Caleb Wilfinger
The 2nd half of the 2025 MLB season continues rolling along today, and Friday features a full slate of action for us to enjoy. I’m 62-43 on my MLB best bets this year and the Pickswise MLB handicapping team as a whole is currently on a 124-94-8 run! Let’s keep it going as we get into today’s top predictions on Friday, August 15.
You can also find out our MLB picks for EVERY GAME today.
MLB best bet: Boston Red Sox F5 team total over 2.5 (+108)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to +100.
For my first MLB best bet for today, we’ll focus on an interleague matchup between the Marlins and Red Sox. Not only are the Red Sox are playing much better baseball than Miami at this point, Boston will also have the advantage of taking on Sandy Alcantara in Friday’s series opener. Any time that Alcantara (6.55 ERA, bottom 10% xBA and whiff rate) takes the mound this season, the opponent’s team total is a viable option, particularly early on. After all, the Marlins’ former ace has surrendered 33 runs over his past 8 starts, including allowing at least 3 runs in 7 of those outings. Against a Red Sox lineup that is a top-10 unit in the sport, Alcantara could certainly surrender a couple of early runs, which is all we need to cash this wager.
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MLB best bet: Philadelphia Phillies -1.5 over Washington Nationals (+100)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -110.
Our second MLB best bet today takes us to the nation’s capital, where the Phillies are set to match up against the lowly Nationals in an NL East showdown. Philadelphia is clearly one of the league’s best teams at this point, and the Phillies should bounce back following a poor showing in Thursday’s loss to Washington. It always helps to have Zack Wheeler (2.68 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) on the mound, and the Philadelphia ace has surrendered just 17 runs over his last 10 outings. Wheeler will be opposed by MacKenzie Gore, who has struggled mightily lately (7.09 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) over his last 7 outings. Given the pitching matchup and Philadelphia’s extremely poor offensive showing at the plate on Thursday, look for the Phillies to break their 3-game losing streak with a convincing win on Friday.
