Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a more than full 17-game schedule on Saturday (there are 2 double-headers following rainouts on Friday). I’m on a heater to start the season, with a 17-10-1 record so far in this best bets piece while going 3-for-5 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632 and +439 odds. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 27-11-2 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 Saturday’s slate.
MLB best bet: New York Yankees F5 -0.5 over Toronto Blue Jays (-135)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Max Fried is taking the mound this afternoon, and to say that is good news for the Yankees would be a gross understatement. Fried is 4-0 with a 1.42 ERA in his first season in pinstripes and he has allowed just 2 earned runs in 21.1 innings across his last 3 starts. The southpaw now faces a Toronto team that is in an offensive funk. This club has scored 1 run or fewer in 3 of the last 4 games and has not crossed the plate more than 4 times in its last 8 outings.
The Blue Jays are going with Kevin Gausman for this one. That is music to the ears of Aaron Judge, who is 13-for-39 with 6 home runs all time in this matchup. Paul Goldshmidt is 7-for-12 with a homer. There is better value on New York’s first five innings run line than on the full-game money line, plus it eliminates the bullpen from the equation – which is a sensible thing to do given Devin Williams’ struggles.
MLB best bet: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 over Pittsburgh Pirates (-125)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Bad news for the Dodgers: they lost 3-0 to the Pirates on Friday. Good news for the Dodgers: they don’t have to face Paul Skenes on Saturday. Following yesterday’s malaise, I expect Los Angeles to come out like gangbuster and bring out the bats at the expense of Mitch Keller. The right-hander has not been great in 2025, sporting a 1-2 record with a 4.18 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Freddie Freeman is 8-for-15 with a homer and a double against Keller; Shohei Ohtani is 2-for-8 with 2 home runs. In his career against L.A., Keller is allowing a .287 batting average and .494 slugging percentage.
Los Angeles is countering with Roki Sasaki, who has found his footing in the major leagues. Following a slow start, the right-hander has compiled a 2.40 ERA through 3 April starts. As if he even needs it, Sasaki should get plenty of run support from an offense that has belted 41 dingers this year – more than twice as many as Pittsburgh.
Read our full Pirates vs Dodgers prediction
