Caleb Wilfinger
The second half of the 2025 MLB season continues rolling along, and Friday features a full slate of action for us to enjoy. I’m 87-59-1 on my MLB best bets this year and the Pickswise MLB handicapping team as a whole is currently on a 30-13 run! Let’s keep it going as we get into today’s top MLB predictions on Friday, September 12.
You can also find out our MLB picks for EVERY GAME today.
MLB best bet: LA Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants F5 Under 4.5 (-130)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -140.
For my first MLB best bet today, we’ll focus on this NL West matchup between the Dodgers and Giants. This has long been one of the best rivalries in the sport and there’s plenty on the line in Friday’s contest. The Dodgers lineup has been extremely inconsistent over the last month, but they have been excellent on the mound as a team of late. That trend should continue in this one with Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.72 ERA) toeing the rubber following 8.2 innings of 1-hit ball against the Orioles in his last outing, as he nearly completed the no-hitter before it was broken up in the ninth. Having surrendered just 3 runs over his last 14.0 innings pitched on the road, Yamamoto should roll through a Giants lineup he’s plenty familiar with on Friday.
As for the home side, San Francisco is countering with Justin Verlander — and while the wily veteran has been all over the place in what is likely his final season in the majors, he still has seen success against the likes of Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts at the top of L.A.’s lineup. Verlander is also in the midst of an 11-inning scoreless streak, and he has surrendered just 8 earned runs over his last 5 outings. I’ll avoid the bullpens and stick with a low-scoring game in the first 5 innings in this one.
Don’t miss our expert’s MLB YRFI/NRFI picks
MLB best bet: Los Angeles Angels vs Seattle Mariners Over 7.5 (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
For my second MLB best bet on Friday, I’ll be targeting another total — this time in this AL West matchup between the Angels and Mariners. Seattle seems addicted to playing close, extra-inning games of late, so there’s always the possibility that we get a few runs to our favor after the ninth inning is completed. However, even if this game doesn’t go to extra innings, we should still see a higher-scoring affair compared to what the market projects.
The starting pitching matchup immediately points me in the direction of the over, with Yusei Kikuchi (18 earned runs over his last 3 outings, 4.18 ERA) getting the ball for the Angels while Luis Castillo (11 earned runs over his last 15 innings pitched) will suit up for Seattle. Both bullpens also got plenty of use in Thursday’s extra-inning contest, which could lead to some tired arms giving up runs in the backend as well. Ultimately, I have faith in both offenses to find success against these struggling starters and a pair of bullpens that should be fatigued on Friday.
