MLB Wednesday Picks, September 11

It’s home-stretch time for teams with their eyes on making the MLB playoffs and getting to play meaningful baseball in October. Every one of the 30 MLB teams is in action on today’s slate, with a quartet of afternoon games on the docket. Let’s get right into Wednesday’s MLB picks for September 11.

MLB Wednesday predictions

Chicago Cubs vs LA Dodgers - Mookie Betts Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105)

Tampa Bay Rays vs Philadelphia Phillies - Philadelphia Phillies ML (-165)

Cleveland Guardians vs Chicago White Sox Matthew Boyd Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-105)

MLB Wednesday Picks: Cubs vs Dodgers - Mookie Betts Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105)

We’ll begin our MLB picks for Wednesday with the Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, who has been on fire with a nine-game hitting streak and has hits in 15 of his last 16 games. The 31-year-old outfielder has torn up baseball with a .409/.480/.909 triple slash, good for a 1.389 OPS. Betts has three doubles, a triple, two home runs, and eight RBIs in the last seven days as the two-hole hitter for the Dodgers. 

After breaking his hand in mid-June, Betts returned in the middle of August and started out hot before dipping his average below .300 to a low of .287 on August 31. Since then, he’s been hammering the ball in his current hit streak. We’ll take Mookie Betts Over 1.5 Total Bases (+105) and ride this hot streak into Wednesday.

MLB Wednesday Picks: Tampa Bay Rays vs Philadelphia Phillies - Phillies ML (-165)

The next contest we’ll target for Wednesday’s MLB picks is a matchup between the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. Taking the bump for the Rays is the right-handed Shane Baz, while ace Zack Wheeler opposes him for the host Phillies. Wheeler has to be a top-two consensus favorite for the National League Cy Young Award with Braves’ lefty Chris Sale. All Wheeler has done since August is put up a 1.60 ERA and a 51:6 strikeout-to-walk ratio while giving up just eight earned runs in those seven starts.

Baz has been excellent in his own right, with a 3.06 ERA in his last six starts, but has not been a strikeout pitcher, with just 27 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. Keep in mind that Baz only has 19 career starts and is making his 11th start of the season after he missed a long period from July 2022 to the start of this season following Tommy John surgery. The Phillies might be too much for Baz to handle as they’ve won seven of their last nine games to keep pace with the Dodgers in the race to have the best record in the NL.

We’ll put our chips in with the Phillies on the money line (-165) this evening and back one of the best teams in baseball.

MLB Wednesday Picks: Guardians vs White Sox - Matthew Boyd Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-105)

Our final MLB best bet for Wednesday involves Guardians lefty Matthew Boyd, a veteran pitcher who just returned from Tommy John surgery and has given his playoff-bound team a huge shot in the arm every fifth day. Boyd has been sensational over his five starts this season, giving up more than one earned run just once while also boasting a 2.20 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 22.1 innings. What we’re looking for is strikeouts and he’s been home over the 4.5 mark in three of those five starts.

Against the moribund Chicago White Sox, Boyd should be able to rack up at least five strikeouts and go deeper into the game as he’s pitched at least six innings in his last three starts while giving up no more than four hits in any start. We love Boyd for tonight’s contest and we’ll take his Over 4.5 Strikeouts (-105) this afternoon.