We've got a 15-game, all-day slate on tap for Wednesday, August 26, starting early with Rays vs Tigers (1:10 PM ET, Comerica Park), and closing with Dodgers vs Braves (7:15 PM ET, Truist Park).
We've looked at the slate from every angle, coming up with four MLB Best Bets Today.
MLB Best Bets Today
The team logos in the table below represent each of the matchups that 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 |
|---|---|---|
  | 1:10 PM | |
  | 4:07 PM | |
  | 6:40 PM | |
  | 7:15 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. | ||
Tanner McGrath's Rays vs Tigers Best Bet
Our own Sean Zerillo projects some value on the Over in this game, which you can see by using his new Action PRO baseball betting tool, BARTOLO.
While Zerillo is out of the office for a little bit, the great thing about BARTOLO is that you can see all of his MLB projections in real time. The tool automatically updates every night at midnight, providing projections and data for that upcoming day’s slate of games.
Check out the tool here:
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Here’s a sneak peek of what BARTOLO can provide, just for this game:
I love this Over because of Troy Melton.
Melton is dominant against right-handed hitters (23% K-BB, .200 wOBA allowed), but he’s vulnerable against Southpaws (8% K-BB, .308 wOBA allowed). That’s trouble against the Rays, who will likely have six left-handed hitters in the lineup today, in addition to right-on-right mashers Yandy Diaz (136 wRC+) and Junior Caminero (143 wRC+).
I don’t think that’s priced into the market.
Additionally, Freddy Peralta has had a brutal season this year, Detroit’s bullpen is a mess, and I quite like both lineups.
Pick: Over 7.5 (-120 or Better)
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Sean Paul's Guardians vs Angels Best Bet
By Sean Paul
The Angels are a total train wreck. After blowing a 5-0 lead on Tuesday, the Halos have the odds stacked against them on Wednesday, with the Guardians sitting as -144 favorites. I think that line is light with all the edges the Guardians have.
On the mound for the Guardians is left-hander Joey Cantillo, who has a 3.73 ERA with a 3.91 xERA and 3.87 FIP. For Cantillo, much of his success revolves around players chasing his curveball. He throws a big, looping 12-6 curve over 30% of the time — leading to his 9.94 K/9 and dicey 4.35 BB/9.
Anaheim will chase Cantillo's curveball plenty, as it has a horrid plate approach, running a 7% walk rate (29th) and a 25% strikeout rate (28th) since July 20th.
Throwing for the Angels is former top prospect Grayson Rodriguez, who can only hang on that status for so long. He's been a wreck this year, posting a 6.41 ERA with a 5.77 xERA and 4.81 FIP.
Rodriguez has a career-worst 8.32 K/9, 4.09 BB/9, and 1.36 HR/9. For a pitcher coming off arm injuries, having career-worst numbers in those categories is less than ideal.
This Guardians lineup should fare well against Rodriguez. They rank 21st in the league with a 92 wRC+ in their last 28 games.
Cleveland might lack power, but it punches out just 18% of the time — which should force Rodriguez to throw more pitches. And once he turns it over to the bullpen, the Guardians could pour it on.
Check out all of Paul's best bets for Wednesday in today's edition of The Leadoff:
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Pick: Guardians ML (-140 or Better)
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Evan Abrams's Red Sox vs Marlins Best Bet
By Evan Abrams
This game triggered one of our Action PRO betting systems:
This system isolates profitable late-season road favorites playing in high-humidity environments.
Playoff-contending teams with strong underlying performance (Pythagorean Win over 55%) and favorable odds late in the season (Game 121–159) are often undervalued against weaker opponents.
High humidity (over 70%) can increase offensive output, especially favoring superior teams with more depth.
Road favorites tend to be mispriced due to travel fatigue bias despite actual team quality and momentum.
This strategy exploits undervaluation in humid environments where sharp teams can "hammer" through fatigue and softer opponents.
Teams fitting this system are 6-2 this year (40% ROI). The Red Sox can't lose right now, and they have Cy Young candidate Sonny Gray on the mound today.
This one seems like a no-brainer hammer.
Pick: Red Sox ML (-160 or Better)
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Kev Mahserejian's Dodgers vs Braves Best Bet
Roki Sasaki and AJ Smith-Shawver have a combined ERA of 10.65, yet we are taking the under on today's run line.
Sasaki has struggled this season, especially on the road, but is dominating in recent starts. He has a 2.63 ERA since July 8, backed by a 3.27 xERA and 3.57 xFIP, while doing better on the road than at home in this span.
There is a lot to like about Sasaki despite his volatile nature. He is easier to trust now, with his fastball velocity spiking around 100 MPH in recent months.
Sasaki will be facing a Braves' offense ranking league-average against RHP (100 wRC+), while sixth-worst overall in the past two weeks (85 wRC+). Even with Ronald Acuna Jr. back in the lineup, they have struggled. The Braves have scored more than four runs once since August 12.
Meanwhile, Smith-Shawver is making his third MLB start of the season. He has been horrible through his first two starts, but was dominant in Triple-A leading up to his activation, with just five ER in 28 w/3 IP and a 22.5% K-BB.
Smith-Shawver is also a much better home pitcher. He has a career 2.35 ERA at home, while he allows a 5.48 ERA on the road. This split is unusual given the similarity of his xFIP, but he induces far more ground balls at home (43.3%) than on the road (30.1%).
The Dodgers' offense is the best against RHP this season (113 wRC+). However, they are without Andy Pages due to a hand injury and below average in the past two weeks (96 wRC+).
Both bullpens have all of their arms available and ready in case either starter struggles early.
Read Kev's full Dodgers-Braves preview here:
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Pick: Under 8.5 (-110 or Better)
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