MLB Tips & Odds: The Panel's Picks And Best Bets For Today

Today's MLB Picks:

The Panel, featuring seasoned analysts from Gambling.com, call upon their extensive expertise to deliver today's top MLB picks.

By focusing on key matchups and the most exciting games, they provide comprehensive coverage and insightful analysis.

The Panel's experts meticulously research team form, player statistics and historical data to identify the best betting opportunities while their in-depth knowledge of the sport, combined with advanced analytical tools, allows them to offer well-informed predictions.

Keep reading for The Panel's MLB picks from sports betting sites ahead of today's action.

Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Diego Padres (O/U 7.5, ML -135 Padres)

The San Diego Padres are getting hot once again and have now won eight of their previous nine contests, including a Dylan Cease no-hitter.

Cease is on some run of success and now has the best WAR on his entire team and his contribution is the most valuable of the Padres.

Cease has been incredible in 2024 and is 10-8 on the season with 168 strikeouts in 131 innings. That 3.50 ERA and five quality starts in his last six appearances have led to speculation that Wednesday could very much be a pitcher’s duel against Los Angeles.

Here is the unknown. Clayton Kershaw is coming back from an offseason and getting into form and though his first start was only four innings, he did strike out six San Francisco batters.

The Padres seem to have an equal propensity to miss the baseball with both pitchers among the tops in swinging strikes, too.

They are facing a pitcher who has had considerable success against them. Kershaw is 23-10 against San Diego and his 9.6K/9 career is not as good as his 10+ number the past several seasons. So expect Kershaw’s pitch count figures to inch upward on Wednesday.

For that reason The Panel are taking on the Kershaw strikeout prop with betting apps, which may be safer than the Dylan Cease strikeout prop.

The Panel Pick 1: Clayton Kershaw Over 3.5 Strikeouts - Draftkings -120

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Houston Astros (O/U 8, ML -218, Astros)

Paul Skenes pitched well on Monday, only to get another no-decision, but at least that was better than the loss he was dealt before the All-Star break.

On the bright side, Pittsburgh have won the first two games in Houston for what feels like the first time in forever.

The Pirates are +180 underdogs on Wednesday night and there is a good reason for this - Framber Valdez pitches well at home.

You'd think Minute Maid Park can be a bit of a launching pad. However, Valdez has been dominant in his last two starts at home (13.1 IP, 1 ER, 20K’s).

So, does the idea that Houston does not want to be overtaken in the Wild Card race by Pittsburgh spur them on to victory?

Houston is 30-23 at home and Valdez does give up a few more home runs. On the other hand, his strikeouts are up (8.7 from 7.3 per 9 innings) and his ground ball batted rate is greater than 60% at home.

The Panel's pick here is to ride the Houston Astros to cover and avoid the sweep against Pittsburgh.

The Panel Pick 2: Houston Astros -1.5 Runs - BetMGM -100

Oakland Athletics vs San Francisco Giants (O/U 7.5, ML -225, Giants)

The San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics complete their two-game series on Wednesday in San Francisco as Logan Webb takes the mound for the Giants while Ross Stripling pitches for the Athletics.

The concern with Webb is how cold he has been of late. He was cruising along last week against Los Angeles when pitch location got him in trouble.

He then allowed three of his four earned runs in the fourth and fifth innings, kept yielding runners on base and ultimately paid the price.

For the A's, Stripling has given up four or more earned runs in four of his previous five outings and has not got out of the sixth inning in more than a month.

Both teams can put up some runs even with cooler conditions by the bay. But not even temperatures in the 50s could chill these offenses against such pitching.

Take a chance on the Over here with baseball betting sites.

The Panel Pick 3: San Francisco and Oakland Over 7.5 Runs - FanDuel -125