MLB Picks: Betting Picks for Saturday, August 29

MLB Betting Expert Daniel E. Dobish scans the schedule for Saturday, and he looks to stay hot with two same-game parlay opportunities.

August 28, 2026

MLB Picks: Betting Picks for Saturday, August 29

By:

Daniel Dobish

August 28, 2026

MLB Picks

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MLB Picks Today: Expert MLB Picks for
Saturday, August 29

We're into the final weekend of August, and that means we're rounding the corner and headed for home in the 2026 Major League Baseball (MLB) season.

On Saturday, we have a total of 17 games, with a pair of doubleheaders on the schedule. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have a day-night doubleheader, meeting at 1:05 p.m. ET in Game 1 on MLB Network, and 7:15 p.m. ET in Game 2 on FOX. The Arizona Diamondbacks and San Francisco Giants meet in a day-night doubleheader, too, at 4:05 p.m. ET and 10:05 p.m. ET.

Last Saturday we stayed red-hot, going 3-0-1 (100.0%, +325), improving to 28-11-1 (71.8%, +1,715) across the previous nine Saturday columns. Let's keep up the good work, as we attempt for a 10th straight Saturday column without a losing record.

Let's continue to keep building our bankroll for the rest of the season!

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Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians: Expert Betting Tips and Analysis

The Royals (61-75) and Guardians (68-67) play in the second of a three-game set on Friday night at Progressive Field at 4:10 p.m. ET.

Kansas City (+120) picked up a 3-0 win behind RHP Michael Wacha (8 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 10 K) in the series opener, halting a seven-game win streak by Cleveland. The Royals improved to 11-1 in the past 12 games, as they might not be in the mix for a postseason spot, but Kansas City is taking its job very seriously down the stretch, playing spoiler for plenty of teams.

Cleveland is still two games clear of the Baltimore Orioles and Texas Rangers, both 66-69, for the final wild-card spot in the AL, and 2.5 games clear of the Toronto Blue Jays. Cleveland is easily the best of those teams, in terms of run differential, posting a minus-7, while the Rangers are minus-52, and the Orioles are minus-23.

The Royals use LHP Daniel Lynch (4-4, 2.93 ERA, 1.03 WHIP) for his fifth start, and 51st appearance. He is 3-3 with a 3.80 ERA in one road start and 23 relief appearances, while posting a 1.14 WHIP with 20 strikeouts in 23.2 IP.

The Guardians counter with LHP Foster Griffin (15-4, 3.19 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), and he is 3-1 with a 4.05 ERA and 1.45 WHIP across four starts with Cleveland.

For the Royals, the Under is 5-2-1 in the past eight games, including Friday's series opener (7.5). The Guardians have cashed low in the past two outings, while going 7-2 in the past nine games.

Cleveland is 26-19 vs. LHP this season, and 19-18 inside the AL Central. Kansas City is 11-28 vs. LHP, the worst record in the majors against lefties, while going 22-22 inside the division.

Let's back the Guardians to get the job done, and we'll go Under for the total.

MLB Best Bets for Royals at Guardians:

Guardians ML (-152 at FanDuel Sportsbook)
Under 8 Runs (-115 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Philadelphia Phillies at Los Angeles Angels: Saturday Night Baseball Insights

The Phillies (75-60) and the Angels (52-83) square off in the second of a three-game interleague series at The Big A. The Phillies picked up a 5-3 win as slight favorites (-116) as the total (7.5) just went Over. The Over is now 4-0 in the past four meetings in this series since July 18, 2025, and 9-1 across the past 10 meetings.

Philadelphia is 37-30 on the road, while L.A. has managed a 29-40 mark at home. The Phillies have posted a 22-18 mark vs. AL teams, while the Angels are 14-26 in interleague play, and just 13-28 vs. LHP this season.

The Phillies have won 11 of the past 13 games, while the Over has hit in five of the past seven games, and nine of the past 12 outings. The Phillies are averaging 6.0 runs per game (RPG) in the past 13 games, while allowing 4.0 RPG across the previous 11 outings.

The Angels have dropped five in a row, while the Over has connected in three of the past four games. L.A. has allowed 5.2 RPG in the previous five outings.

The Angels will be tasked with trying to solve All-Star LHP Cristopher Sanchez (16-4, 2.62 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), and he is 5-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.34 WHIP across his past seven starts in 41 IP. The Halos will start RHP Ryan Johnson (3-7, 5.75 ERA, 1.43 WHIP) in 13 starts and 16 appearances.

The pitching disparity leads us to Philadelphia to get the job done on the run line, and we'll take Philly to do most of the heavy lifting to get us across the finish line for the Over.