The top two teams in the NL East -- the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals -- close out their key four-game series on Sunday with a primetime matchup at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. The Nationals have won two of the first three games of the series to pull within 5.5 games of the division-leading Braves. On Sunday, Joe Ross starts for Washington; he'll face Kevin Gausman of the Braves (-146). Elsewhere on the schedule, Texas Rangers ace Lance Lynn (12-5, 3.87 ERA) looks for his major-league leading 13th win when he takes the mound against the Houston Astros (-145). The New York Yankees (-204) will try to run their winning streak to seven when they face the Colorado Rockies in the Bronx. Fans everywhere will be playing off MLB odds for these games, but before locking in any MLB picks of your own, you need to see what SportsLine senior analyst Zack Cimini has to say.

Known as the Contrarian with Chutzpah, Cimini is a Las Vegas handicapper who's never afraid to buck conventional wisdom. He uses a new-age approach to excel in multiple sports. He entered the 2019 MLB season up $3,067 on a record of 263-218-2 all-time at SportsLine, and he's on a streak with his selections again, nailing 41 of his last 76 MLB money line picks.

Now Cimini has studied Sunday's packed MLB slate and has identified his top three picks. If you parlay these together, you could be looking at a return of almost 8-1. He's sharing these picks only at SportsLine.

We can tell you that Cimini is going with the Minnesota Twins (-145) at home against the Oakland A's. He's nailed 18 of his last 29 picks involving the A's and three of his last four involving the Twins. 

Cimini likes that the Twins have one of the best lineups in baseball. Minnesota has an OPS of .830, which leads the majors. The Twins also rank third in runs per game, at 5.59.

Cimini also likes that Minnesota touched up Oakland starter Daniel Mengden less than three weeks ago.

"Oakland will look to build upon their post All-Star success and lean on Daniel Mengden, who has been terrific, with a 5-1 record," Cimini told SportsLine. "But on July 2 he surrendered five runs and a season-high two home runs against the Twins. Expect Minnesota to hammer Mengden again and get to the A's bullpen in the latter innings."

Cimini has also found value on a road underdog, saying this team is a strong value to return a win at a lucrative money line price. You can only see his picks at SportsLine.

So which MLB picks should you make on Sunday for a payout of almost 8-1? And which road underdog is Cimini backing hard? See Sunday's MLB schedule below, then visit SportsLine to get Sunday's MLB best bets, all from the SportsLine expert who has hit 41 of his last 76 MLB picks

Sunday's MLB schedule (all times Eastern) 

Red Sox at Orioles (+183), 1:05 p.m.
Rockies at Yankees (-204), 1:05 p.m.
Cardinals at Reds (-108), 1:10 p.m.
Royals at Indians (-232), 1:10 p.m.
Blue Jays at Tigers (+111), 1:10 p.m.
White Sox at Rays (-270), 1:10 p.m.
Phillies at Pirates (-126), 1:35 p.m.
Rangers at Astros (-145), 2:10 p.m.
Athletics at Twins (-143), 2:10 p.m.
Padres at Cubs (-191), 2:20 p.m.
Mets at Giants (-120), 4:05 p.m.
Brewers at Diamondbacks (+133), 4:10 p.m.
Marlins at Dodgers (-330), 4:10 p.m.
Angels at Mariners (+149), 4:10 p.m.
Nationals at Braves (-146), 7:00 p.m.