Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Friday. It includes Red Sox vs Yankees, Royals vs Tigers and Dodgers vs Padres. The Pickswise team has been in fine form this season, with a 128-100-8 in this MLB best bets series. Let’s build on that momentum and hopefully deliver some more winners today after I went 2-0 on Thursday!
Make sure you also check out our MLB picks for every game on Friday, August 22.
MLB best bet: Texas Rangers ML over Cleveland Guardians (-166)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Nathan Eovaldi is taking the mound on Friday, and that is only good news for Texas. Eovaldi is 11-3 with a 1.76 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 120 strikeouts compared to just 21 walks in 123.0 innings this season. The right-hander has not taken a single loss at home in 2025 and the Rangers are 8-0 in his last 8 starts overall. They are 3 games under .500 overall but come in 11 games over .500 in Arlington.
There really is no need to overthink this one. The Guardians are not playing well (1-5 in their last 6 contests) and Friday’s pitching matchup is not in their favor. Slade Cecconi is 5-6 with a 4.50 ERA and 1.32 WHIP. The righty has been horrendous over his past 2 outings, surrendering 13 runs (11 earned) in 7.2 innings during this stretch. Even at considerable -166 juice on the money line, the Rangers gave great value.
MLB best bet: Los Angeles Dodgers ML over San Diego Padres (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
The Dodgers may be 17-22 in their last 39 games, but – no matter how bad they are playing – one thing seems to remain constant: they own the Padres. Los Angeles came back from 2-1 down against its division rival in last year’s NLDS, winning the last 2 games by a combined 10-0 margin en route to a World Series triumph. So far this season the defending champions are 8-2 in the head-to-head series. Just when the Padres had taken a lead atop the National League West, the Dodgers swept them in 3 straight games last Friday through Sunday
San Diego has home-field advantage this time around, but things should remain the same – at least on Friday, when the pitching matchup favors Los Angeles. Since returning to the Dodgers’ rotation earlier this month, Blake Snell has allowed only 3 runs in 16.0 innings. He just blanked the Padres in 6.0 innings of work during a 6-0 victory this past Saturday. The home team is countering with Yu Darvish, who is 2-3 with a 5.97 ERA. The right-hander is pitching on 4 days of rest after giving up 4 runs on 3 hits (2 homers) and 2 walks to the Dodgers in just 4.0 innings.
