Best MLB Bets This Weekend | MLB Picks, August 19-20

This weekend is a significant one in Major League Baseball, as several contending teams go head to head in matchups that are significant to their playoff chances. Along with those key matchups, there are some interesting games between teams that are out of playoff contention. Here, we highlight a little bit of both of those columns in our best MLB bets for this weekend.

San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves

• Time: Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 7:20 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Logan Webb (SFG) vs Yonny Chirinos (ATL)
• Moneyline: Giants (-102) | Braves (-118)
• Runline: Giants +1.5 (-205) | Braves -1.5 (+170)
• Total: Over 9.5 (-102) | Under 9.5 (-118)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. Check out other MLB betting sites for more betting opportunities

My Pick: Giants Moneyline (-102)

Our first MLB best bet for this weekend is for the matchup between San Francisco Giants and Atlanta Braves on Saturday night. In that game, the Braves will look to secure their fourth victory in a row while the Giants look to stay in one of the three National League Wild Card spots. In this game, the Giants should be able to come away with the win, thanks in large part to the pitching matchup.

In this contest, Logan Webb takes the mound for the Giants, which has meant strong starts most of this year for San Francisco. Webb is just 9-9 on the season, but his 3.26 ERA and 157 strikeouts on the season are both well above league average. He should be able to outclass Yonny Chirinos, who comes into this game off of a less than stellar performance against the New York Mets.

Chirinos was staked to a lead against the Mets on Sunday night, but fell apart at the end of that start, igniting a rally that allowed the Mets to take a lead that they would not relinquish. Chirinos has an ERA of 5.22 this season, putting the Braves at a disadvantage early in this matchup. Look for the Giants to get after Chirinos early en route to a huge win for their NL Wild Card hopes.

New York Mets vs St. Louis Cardinals

• Time: Saturday, August 19, 2023 at 7:15 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Kodai Senga (NYM) vs Miles Mikolas (STL)
• Moneyline: Mets (-108) | Cardinals (-108)
• Runline: Mets -1.5 (+146) | Cardinals +1.5 (-178)
• Total: Over 8.5 (-110) | Under 8.5 (-110)

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

My Pick: Over 8.5

Next up in our MLB best bets for this weekend is a matchup between two of the most disappointing teams in baseball in 2023. The New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals were expected to be playoff teams before this season started, but neither are anywhere near postseason positions as the stretch run of the season approaches. Here, we will take the over in this game between struggling National League squads.

The pitching matchup for this game should help us reach the over, as Kodai Senga takes on Miles Mikolas. Senga has an ERA of 3.30 this season, but he has walked 59 batters on the season. His lack of control will help the Cardinals get some extra runners on base which will create extra scoring chances for the Cardinals throughout the early portions of this contest.

Mikolas, meanwhile, has been a disappointment for the Cardinals throughout the 2023 season. He is 6-8 with a 4.27 ERA on the year, and he is no stranger to getting lit up this year. While the Mets as a whole have been disappointing, they still have the kind of bats that can generate power and put some runs on the board to help us get to this over.

Pittsburgh Pirates vs Minnesota Twins

• Time: Sunday, August 20, 2023 at 2:10 PM ET
• Starting Pitchers: Osvaldo Bido (PIT) vs Dallas Keuchel (MIN)
• Moneyline: Pirates (+105) | Twins (-125)
• Runline: Pirates +1.5 (-185) | Twins -1.5 (+154)
• Total: Over 9 (-108) | Under 9 (-112)

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. 

My Pick: Pirates Moneyline (+105)

The final wager on our MLB best bets card for the weekend is Sunday’s interleague matchup between Central division teams. The Pittsburgh Pirates have a worse record than the Minnesota Twins to this point in the season. But the Pirates should have the advantage in this contest as a slight underdog, as they should be able to get the better of one of the worst starting pitchers still active in baseball today.

Dallas Keuchel has pitched in two games so far this season and looked good in his first start against the Arizona Diamondbacks. But he gave up six runs in 1.2 innings in his second start against the Philadelphia Phillies. We expect Keuchel to pitch poorly again here, as he enters this contest with a 9.45 ERA, even if that number comes from a very small sample size so far this season.