It’s Friday, which means you’re barely giving 20% effort at work and that all 30 MLB teams are in action. Honestly, it might be the best day of the week.
Let’s dive into the lines over on DraftKings Sportsbook and find a couple best bets on the diamond.
MLB Bets Bets: Miami Marlins at Seattle Mariners
Mariners -1.5 (-125)
This is sort of a perfect storm situation for the Mariners, who come into Friday’s action having won 10 of their last 13 games. First and foremost, this is about as lopsided as a pitching matchup can get. Logan Gilbert was a little shaky his last time out — giving up seven hits in 4.2 innings in Toronto — yet for the season as a whole, the right-hander sits first in qualified starters in strikeout rate (38.0%) and fifth in xERA (2.47). There just aren’t many pitchers in Gilbert’s class at the moment and Cal Quantrill certainly is not on that list. The 30-year-old comes into this tilt with an 8.31 ERA and more walks (9) than strikeouts (8) so far in 2025. This isn’t a new trend, either. Since the beginning of 2023, among pitchers with 250 innings, Quantrill’s 5.29 ERA is the third-worst in MLB.
That alone should be enough to have you back Seattle, but there’s more. I feel like Ron Popeil. Across the past two weeks, the Mariners lead all of baseball with a 141 wRC+. They also lead the American League in wOBA (.354). The past few seasons it would be difficult to trust Seattle on the run line, as it felt like the club exclusively won 1-0 games. That has not been the case over the last 14 days.
MLB Best Bets: Pittsburgh Pirates at Los Angeles Dodgers
Pirates ML (+180)
Call me a sucker, if you must, but this combination of a road game against the reigning champion Dodgers feels like the only way we’re ever getting Paul Skenes as this large an underdog ever again. The fact that Skenes hasn’t quite lived up to his own monstrous hype through his first five starts of the season probably accounts for some of this line, too. However, the surface stats and the advanced numbers tell a much different story. Skenes’ 2.06 xERA and 2.00 FIP are actually better marks than he had in his rookie campaign, yet a hilariously unsustainable 56.9% strand rate has been the RHP’s downfall in 2025. Opponent are hitting .176 off Skenes with no one on base, but .273 with runners in scoring position. That will not continue.
To be fair, Yoshinobu Yamamoto has been just as amazing as Skenes in his time in the majors, registering a 2.50 ERA and a 2.47 FIP in his 23 career starts. The Pittsburgh’s offense will be hard-pressed to give Skenes some run support, though it’s worth noting that the Pirates have been much improved with the bats in the past week. To wit, the team is slashing .301/.361/.457 across the past seven days, as Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds have come alive.
It’s also not like Los Angeles is some un-beatable Goliath. This is baseball. It’s 162 games. You’re likely going to lose at least 60 of them. Heck, the Dodgers enter Friday on a two-game losing streak and having dropped eight of their last 15 contests.
