MLB Picks: MLB Betting Picks for Saturday, August 8

MLB Betting Expert Daniel E. Dobish takes a look at a pair of American League clashes on Saturday, offering up picks and predictions for both games.

August 7, 2026

MLB Picks: MLB Betting Picks for Saturday, August 8

By:

Daniel Dobish

August 7, 2026

MLB Picks

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MLB Picks Today: Expert MLB Picks for
Saturday, August 8

It's Saturday, and, as usual, we have a very busy schedule. There are just three afternoon games, with a first pitch between 3:05 p.m. ET and 4:10 p.m. ET, including the Athletics and Boston Red Sox on FS1. The rest of the games are at 6:05 p.m. ET and after.

We have three national-regional games on FOX at 7:15 p.m. ET, as the Baltimore Orioles meet the Texas Rangers, the Cleveland Guardians and Chicago White Sox square off, or the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants battle. Check your local listings. We also have a long west coast start at 9:50 p.m. ET, as the Tampa Bay Rays and Seattle Mariners continue their series.

After a red-hot streak in the previous five columns, going 18-5 (78.3%, +1,236), we ran aground a little bit last Saturday. Still, 2-2 (50.0%, -21) isn't a killer, and that's still 20-7 (74.1%, +1,215) in the past six weekend columns. You can't win them all, but you can certainly try.

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

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Cleveland Guardians at Chicago White Sox: Expert Betting Tips and Analysis

The Guardians (58-59) meet the White Sox (59-56) for the second installment in a crucial three-game series in the American League Central Division race.

The White Sox had opened up a three-game lead on the Guards and Minnesota Twins heading into Friday's series opener, but Cleveland blasted Chicago 8-2 as moderate favorites (-138) behind All-Star LHP Parker Messick (7 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 8 K). While the southpaw allowed two solo homers to the Pale Hose, he also received two homers in support. CF-LF Steven Kwan finished 3-for-5 with a solo homer, just his second of the season, while scoring two runs. LF-RF Angel Martinez went bonkers, going 2-for-5 with a grand slam and a career-high six RBI.

Cleveland desperately needed to pull out of a nosedive which saw it bumped from the final wild-card spot in the AL temporarily, but it is still very much in the hunt for the postseason despite being a game under .500.

RHP Gavin Williams (11-6, 3.56 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) takes the ball looking to keep the Guards in the win column. He'll be opposed by LHP Anthony Kay (8-5, 4.01 ERA, 1.35 WHIP).

While Williams has been one of the more consistent Cleveland pitchers, he is just 6-4 with a 4.34 ERA and 1.09 WHIP on the road this season, surrendering 12 homers in 66.1 IP across 11 road outings.

On the flip side, Kay is 5-3 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 58.1 IP in 10 home starts and 12 total appearances, while serving up just four of his 14 homers at Rate Field.

The Guardians are 23-17 vs. LHP this season, while both teams are 18-13 inside the division. We'll lean to Cleveland, while going Under on the total. While Cleveland has cashed high in four in a row, the last Under came in when Williams was on the bump. The total has gone low in each of the past six starts with Williams on the bump, including July 3 against the White Sox opposite Kay.

MLB Best Bets for Guardians at White Sox:

Guardians ML (-120 at Bet365 Sportsbook)
Under 8 Runs (-105 at FanDuel Sportsbook)

Baltimore Orioles at Texas Rangers: Saturday Night Baseball Insights

The Orioles (56-60) and Rangers (58-58) square off at Globe Life Field in Arlington at 7:15 p.m. ET.

Texas edged Baltimore 2-1 on Friday night, as the Orioles squandered a tremendous effort by RHP Shane Baz (8 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 9 K) in a complete-game loss. The Rangers scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, thanks to DH Joc Pederson, and that's all Baz allowed.

The Rangers have won five of the past six meetings in this series since July 1, 2025, with the Under cashing in three of the past five outings.

RHP Jacob deGrom (7-7, 3.96 ERA, 1.14 WHIP) looks to bounce back after getting trucked in Houston last time out, allowing five runs, seven hits and five walks in 3.1 IP in a 5-4 loss. He hasn't won in four starts since last tasting victory in Cleveland on June 30.

The Orioles turn to RHP Kyle Bradish (7-10, 3.79 ERA, 1.36 WHIP), who is also looking to bounce back from a loss last time out. He hasn't won in the past two starts, but the good news is that he has allowed just one home run in his past four outings, and two homers in the previous eight starts since June 17.

We're going to back the Rangers as moderate favorites, while going low on the total, even though 7.5 is a rather low number.