The 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season is really in the dog days of summer now. The non-waiver trade deadline is in the rearview mirror, and contenders and pretenders are really starting to separate now. The evening window features nine games, including a pair of West Coast tilts. We’ll focus on the pair of 10:00 p.m. ET first pitches, including an ESPN game featuring the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels. Let’s build our bankroll with our best MLB picks & predictions for Wednesday, August 12th.
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Wednesday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Kansas City Royals (+180) at Los Angeles Dodgers (-194) | O/U 9.0 (-112/-108)
The Royals (49-72) and Dodgers (72-48) wrap up a three-game Interleague series tonight at Chavez Ravine, and it actually has been a pretty entertaining series despite the disparate records.
Kansas City has had L.A. on the ropes both nights of the series, but ultimately folded in the end, allowing Dodger Blue to escape with a pair of one-run victories as gigantic favorites. However, if you laid the run and a half with the Dodgers the past two nights, you’re not terribly happy. The over has cashed in both games, though.
The Royals slipped to 20-42 on the road this season, and they’ve dropped five of the past six games, but three of those losses were by a single run, including the first two of the series. Kansas City has played four one-run games in the past seven outings, going 1-3. The Over has connected three times in a row and in four of the five outings. However, even if they’ve been competitive in this series, that’s now six consecutive road losses for Kansas City.
The Dodgers still have plenty of work to do to get back into the good graces of bettors. They are just 3-8 in the past 11 games, and each of those wins was by a single run despite being favorites of -185 or higher.
The over has cashed in the past two games, as their offense has scored 11 total runs, the most in consecutive outings since they scored 13 runs in a two-game span from July 22nd to July 24th on the road against the Mets and Phillies. It’s the most runs in consecutive games at home since early July against the San Diego Padres, while L.A. scored 16 total runs in two outings.
While lefty Daniel Lynch (4-3, 2.45 ERA, 1.01 WHIP) has been impressive for the Royals, the Dodgers are using lefty Eric Lauer (6-6, 4.89 ERA, 1.26 WHIP). The southpaw is 5-1 with a 3.72 ERA and 1.11 WHIP since joining the Dodgers. The Royals are just 9-26 versus lefties, the worst mark in the Majors.
We’re going to bank on the Royals again, though, despite their struggles versus left-handed pitchers, and hope they can keep it close in the finale. We’ll go with the over, too.
Picks: Royals +1.5 (-125) & Over 9.0 Runs (-112)
Texas Rangers (-128) at Los Angeles Angels (+120) | O/U 9.0 (-105/-115)
The Rangers (60-60) and Angels (46-74) meet at 10:00 p.m. ET on ESPN. Won’t that be a ratings bonanza?
The Halos have held their own against the Rangers this season, winning five of the first eight meetings between the division rivals, including a 3-2 win as moderate home underdogs (+135) on Tuesday night as the under (nine) cashed for the second straight outing.
The Rangers enter play a half-game behind the first-place Houston Astros in the American League West, and they have a 17-21 record inside the division to blame for the fact they’re not on top. The Angels have caused some of the damage, too.
Texas turns to righty Cal Quantrill (4-4, 3.56 ERA, 1.19 WHIP) to get the job done, while L.A. has struggling righty rookie George Klassen (0-1, 7.27 ERA, 2.88 WHIP) for his fourth-career MLB start. He has allowed at least four walks in each of his first three outings, so that’s something Klassen must improve in a hurry if he is to have any lasting success.
The Rangers have won five of the past seven games, and the under is 5-1 in the past six outings. And, the under is 10-1 in the past 11 games for the Angels. However, working against the very giving Klassen, the Rangers should be able to generate plenty of offense and baserunners. Let’s lay the run and a half with the Rangers, and we’ll go with the over, despite the under trends for both teams.
Picks: Rangers -1.5 (+125) & Over 9.0 Runs (-105)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe