Ricky Dimon
The week in Major League Baseball continues with a full 15-game schedule on Friday. I’m on an absolute heater to start the year, with a 10-5-1 record so far in this best bets piece while going 3-for-3 on Same Game Parlays at +481, +632 and +439 odds. Pickswise’s MLB handicapping team on the whole is 16-5-1 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 Friday’s slate.
MLB best bet: Philadelphia Phillies ML over St. Louis Cardinals (-135)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Aaron Nola has been unspectacular for Philadelphia so far, but he is coming off a mostly encouraging start. Last Saturday he faced the Dodgers and limited them to 3 runs in 6.0 innings of work. The right-hander fared extremely well against St. Louis in 2024, compiling a 2-0 record through 2 appearances with a 2.92 ERA across 12.1 innings of work.
The Cardinals are countering with Andre Pallante, whose 3-year career has been the essence of mediocrity. Last season he worked to a solid 3.78 ERA but had a 1.30 WHIP and only 94 strikeouts compared to 48 walks over 121.1 Innings. The righty does not possess anything close to the swing-and-miss kind of stuff that is generally required to keep an offense like Philadelphia’s in check. A whole host of guys in the Phillies’ lineup have enjoyed success against Pallante in the past and I expect that to continue on Friday.
MLB best bet: San Diego Padres -1.5 over Colorado Rockies (+105)
Odds available at Bet365 Sportsbook at time of publishing
To the surprise of no one, it has been a tale of 2 very different seasons for these 2 National League West rivals through 2 weeks. San Diego is atop the division with a 10-3 record, while Colorado is in the cellar at 3-9. There is no need to overthink this one; the much better team is playing at home and getting plus-money value to win by more than 1 run. That is something I’m not passing up.
Nick Pivetta toeing the rubber on Friday only gives an added boost to the Padres. The veteran right-hander is sporting a 2.70 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through 2 starts with his new club, including 7.0 innings of shutout baseball against Atlanta in his 2025 debut. German Marquez is taking the mound for Colorado and to say that he is nothing special would be a gross understatement. Manny Machado is 12-for-29 lifetime against Marquez with a home run and a double; Jake Cronenworth is 6-for-19 with 2 homers, a triple and a double; Yuli Gurriel is 5-for-10 with 2 HRs, a triple and a double; Xander Bogaerts is 3-for-6 with 2 doubles.
