There's a full slate of baseball on the Wednesday, August 30 slate. All 30 teams are in action, which means there are plenty of bets to be made.
Our MLB betting experts have looked over the latest MLB odds and made their picks for today's games. Our experts have MLB betting picks and predictions for Angels vs. Phillies, Brewers vs. Cubs and Rays vs. Marlins.
Continue reading as today's best MLB bets are below.
Wednesday's MLB Best Bets
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 | Start Time (ET) | The Pick |
|---|---|---|
  | 1:05 p.m. ET | |
  | 2:20 p.m. ET | |
  | 6:40 p.m. ET | |
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. | ||
Angels vs. Phillies
By D.J. James
The Philadelphia Phillies are playing well as they maintain the top spot in the National League Wild Card race. They also get to play one of the worst teams in baseball over the past couple weeks – the Los Angeles Angels.
Reid Detmers, who has shown some weaknesses lately, gets the start for the Angels. The Phillies have hit lefties well this month and should continue that trend on Wednesday afternoon.
Detmers owns a 5.03 ERA against a 4.52 xERA. His Average Exit Velocity is 90 mph with a 42% Hard-Hit Rate. He's walking 9.5% of hitters and has a 26.5% strikeout rate. He tossed a shutout about two weeks ago, but has given up seven, seven and four earned runs in his other August starts. In addition, he's struck out only 12 batters this month but has walked 11 As a result, the Phillies offense should have plenty of success.
In relief, Los Angeles has a 4.92 xFIP with a 23.3% strikeout rate and 11.6% walk rate.
The Phillies can hit. They excel when a lefty is throwing, particularly this month. They have a 130 wRC+ with an 8.7% walk rate, a 23.7% strikeout rate and a .857 OPS. The Phillies also have seven batters with an xwOBA over .320 and should be able to take advantage of Detmers' recent struggles.
The Phillies are large moneyline favorites in this game. That's a fine bet, but the Phillies should hammer Detmers and a weak Angels bullpen. The Phillies have a complete lineup and have been hot against lefties, so back them to continue mashing. Bet Philadelphia's team total over 5 (-105), and play it to 5.5 (-133).
Pick: Phillies Over 5 Runs (-105)
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Brewers vs. Cubs
By Doug Ziefel
Chicago is living up to its moniker as the winds are rustling through Wrigley Field in this series. The heavy winds have driven down the total for this matchup, and playing against them may be risky business, but remember, everything has a buy-back point.
I bring up the winds and the total because it's not like the men on the mound need any more help. Brandon Woodruff will get the ball for the Milwaukee Brewers and he's been nothing short of dominant since coming back from injury.
Opposing him for the Cubs will be Kyle Hendricks, who has bounced back from a rough past few seasons and holds a 3.80 ERA this year.
Milwaukee is hitting just .236 and its xBA is just .237. The Brewers have managed to score only in spurts and haven't shown much ability to consistently generate loud contact.
However, they may be in a good spot to manufacture some runs in the Windy City because Hendricks is due for some sizable regression. Hendricks has always been a guy who pitches to contact, and this season he's been elite in generating soft contact, but you know the old saying: "Put the ball in play, and good things will happen." Well, the Brewers should be putting the ball in play a ton against Hendricks.
This Milwaukee lineup is due for some balls to bounce their way against Hendricks, as their collective xBA against him is 36 points higher than their actual batting average. Getting men on base and scratching out runs will be the name of this game, and the Brewers should have more opportunities to do that.
Conversely, the Cubbies are in for a tough assignment against Woodruff. Woodruff has made just six starts on the season as he missed nearly three full months with injury, but almost every time he's toed the rubber, he's been lights out.
Woodruff enters this outing with a 2.65 ERA and a microscopic 0.88 WHIP. While you would typically expect some regression from his dominant small sample size, his xBA of .196 tells a different story, one that points to a rough afternoon for the Cubs.
This game is going to be tightly contested as the elements are in favor of the men on the mound. It will be up to the lineups to put the ball in play and make something happen.
It's clear the Brewers are the side that will have the better opportunity to put the ball in play often as I'm expecting Woodruff to challenge and overpower the Cubs.
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Rays vs. Marlins
By D.J. James
Zach Eflin was a key acquisition for the Tampa Bay Rays over the offseason as he's been phenomenal and filled in some major gaps. He owns a 3.55 ERA against a 2.93 xERA. His Barrel Rate is 8.4% with an Average Exit Velocity of 87.1 mph and a Hard-Hit Rate of 35.1%. His strikeout rate is 25.7% and his walk rate is just 3.5%, which is impeccable.
His Wednesday opponent will be Jesús Luzardo and the Miami Marlins. Luzardo has amazing potential, but he has a 7.85 ERA over 18 1/3 August innings. On the season, he has a 3.77 ERA against a 4.16 xERA. His Barrel Rate is over 10% and his Average Exit Velocity is 90 mph. His Hard-Hit Rate is 42.2%, his walk rate is 7% and his strikeout rate is 27.9%.
The starting pitching edge clearly goes to Eflin, but Tampa Bay has also hit lefties well this month with a 110 wRC+, a 10.6% walk rate and a .728 OPS. Miami has a 90 wRC+ with a 7.1% walk rate and a .709 OPS off of righties this month.
Finally, the Rays also boast the better bullpen.
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