Ricky Dimon
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The week in Major League Baseball continues with a 14-game slate on Friday. It gets started with the lone afternoon contest between the Blue Jays and Cubs before the evening session includes Diamondbacks vs Rays, Red Sox vs Orioles, Guardians vs Brewers and Dodgers vs Cardinals. Below are my MLB parlay picks for today’s action, while you can also find out our MLB picks for each of the big games on Friday, August 16.
Mariners ML (+110)
Braves -1.5 (+102)
Dodgers -1.5 (+118)
MLB parlay odds: +825
For today’s MLB parlay, I am going with 2 favorites on the run line and 1 underdog on the money line. Let’s break down each of the 3 legs.
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Seattle Mariners ML over Pittsburgh Pirates (+110)
It’s fairly obvious why the Pirates are favored on Friday: Paul Skenes. The rookie sensation is toeing the rubber for Pittsburgh, which in general has been good news for this franchise. However, there is suddenly cause for concern with Skenes given a decrease in velocity across his past few starts. Although Skenes is a lot more than just a hard thrower, the rest of his pitchers don’t possess the same effectiveness when the fastball isn’t fastballing like it’s supposed to.
The former LSU standout is likely to see his workload monitored as the stretch run of the season continues, especially given the Pirates’ poor play of late that has them slipping out of playoff contention. The Mariners are countering with an outstanding pitcher of their own in Logan Gilbert (2.91 ERA, 0.87 WHIP). Since the all-star break, Pittsburgh is 28th league-wide in wOBA with a wRC+ of 78 against right-handed pitching. Don’t be surprised if Gilbert outduels Skenes.
Read our full Seattle Mariners vs Pittsburgh Pirates prediction
Atlanta Braves -1.5 over Los Angeles Angels (+102)
The Braves lost at the San Francisco Giants on Thursday, but they still took 3 of 4 games and therefore head to Los Angeles with a decent amount of momentum. To say that the Angels have no such positivity in their club would be a gross understatement. They have lost 3 in a row and 5 of their last 6, falling to 52-69 for the 2024 campaign. Jose Soriano has been decent enough for the Halos, but Spencer Schwellenbach has been awesome for Atlanta dating back to the start of July. Schwelly has delivered 5 quality starts – many of them dominant – in his past 6 appearances and the only exception missed that distinction by just a single run (4 runs allowed in 6.0 innings). This is simply a tale of 2 teams between which the talent gap is a massive chasm.
Find out today’s best MLB player prop bets — our expert has a 41-24 record this season!
Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 over St. Louis Cardinals (+118)
The Dodgers still find themselves atop the NL West, but unlike plenty of other times at this point in recent seasons, they do not yet have it signed, sealed and delivered. Both the San Diego Padres and Arizona Diamondbacks are hot on their trail. Thus the foot will remain on the gas pedal – now and for the foreseeable future. As for the Cardinals, they are desperate to halt a 4-game losing streak. Unfortunately for St. Louis, that probably isn’t going to happen. This club has managed to score only 7 runs over the past 4 outings and it will likely need an offensive outburst to compete on Friday since Miles Mikolas and his 5.30 ERA is taking the mound for the Cardinals. Los Angeles is 8-4 in its last 12 and is scoring an average of 5.25 runs during this stretch. Give me the boys in blue to win big.
Read our full LA Dodgers vs St. Louis Cardinals prediction
