The second half of the 2025 MLB season continues rolling along today, and Tuesday features a full slate of action for us to enjoy. I’m 65-48 on my MLB best bets this year and the Pickswise MLB handicapping team as a whole is currently on a 127-99-8 run!
Let’s keep it going as we get into today’s top predictions on Tuesday, August 19. You can also find out our MLB picks for EVERY GAME today.
MLB best bet: Milwaukee Brewers ML over Chicago Cubs (-115)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
My first MLB best bet today takes us to Chicago for the second game of this NL Central double-header between the Brewers and Cubs. Milwaukee has been the best team in baseball by a decent margin over the last month, including putting together a 14-game winning streak over the span of multiple weeks that was broken up on Sunday with an extra inning loss to the Reds. However, the Brew Crew picked up right where they left off with a win in the first game of this key series against their rivals to the south on Monday. I backed the visitors in Monday’s opener, and I’m going back to the well with Milwaukee in this one.
For starters, the Brewers are sending Brandon Woodruff (2.06 ERA, 4-0 record, .181 expected batting average) to the mound in this contest against a Cubs lineup that has been trending downward of late, and only mustered up a measly 2 hits on Monday. On the other side, Milwaukee is facing Jameson Taillon (4.44 ERA, bottom 15% barrel rate and ground-ball rate), who could be in some trouble in this matchup, especially since the Brewers offense is excellent against right-handed pitchers and leads the league in runs per game on the road. Let’s take Milwaukee as short favorites on the road.
MLB best bet: Cincinnati Reds ML over Los Angeles Angels (-140)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -160.
For my second MLB best bet for today, we’ll focus on this interleague showdown between the Reds and Angels. Cincinnati is the better side in this game, and the Reds will also have the better starting pitcher on the mound in Hunter Greene (2.47 ERA, top 10% strikeout rate and walk rate). The hard-throwing righty has surrendered just 2 or fewer runs in 10 of his 11 starts this year. Greene also happens to be coming off an excellent start against the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies, in which he tossed 6 shutout innings. It goes without saying that the Angels lineup is a significant downgrade from what Greene just faced, so his great form should translate into this contest.
As for the hosts, Los Angeles has been a very mercurial team for most of the season, especially at the plate. In fact, Los Angeles is outside the top 25 across baseball in batting average and total hits. Therefore, despite the fact that the Angels are a decent side when it comes to their OPS and/or SLG metrics, it’s hard to trust that they’ll be able to string together hits against a quality pitcher. Los Angeles will send Kyle Hendricks to the mound, and he’s allowed a whopping 11 hits and 8 earned runs over his last couple of outings. This matchup doesn’t bode well for the Angels on paper and I expect the line to move a bit prior to first pitch, so I’ll back the Reds in this one.