VIP Picks 8/18/25

Real football this weekend! Let's start our week 2-0.

6:40 EST

Pirates (-110)

I’m betting this but I realize the recent trends are ugly for the Pirates losing 4 of their last 5 games. Paul Skenes is on the mound and despite having the best ERA in the league, he’s still just 7-9 on the season. With that said, the guy still has the best ERA in the league. On the flip side, Kevin Gausman will pitch for the Blue Jays and the Pirates have really good numbers against him hitting .364 so I feel good that they can get Skenes a few runs tonight.

7:15 EST

Parlay

Braves ML / Dodgers ML (-106)

Spencer Strider will pitch for the Braves and he’s struggled but the Braves have been hot winning 5 in a row and 8 of their last 10. Yoendrys Gomez is pitching for the White Sox and he’s kind of a wild card with a 5.56 ERA and pitching for his third team of the season. The Dodgers are teeing it high and letting it fly in Colorado against Kyle Freeland who is 3-12 with a 6.52 ERA at home this season. Yamamoto is pitching for the Dodgers and he only allowed 1 hit over 5 innings the last time he faced the Rockies in Colorado in an 8-1 win. Good value.