Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game slate on Wednesday. It features Braves vs Mets, Yankees vs Reds, Cubs vs Cardinals and Phillies vs Astros. The Pickswise team has been in fine form so far this season. I’m 41-31-2 record so far in this best bets piece while going 4-for-8 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632, +439 and +600 odds and 6-2 on YRFI/NRFI picks. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 73-53-5 on their best bets. 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 GAME today.
MLB best bet: Pittsburgh Pirates ML over Milwaukee Brewers (-119)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing
It doesn’t get any bigger than Pirates vs Brewers on Wednesday. Why? It’s all due to the pitching matchup, of course. Paul Skenes is taking the mound for Pittsburgh, while Milwaukee is countering with Jacob Misiorowski. This pair of 23-year-olds figure to be among baseball’s best pitchers for a long time.
The margins will likely be small given that it figures to be a low-scoring affair involving 2 live arms (the Over/Under is 6.5), but I still feel very good about the Pirates as small favorites. Skenes is simply more proven and more reliable than Misiorowski at this point. After all, the Brewers’ right-hander has made only 2 starts in his major-league career. Yes, both starts were awesome, but 2 starts are 2 starts. Skenes, on the other hand, made 23 appearances in 2024 while compiling a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP. Through 16 outings this season, he is sporting a 1.85 ERA, 0.88 WHIP and 106 strikeouts in 102.0 innings. It boils down to this for me: Skenes over Misiorowski.
Read our full Pirates vs Brewers prediction for this afternoon’s matchup
MLB best bet: New York Yankees vs Cincinnati Reds Under 9.5 (-120)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
When Max Fried is toeing the rubber and you see an Over/Under of 9.5, playing the Under has to be your immediate thought. That’s my first thought, second thought and third thought in this case. Fried has been outstanding in his first season with the Yankees, compiling a 9-2 record to go along with a 2.05 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and a 97-to-20 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 101.0 innings of work.
The Reds are countering with Brady Singer, who is 7-5 with a 4.13 ERA. At home, his ERA falls to 3.62 and opponents are batting .181 against him in Cincinnati compared to .283 when he pitches on the road. The Yankees have scored only 5 runs through 2 games against Cincy this season, and 1 of those was in extra innings. They have crossed the plate more than 4 times just twice in their last 13 contests. Giancarlo Stanton has not homered since finally getting his 2025 campaign underway last Monday. All things considered, it’s hard to see either club finding much offense in the series finale.
