Sunday MLB Best Bets: Back Zack Wheeler and Shohei Ohtani

There is a line forming in the Dodgers' clubhouse to welcome Tarik Skubal and perhaps stay in place to accept congratulations for another World Series.

The Dodgers landed Skubal in a blockbuster with the Tigers late Saturday to bolster their odds as favorites.

They're also favorites Sunday in the series finale with the smoking-hot Red Sox.

Philadelphia Phillies at Baltimore Orioles, 1:35 p.m. ET

Baltimore bowed to Cristopher Sanchez on Saturday, whiffing 11 times in a futile three-hit shutout loss to the dominant Philadelphia left-hander. G'luck, fellas, here comes Zack Wheeler.

The righty had at least nine strikeouts in four of his five July starts and is 10-2 with a 2.53 ERA this season.

Against the O's biggest bats, Wheeler has been historically excellent. Pete Alonso has 10 hits in 41 at-bats but none are home runs and he struck out 13 times.

Philadelphia to win (-136 at DraftKings), Zach Wheeler over 7.5 strikeouts (-111 at DraftKings)

Boston Red Sox at Los Angeles Dodgers, 7:20 p.m. ET

Obviously the masses are rolling into Dodger Stadium for a Sunday primetime game to see ... lefty Jake Bennett?

Well, maybe that's a stretch. But Bennett has been excellent on the road. In five starts away from Fenway he has surrendered nine runs and two homers.

Things change in L.A., where the lineup is loaded and balance makes pitchers work to record outs in the book. Bennett (2.74 ERA in 2026) has never faced any of the Dodgers' regulars.

That includes Shohei Ohtani, who is in the top 12 in MLB in batting average and home runs and tied for second with a .929 OPS. In the past five games, he's 9 for 19 at the plate with two home runs and four doubles.

Dodgers -1.5 run line, Shohei Ohtani over 1.5 total bases