We have a full 15-game slate today, starting early with Braves vs Reds at 6:40 PM ET at Great American Ballpark on MLB.TV, and closing with Phillies vs Dodgers at 10:15 PM ET at Dodger Stadium on MLB.TV.
Our experts have analyzed the matchups and found great options for Friday, May 29.
Below are 6 expert MLB best bets today.
MLB Best Bets Today
The team logos in the table below represent each matchup our MLB betting staff is targeting from today's slate of games. Click on the team logos for any of the matchups below to navigate to a specific bet discussed in this article.
| Game | Time (ET) | Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 6:45 PM | |
  | 7:10 PM | |
  | 7:40 PM | |
  | 8:05 PM | |
 | 8:35 PM | |
  | 10:15 PM | |
Specific betting recommendations come from the sportsbook offering preferred odds as of writing. Always shop for the best price using our MLB Odds page, which automatically surfaces the best lines for every game. | ||
Ryan Minion's Braves vs Reds Prediction
By Ryan Minion
Reds’ veteran right-hander Chris Paddack will take the mound and will surely be looking to bounce back from what has been a dreadful 2026 campaign thus far.
Across Paddack’s first eight starts of the season, the Reds’ 30-year-old righty has recorded a horrific 6.86 ERA to go along with a 1.67 WHIP and is most definitely in a position to potentially lose his spot in the rotation with Nick Lodolo having returned from the IL.
Paddack was a highly touted pitching prospect when he arrived in the Big Leagues with the Padres in 2019 and put together a phenomenal rookie year, finishing the season with an impressive 3.33 ERA and 0.98 WHIP.
Since his rookie year, the Reds’ righty has struggled mightily on the bump largely due to several injuries over the course of his career that resulted in Cincinnati's starter having to undergo many surgeries to repair the damage to his shoulder.
Paddack has had every injury over the sun over the last seven seasons, with the right-hander having had Tommy John surgery twice, suffered a right elbow UCL sprain, a right forearm sprain, amongst several others.
The former-Padre has yet to finish a single season with an ERA below 4.00 since his 2019 debut, and Paddack has been a part of 4 different clubs over the last 18 months.
Though Paddack appears to have finally had some stability with no current injury concern, he has been in atrocious form in 2026.
On the other hand, Braves’ switch-hitting slugger Ozzie Albies is having a great 2026 campaign.
Albies and Paddack have previously faced one another 11-times across several seasons, with the Braves 2B having recorded four hits off the veteran right-hander.
In 2025, Albies was 2-for-3 against Paddack, and they have already met twice this season, with Albies smashing a homer off him in April. He is batting .364 AVG versus Cincinnati's righty and is slashing a 1.000 OPS.
Given Paddack’s horrific form and Albies having already bested Paddack across several previous plate appearances, I love Albies to exceed his 1.5 total bases mark on Friday night in a favorable matchup.
Pick: Ozzie Albies Over 1.5 Total Bases (-120 or Better)
Check out all of Ryan's total base props for Friday here:
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Derek Carty's Angels vs Rays Pick
By Derek Carty
Editor’s Note: This written best bet is a transcription from today’s episode of the Payoff Pitch Podcast.
I normally only bet props rather than sides or totals, but this one is showing too much value.
This one is simple: the Angels are not as bad as they’ve performed this season, while the Rays are not as good as they’ve performed this season.
If you look at FanGraphs’ projections, very few teams project to be worse going forward relative to what they’ve done so far this year than the Rays, and very few teams project to be better going forward relative to what they’ve done so far this year than the Angels.
Nick Martinez is due for plenty of negative regression. He’s running a 1.51 ERA, but he’s closer to a 4.50 ERA pitcher (4.25 xERA, 4.30 xFIP).
The Bat X projects the Angels as -110 moneyline favorites.
Pick: Angels ML (+120 or Better)
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Sean Zerillo's Tigers vs White Sox Pick
By Sean Zerillo
Editor’s Note: This written best bet is a transcription from today’s episode of the Payoff Pitch Podcast.
I don’t love Erik Fedde, but the White Sox bullpen is relatively rested.
They also do a good job not overexposing middling starters like Fedde, typically using an opener in front of them or pulling them early. Chicago has enough bullpen depth behind Fedde to do what it wants to.
If I were only using pre-season projections, I would project the Tigers as the much-better offense against right-handed pitching. However, I’ve upgraded my projections on the White Sox substantially because of their performance so far.
Additionally, the White Sox are the better base-running team.
I’ve always been high on Troy Melton, but he’s still coming back from an elbow injury sustained in Spring Training, and I’m wondering if the Tigers are bringing him back a bit early in the wake of the Tarik Skubal injury — Detroit really needs innings.
All that to say, I don’t think Melton is fully healthy.
Ultimately, I project the White Sox as -110 moneyline favorites.
Pick: White Sox ML (-102 or Better)
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Kevork Mahserejian's Royals vs Rangers Best Bet
Stephen Kolek against MacKenzie Gore is a raw talent mismatch, heavily favoring the Rangers starter. However, Kolek has a 2.77 ERA in four starts this season, with zero runs allowed in his past two starts (15 1/3 IP).
Meanwhile, Gore has a 4.42 ERA, backed by a 3.79 xERA, 3.97 xFIP, and 3.89 SIERA. Gore's season has been inconsistent, but he is just off a game with one earned run in six IP, albeit against the Los Angeles Angels.
What really gives Gore an advantage today is his home/road splits.
- Gore Away: – 5.81 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 4.89 xFIP, 8.6% K-BB
- Gore Home: – 2.63 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 2.78 xFIP, 25.5% K-BB
Also, Kolek is due for some regression. His 2.77 ERA is not entirely fake, but maintaining success with a 9.2% K-BB rate is tough. He is facing a Rangers offense that ranks 14th against RHP by wRC+, while Gore faces a Royals offense that ranks 24th against LHP.
The Royals' bullpen is "fresher" than the Rangers', but both should have all their high-leverage arms available today.
Pick: Rangers ML (-130 or Better)
Check out all of Kev's best bets for Friday in today's edition of The Leadoff:
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Adam Trigger's Triple-A Pick
El Paso Chihuahuas @ Albuquerque Isotopes
Friday, 8:35 PM ET
By Adam Trigger
I think these two teams are about to go in different directions.
The Isotopes enter Friday at 30-24, off to one of their best starts in years. However, Colorado’s front office made a slew of roster moves over the past week that have watered down Albuquerque’s roster.
Albuquerque didn't have much pitching to begin with, and while it lost some key arms, El Paso recently got some lineup reinforcements.
Pablo Reyes is having a great season and returned from injury this week. Will Wagner came back from injury a few weeks ago and was assigned to El Paso after his rehab stint. Samad Taylor and Jase Bowen have been two uber-consistent hitters. Minor League journeyman Nick Solak has been hitting.
Suddenly, El Paso’s lineup is starting to look pretty good.
If you power rate these two teams evenly on offense (which I do), I think El Paso has a good edge this weekend, as the Chihuahuas’ collection of pitchers over the next three days is better and deeper than what Albuquerque will run out there.
Pick: El Paso Chihuahuas ML
Check out all of Trigger's Triple-A Picks for the weekend here:
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Tanner McGrath's Phillies vs Dodgers Prediction
This game triggered one of our Action PRO betting systems, powered by Evan Abrams:
This system tracks modest favorites in conference games where the market slightly shifts toward them, often due to subtle edge signals that public models do not capture. The strategy rides light market momentum in tight, competitive spots where fundamental metrics signal a long-term edge.
I actually think this is a good bounce-back spot for Justin Wrobleski. He was running very well in the strand department through his first five starts (87%), which was always bound to regress, and it did over the past three starts (57%), wherein he allowed 14 earned runs over 19 innings.
He should be more properly valued now in the market, and he could pitch closer to his 3.43 botERA or 3.52 xFIP. Meanwhile, the Phillies haven’t hit lefties well this season (90 wRC+, 20th).
It’s always scary to fade Zack Wheeler, but he’s due for some general regression (1.67 ERA, 3.15 xERA, 2.99 xFIP, 3.21 botERA) because he’s running well in the strand (82%) and BABIP (.232) departments. Additionally, his stuff hasn't looked quite as good since he came off the IL in late April (105 Stuff+). Also, the Dodgers lead all MLB teams in wRC+ against right-handed pitching (123).
I’d also give the Dodgers big advantages on defense and on the basepaths.
Pick: Dodgers ML (-130 or Better)
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