The 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) schedule features another full slate today, with 15 games. We’ll have six afternoon games with first pitch at 4:10 p.m. ET or earlier, and nine evening games, including two West Coast contests. The Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs will be available on MLB Network at 7:40 p.m. ET. Let’s build our bankroll with our best MLB picks & predictions for Wednesday, September 2nd.
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Wednesday’s Best MLB Picks & Predictions
Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook | All bets are for 1 unit
San Francisco Giants (+132) at Pittsburgh Pirates (-156) | O/U 8.5 (+100/-122)
The Giants (57-82) and the Pirates (68-71) meet at PNC Park in Pittsburgh at 6:40 p.m. ET for the second of a three-game set.
We had a slugfest in Tuesday’s series opener, looking more like a beer-league softball game than an MLB contest, as the Pirates outlasted the Giants 13-12. The game featured a total of 35 hits, with three players producing at least four hits. We also saw six extra-base hits, which isn’t what you’d think you’d get in a pitching matchup between Logan Webb and Paul Skenes.
On Wednesday, Giants righty Landen Roupp (8-13, 4.25 ERA, 1.31 WHIP) takes the ball, while the Pirates counter with righty Jared Jones (2-6, 4.83 ERA, 1.28 WHIP). As long as the offenses didn’t rain themselves out on Tuesday, we should get another high-scoring game with those two on the mound, as both pitchers have been very giving.
Jones is 0-5 with a 5.79 ERA and 1.50 WHIP across 32.2 innings in his past seven starts, while Roupp is 1-5 with a 5.05 ERA and 1.43 WHIP in 35.2 innings in the same seven-start span.
After 25 combined runs on Tuesday, our best bet Wednesday is the over. We’re simply focused on that and not taking sides. You can get it at even money, but it’s worth playing all the way up to -120 if you have to.
Picks: Over 8.5 Runs (+100)
Milwaukee Brewers (-162) at Chicago Cubs (+136) | O/U 8.5 (-104/-118)
The Brewers (86-53) and the Cubs (78-61) continue their crucial National League Central series at Wrigley Field, and the pitching matchup is a bit on the disparate side.
Milwaukee rolls with All-Star righty Jacob Misiorowski (14-5, 1.73 ERA, 0.75 WHIP), who is showing no signs of letting up. He is 4-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 0.75 WHIP in his past seven starts across 40 innings, striking out 55 batters in the stretch. He is 2-0 with a 0.75 ERA in two starts against the Cubs, allowing just a solo home run in 12 innings with five walks and 16 strikeouts.
For the Cubs, they’ll use lefty David Peterson (7-7, 5.11 ERA, 1.52 WHIP). He has been a little better since coming over from the New York Mets, going 4-1 with a 3.90 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP in 55.1 innings in 10 starts and 11 appearances.
As such, let’s go with the Brewers as moderate favorites on the road, and we’ll go low on the total with Misiorowski on the bump.
Picks: Brewers Moneyline (-162) & Under 8.5 Runs (-118)
New York Yankees (-166) at Los Angeles Angels (+140) | O/U 7 (-105/-115)
We normally just pick a couple of games, but we’ll go with a triple play today, especially since we only made one pick in the first contest.
The Yankees (79-60) and Angels (53-86) square off at Angel Stadium in Anaheim at 9:38 p.m. ET in one of the two West Coast starts. Righty Cam Schlittler (12-6, 2.09 ERA, 0.97 WHIP) makes his 29th start of the season, and he’ll be countered by lefty Reid Detmers (4-8, 3.54 ERA, 1.07 WHIP).
Detmers has been surprisingly effective lately, posting a 1.79 ERA and 0.94 WHIP across his past 40.1 innings in seven starts, striking out 44 batters along the way. Schlittler is 3-0 with a 1.77 ERA and 1.01 WHIP in the same span, striking out 56 batters in 40.2 innings. This might be a pitcher’s duel we didn’t necessarily see coming a couple of weeks ago.
The Yankees are 30-18 against left-handed starting pitchers this season, and they’re 17-13 versus American League West teams. We’re backing the better team, the Yankees, though the Angels might make bettors sweat a bit.
With a total of seven runs, that’s an awfully low number, especially since we’ve had 10.5 combined runs per game in the first two matchups in this series. Let’s go high on the total, but don’t get carried away.
Picks: Yankees Moneyline (-166) & Over 7.0 Runs (-105)
Joe Williams is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Joe, check out his archive and follow him @winwithjoe