinals’ ace Sonny Gray (7-2, 3.72 ERA) starts on the mound and has the edge over Guardians’ Luis Ortiz (4-8, 4.30 ERA). Jose Ramirez leads on all three major batting metrics for Cleveland, yet again proving his role as the club leader while the Cardinals have Lars Nootbar (11 HRs), Brendan Donovan (.301 average) and Willson Contreras (50 RBIs) leading their team. #4. Reds vs PadresBest Bet: Under 9 runsPrediction: Reds 5, Padres 4San Diego has regained form winning four of their last five games, after going through a major slump in the middle of this month. They would hope to get the series win against Cincinnati who are coming off a series win themselves against the Yankees. Dylan Cease (3-6, 4.43 ERA) and Nick Martinez (4-8, 4.40 ERA) face off in the starter duel. #5. Angels vs NationalsBest Bet: Angels ML (-165)Prediction: Angels 5, Nationals 4A resurgent Angels team (40-40) with a well-balanced roster between youngsters and veterans has brought themselves within one game of the Wild Card spots. They will hope to take the series win against the slumping Nationals who are last in the NL East (33-48). Predictions from other games on SaturdayAthletics @ New York (Y): Yankees 5, Athletics 4Minnesota @ Detroit: Detroit 6, Twins 5Toronto @ Boston: Blue Jays 5, Red Sox 4Philadelphia @ Atlanta: Braves 5, Phillies 4San Francisco @ Chicago (WS): Giants 6, White Sox 4Seattle @ Texas: Mariners 5, Texas 4Chicago (C) @ Houston: Cubs 5, Astros 4Colorado @ Milwaukee: Brewers 6, Rockies 3Los Angeles (D) @ Kansas City: Dodgers 6, Royals 4Miami @ Arizona: Diamondbacks 5, Marlins 3