Top 4 MLB Picks & Predictions: Wednesday (9/16)
The 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) regular season is winding down, with about 10-12 games remaining for each team. We have a couple of evening games we’ll focus on, including the Miami Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks doing battle in the desert in a game with real implications for the National League Wild Card race. Let’s build our bankroll with our best MLB picks & predictions for Wednesday, September 16th.
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Wednesday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
Seattle Mariners (-142) at Los Angeles Angels (+120) | O/U 7.5 (-120/-102)
The Mariners (70-82) and the Angels (58-93) are battling on Wednesday night at Angel Stadium, and while Seattle isn’t quite eliminated from the playoff chase, they’re in the rare spot where it is 6.5 games back of the top spot in the American League West and seven back in the Wild Card race. With just 10 games remaining, the math won’t math any longer.
The Angels have not been helping the Mariners at all. The Halos have won both of the first two meetings in this series, including a 2-1 pitcher’s duel on Tuesday night as moderate underdogs (+138), as the under (8.0) cashed. If Seattle fails to make the playoffs, and that’s looking likely, it has the Halos to blame. Seattle is just 4-4 this season against Los Angeles.
The Mariners turn to righty George Kirby (9-11, 4.25 ERA, 1.36 WHIP), while the Angels counter with lefty Yusei Kikuchi (1-5, 4.75 ERA, 1.49 WHIP), a former Mariner.
Seattle has posted a 24-21 record inside the division, while L.A. is 23-22 against the American League West. The Mariners are 24-27 versus lefties this season, and that is bad news heading into the series finale.
If you’re kicking the tires on some props, consider Randy Arozarena, who has three homers in 28 career at-bats against Kikuchi, while Taylor Ward is hitting .357 (5 for 14) with a double, two homers and four RBI in his career against Kikuchi. While that sounds great for the Mariners, Kirby is just 3-6 with a 5.53 ERA and a .333 opponents’ batting average on the road this season across 71.2 innings in 13 starts.
We’re going to stick with the Angels on the Moneyline, as they have the hammer out and are looking to add nails to the Mariners’ coffin. We’ll go with the over, as both starting pitchers have ugly numbers. I’d bet more aggressively on the over as a straight play.
Picks: Angels Moneyline (+120) & Over 7.5 Runs (-120)
Miami Marlins (+114) at Arizona Diamondbacks (-134) | O/U 8.5 (-128/+104)
The Marlins (75-77) meet the Diamondbacks (80-72) to wrap up a crucial series that nobody saw coming. Miami and Arizona in September didn’t look like an important series when the season started.
Arizona won 8-7 in the series opener on Monday, while Miami doubled up the Snakes 4-2 on Tuesday as underdogs (+128), as the Under (8.5) cashed. Miami has won three of the past four games, averaging 5.3 runs per game. The over is 8-2 in Miami’s past 10 games and 10-3 across the past 13 outings.
The Marlins are still alive for a postseason spot, but they’re 7.5 games behind the San Diego Padres for the final National League Wild Card spot, so time is ticking with 10 games to play. The odds aren’t good. The Diamondbacks are also giving chase to the Padres, just 2.5 games back. Miami has a +7 run differential on the season, while Arizona is at +1.
Righty Ryan Gusto (1-5, 4.14 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) goes for the gusto on Wednesday night, and he is opposed by righty Merrill Kelly (9-13, 4.97 ERA, 1.46 WHIP). The latter is 1-4 with a 4.78 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over his past seven starts, while he has a 5.83 ERA and 1.55 WHIP in 12 home starts this season.
We’re going to go with the over in this one, too, similar to the game above. And let’s roll with the Marlins, as Gusto just can’t be trusted, although Merrill doesn’t give us the warm and tingles, either.
Picks: Diamondbacks Moneyline (-134) & Over 8.5 Runs (-128)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe