Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Wednesday. The lineup features Phillies vs Reds, Cubs vs Blue Jays, Red Sox vs Astros and Padres vs Giants. The Pickswise team has been in fine form this season. We hold a 123-91 record so far in this best bets series, so let’s keep it going as we get into my MLB best bets of the day! Also, don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for every matchup on Wednesday, August 13.
MLB best bet: Milwaukee Brewers -1.5 over Pittsburgh Pirates (+115)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
All aboard the Brewers’ bandwagon! The best team in baseball has won 11 straight games after humiliating Pittsburgh 14-0 on Tuesday night. And – amazingly enough – that was a game started by Pirates ace Paul Skenes. When they are losing by 14 runs with Skenes on the mound, you know things are dire.
Milwaukee is 75-44, and its 76th victory of the 2025 campaign will almost certainly come this afternoon. Brandon Woodruff is getting the nod for the home team. He is 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and a 40-to-6 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 6 appearances (35.1 total innings) since joining the rotation last month. It will be Mitch Keller for the visitors. Christian Yelich is 7-for-18 all-time against Keller; Joey Ortiz is 5-for-8 with a triple and a double; William Contreras is 5-for-19 with 2 homers; Caleb Durbin is 2-for-2 with a double. The Pirates have lost 4 straight by a combined 27 runs; another multi-run defeat is likely in store.
Read our full Pirates vs Brewers prediction
MLB best bet: New York Mets -1.5 over Atlanta Braves (+105)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing
The Mets had lost 7 in a row and 11 of 12 against very tough competition, but a matchup with an opponent that has nothing to play for seems to be just what the doctor ordered. New York opened its home series against NL East rival Atlanta with a 13-5 romp on Tuesday. Pete Alonso became the franchise’s all-time home run leader yesterday, so suddenly vibes are somewhat high again in the Big Apple.
Whereas the Mets (64-55) are in the thick of the NL wild-card race, the Braves (51-68) have long since been eliminated – albeit not quite mathematically. Things only figure to get worse for Atlanta with Carlos Carrasco on the mound. Keep in mind that the visitors just lost by 8 runs when Spencer Strider toed the rubber, and Strider is their best pitcher on the active roster (almost every other original starter is injured). Carrasco comes in with a 6.18 ERA and 1.58 WHIP. For New York, David Peterson is 7-5 with a 2.98 ERA. Count on the Mets picking up another multi-run victory.
Read Javan Shouey’s best MLB player prop bets for today, targeting Nick Pivetta and Cristopher Sanchez
