MLB Best Bets Today: Wild Card Picks & Predictions - Yankees poised for sweep of Red Sox

All four MLB Wild Card series in the postseason will play their Game 2s on Wednesday. It’s Phillies vs Braves, White Sox vs Astros, Red Sox vs Yankees and Cubs vs Padres. With win-or-go-home stakes now involved for a team in every matchup, let's get into our MLB best bets for today, while you can also get our expert MLB picks for predictions throughout the 2026 playoffs. 

MLB Best Bet: Philadelphia Phillies vs Atlanta Braves Under 7 (-110) 

The series opener produced eight runs in a 5-3 Atlanta victory, but it was not exactly an offensive onslaught. Philly and Atlanta were tied 1-1 until things finally started to get a little bit crazy in the bottom of the sixth inning. It should also be noted that four baserunners who reached via either a walk or a hit by pitch ended up scoring. In other words, both teams needed help to get a lot of their runs on the board - help they probably won’t get on Wednesday.

The pitching matchup is a great one, featuring Phillies ace Cristopher Sanchez and Braves #2 Tyler Mahle. Sanchez went 18-7 with a 2.91 ERA and a 231-to-45 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 207.0 innings of work. After joining Atlanta at the trade deadline, Mahle pitched to a 2.00 ERA in 54.1 innings. The righty befuddled Philadelphia in two straight starts earlier this month, giving up only one earned run in a combined 13.0 innings. Mahle is backed by a bullpen that finished fourth in MLB in ERA.

Read our full Phillies vs Braves prediction for this afternoon's matchup - can Philadelphia survive?

MLB Best Bet: Chicago White Sox ML over Houston Astros (+125) 

At worst for the visitors this feels like a tossup, so the value on them as considerable underdogs is way too good to pass up. Chicago was the superior side throughout the regular season and proved it again on Tuesday with a 6-3 victory in a game that was never competitive.

The White Sox now go for the sweep with Sean Burke on the mound. Burke went 11-7 with a 3.34 ERA and 185 strikeouts in 172.1 innings and was especially dominant down the stretch, allowing just two earned runs over his final three appearances across 16.1 innings. Hunter Brown is a solid starter for the Astros, but the pressure will be all on them if this develops into a close, low-scoring game in the later innings – which is the projection. Bring out the brooms.

Check out the analysis of our White Sox vs Astros pick for today

MLB Best Bet: New York Yankees ML over Boston Red Sox (-134) 

The Yankees handed the ball to Cam Schlittler for Game 1 and now send Max Fried out there on Wednesday night. When you have that kind of 1-2 punch, it really shouldn’t matter if you don’t have Aaron Judge in the lineup. It certainly didn’t on Tuesday, when New York crossed the plate nine times in a shutout victory. Ben Rice hit two home runs, and a late barrage by the offense prevented the Yankees from having to use any high-leverage bullpen arms. It simply could not have gone any better for manager Aaron Boone’s club.

Sonny Gray is no slouch for the Red Sox, but Rice is 3-for-7 lifetime against him with two homers. This is another fantastic spot for the Yankees, who should be bigger favorites.

Lock in our Red Sox vs Yankees pick for today's Game 2 in their Wild Card series