Caleb Wilfinger
The 2025 MLB season keeps rolling along, and Sunday features a full slate of 15 games for us to enjoy. I’m 16-8 on my MLB best bets and the Pickswise MLB handicapping team as a whole is 44-24-4 in these MLB best bets this season. Let’s keep it going as we get into today’s top picks on Sunday, May 18.
Also, don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for Sunday’s slate.
MLB best bet: Los Angeles Dodgers -1.5 over Los Angeles Angels (-115)
Odds available at Caesars Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
For my first best bet on Sunday’s slate, let’s head to Los Angeles for a showdown between the Angels and Dodgers. The first couple of games of this series have gone the way of the underdog Angels, but I’ll be targeting the Dodgers to bounce back and take the final game, and it all starts with Tony Gonsolin on the mound. The sixth-year starter is coming off his best outing of the campaign against the Diamondbacks, and that momentum should continue against an Angels lineup that has been performing over its head in recent games. On the other side, the Dodgers lineup is the much stronger unit in this game, and they could do some real damage against Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi and a bullpen that has a combined ERA of 5.11 on the season. I’ll back the home team to get back in the win column on the run line.
MLB best bet: Seattle Mariners vs San Diego Padres Under 7.5 (-115)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
For my second MLB best bet on Sunday, we’re heading to San Diego for an interleague showdown between the Mariners and Padres. The starting pitching matchup in this game immediately points me in the direction of the under, much like how the first 2 games of this series have gone. Given the strength of this Mariners’ team is their pitching, unders are often the look in games involving Seattle, and that trend should continue on Sunday with Bryan Woo (2.84 ERA, .225 xBA, 4.1% walk rate) on the mound. As for San Diego, the Padres are going with Michael King on the mound; he is in the midst of a tremendous 2025 campaign to this point. King has posted a 2.32 ERA with 56 strikeouts in just over 50.1 innings pitched through his first 9 outings of the season. With the Mariners’ lineup struggling mightily in this series and not having much experience against King, the veteran right-hander should be able to carve up Seattle at home. Let’s back the under and look for another pitcher’s duel in San Diego.
