The 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season continues with 15 total games Wednesday, including four games with a first pitch of 3:10 p.m. ET or earlier. That includes the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs meeting at 2:20 p.m. ET on MLB Network. At 7:05 p.m. ET, the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Yankees battle on Amazon’s Prime Video, whilethe Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers square off at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
Let’s build our bankroll with our best MLB picks & predictions for Wednesday, August 5th.
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Wednesday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Washington Nationals (+138) at Philadelphia Phillies (-164) | O/U 9.5 (-115/-105)
The Nationals (55-60) and Phillies (61-53) meet in the third installment of a four-game series at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia at 6:40 p.m. ET.
Washington heads into this battle looking to halt a seven-game skid dating back to July 28. The offense has bottomed out, going for just 16 runs scored in the slide, or 2.3 runs per game (RPG). The Under is 5-1-1 in the span, too.
Philadelphia picked up a 5-0 win as heavy favorites (-300) on Tuesday night as the Under (8.5) connected. The Phillies have won four in a row, with three of those victories coming by way of shutout. In Tuesday’s win, new acquisition 2B Luis Arraez joined the fray, going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBI, while SS Trea Turner made his former organization pay, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.
The Nationals turn to RHP “Swervin” Jake Irvin (2-5, 5.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) back for just his second start since May 23 after a two-month absence on the 60-day injured list due to a strained shoulder. While Irvin has been brutal in the nation’s capital, he is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA across 33.2 IP in seven road starts which isn’t that bad. Teams are hitting just .163 against him on the road, while going .330 at home.
For the Phillies, rookie RHP Andrew Painter (1-8, 6.72 ERA, 1.61 WHIP) takes the ball looking for his first win since March 31, which was his Major League debut against the Nationals. He allowed just one run and four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts across five innings in that victory. He hasn’t won since, and he was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley in mid-June. Painter returned July 31, posting a quality start, with two runs allowed with three hits and three walks across six innings in a no-decision in Baltimore.
While Painter was much better in his return from banishment to the minors, we’re still going to side with the Over based on Painter’s giving ways, as well as Irvin’s overall shaky pitching this season. But, we’ll also go with Washington as moderate underdogs based on Painter’s ineffectiveness this season.
Picks: Nationals Moneyline (+138) & Over 9.5 Runs (-115)
Detroit Tigers (+124) at Seattle Mariners (-146) | O/U 8 (-108/-112)
The Tigers (55-58) and Mariners (55-59) meet at T-Mobile Park in Seattle at 9:40 p.m. ET in the final time slot of the evening.
Detroit might have traded LHP Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the deadline, but the team has looked rejuvenated lately, winning four straight road games to start the trip, outscoring the opposition 40-7. Perhaps the Tigers were a bit hasty in throwing in the towel and dumping Skubal?
In Tuesday’s series opener, the Tigers (+110) blasted the Mariners 8-0 as the Over (7.5) just came through. It was the second consecutive shutout victory for the Tigers, and third in six games. The meat of the order was raking Tuesday, as C Dillon Dingler went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and two runs scored out of the third spot, while RF Riley Greene was 3-for-5 with a solo shot and two runs scored out of the cleanup spot. In the fifth spot, DH Colt Keith ended up 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI, both with two outs.
On the flip side, Seattle was limited to just four hits, with 2B Cole Young going hitless in two at-bats with two walks, and CF Julio Rodriguez going 1-for-3 with a walk. Those were the only Mariners to reach base twice in the series opener.
The Mariners turn to RHP Bryan Woo (7-8, 4.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP), and he has amazing, stark splits. He is a dismal 1-8 on the road with a 6.71 ERA across 63 IP in 12 starts, while teams are hitting .300 against him. At home, he is 6-0 with a 2.20 ERA across 57.1 IP in nine starts, and teams are hitting just .167 against him at T-Mobile Park.
The Over has cashed in seven straight games for the Tigers dating back to July 27, with the team averaging 10.1 runs per game (RPG) in the past seven outings. For the Mariners, while there were blanked Tuesday, the offense has still put up a respectable 3.8 RPG, while giving up 5.6 RPG in the past 10 outings. The Over is 3-1 in the past four games for the M’s, while going 8-3 across the previous 11 outings.
Let’s definitely go for the Over in this middle game, while taking the Mariners at home, based on Woo’s splits.
Picks: Mariners Moneyline (-146) & Over 8 Runs (-106)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe