While the majority of the action on Wednesday’s 15-game MLB slate takes place in the afternoon, the marquee matchup is in the evening as the New York Yankees visit the Toronto Blue Jays for the rubber match of the three-game series between the top two teams in the American League East.
Toronto (59-42) saw its division lead over New York (56-45) shrink to three games with Tuesday’s 5-4 loss, which ended the Blue Jays’ franchise-record 11-game home winning streak. The Yankees squandered a 4-1 lead before Ben Rice belted a solo homer with one out in the ninth inning, helping New York end its five-game slide against Toronto.
Max Fried (11-3, 2.43 ERA) looks to improve to 4-0 lifetime against the Blue Jays as he takes the mound for the Yankees. Toronto, which is an AL-best 36-17 at home this season, counters with Chris Bassitt (10-4, 3.89). New York is a -139 betting favorite in the latest SportsLine consensus odds, and the total is set at 8.5.
In addition to the Yankees-Blue Jays matchup, there are four other games on the MLB evening schedule, a WNBA contest between a pair of second-place teams and the 2025 MLS All-Star Game.
Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, July 23.
MLB best bets, where to watch
Red Sox at Phillies
Time: 7:05 p.m. ET | Location: Philadelphia | TV: ESPN
SportsLine picks — Model: Over 8.5 | Expert: Red Sox +138
After losing two of three to the Los Angeles Angels in their first series following the All-Star break, the Phillies won the first two contests of their three-game set against the Red Sox thanks to a pair of strong performances from their starting pitchers. Zack Wheeler gave up two runs and recorded 10 strikeouts over six frames in the opener, which Philadelphia won on a catcher’s interference call with the bases loaded in the 10th inning. Cristopher Sanchez followed that up by tossing a four-hitter in his third career complete game on Tuesday as the Phillies posted a 4-1 victory.
The SportsLine Projection Model likes the Over in this matchup, as it sees the teams combining for at least nine runs in more than 64% of its simulations. Meanwhile, SportsLine expert Bruce Marshall (+1134 in MLB on the season) feels the Phillies will have trouble against Boston right-hander Lucas Giolito, who suffered his first loss in 12 starts last time out after allowing only three earned runs across 38 2/3 innings in his previous six outings, and fail to complete the series sweep.
Yankees at Blue Jays
Time: 7:07 p.m. ET | Location: Toronto | TV: Prime Video
SportsLine pick — Model: Blue Jays +1.5 (-144)
Toronto swept a four-game series against the Yankees at Rogers Centre earlier this month and won the opener of this set 4-1 before falling on Tuesday. After being held to one unearned run over six innings by Fried in late April, the Blue Jays had better success against the left-hander on July 1, tagging him for four runs on three hits – including a pair of home runs – and two walks over six frames. Fried has yielded at least three runs in each of his three starts this month after doing so just once in five turns in June. Conversely, Bassitt has given up one run over 12 1/3 innings in his last two starts. The model sees the Blue Jays winning by several runs and increasing their division lead to four games.
More MLB best bets
WNBA best bets, where to watch
Dream at Mercury
Time: 10 p.m. ET | Location: Phoenix | TV: CBS Sports Network
Both teams occupy second place in their respective conferences, with Atlanta 3 1/2 games behind the New York Liberty in the East and Phoenix trailing the Minnesota Lynx by 4 1/2 games in the West. The Mercury are 9-3 at home this season, while the Dream are just 5-7 on the road. Phoenix (15-7), which owns the third-best record in the WNBA, had its three-game winning streak halted with a 79-66 loss to Minnesota just before the All-Star break. Atlanta (13-10) returned from the break Tuesday and suffered its third loss in four games, an 87-72 road setback against the Las Vegas Aces. This is the first of three meetings between the teams this season after the Mercury won three of their four matchups in 2024 – including both at home.
MLS best bets, where to watch
MLS All-Stars vs.Liga MX All-Stars
Time: 9 p.m. ET | Location: Austin, Tex. | TV: Prime Video
This is the fourth time in five years this format will be used. The MLS All-Stars won the first two editions, defeating the Liga MX All-Stars on penalty kicks in 2021 and 2-1 in regulation the following year before the Mexican side cruised to a 4-1 triumph last year. The Liga MX All-Star roster features Juan Brunetta, a former Balon de Oro winner who scored in last year’s All-Star Game, and Sergio Ramos, the legendary former Real Madrid and Spain captain. The MLS side will be headlined by one of the league’s co-leaders in goals, Sam Surridge of Nashville SC. With 18 tallies, Surridge is tied with Lionel Messi, who – along with Inter Miami teammate Jordi Alba – won’t participate in the contest despite being voted to the roster.
Looking ahead: 3M Open
Time: 4 p.m. ET, Thursday | Location: Blaine, Minn. | TV: Golf Channel, CBS
SportsLine expert picks: Mike McClure’s leaderboard
The 2025 3M Open tees off Thursday, with 12 of the top 50 in World Ranking teeing off from TPC Twin Cities. Among those are Wyndham Clark, Sam Burns and Akshay Bhatia, in addition to major winners such as Adam Scott and Zach Johnson. Each of the last four champions of this event are also competing in the 3M Open 2025, including the defending winner in Jhonattan Vegas.
SportsLine data analyst Mike McClure’s golf model has nailed 16 majors entering the weekend and is up more than $8,500 on best bets since the June 2020 PGA restart. Check out the link above to see his projected leaderboard and strongest value plays.
