Five days remain in the 2025 MLB regular season, and four playoffs spots still are up for grabs. Races for three division titles and two wild card berths are extremely tight, with teams being separated by 1.5 games or fewer in each.

One of those close battles is for the third wild card in the National League. The New York Mets (81-76) enter Wednesday holding the position, with the Cincinnati Reds (80-77) and Arizona Diamondbacks (80-77) both trailing by one game with five games remaining.

The Mets rallied from a five-run deficit to defeat the Chicago Cubs 9-7 on Tuesday in a hard-fought opener of their three-game series to put control of the spot in their own hands. They look to maintain it Wednesday behind rookie right-hander Jonah Tong (2-2, 5.94 ERA), who is coming off a win against the San Diego Padres in which he allowed an unearned run and recorded eight strikeouts over five innings.

Chicago (88-69), which has clinched a wild card berth but is just 1.5 games ahead of San Diego for the top spot, counters with Matthew Boyd (13-8, 3.20). The 34-year-old left-hander ranks seventh in the NL in ERA but has yielded four or more runs in five of his last six starts.

The Cubs are -121 betting favorites (wager $121 to win $100), while the Mets are priced at +100 (wager $100 to win $100) in the latest MLB betting odds for Cubs vs. Mets. 

In addition to the Mets-Cubs matchup, there are 12 other games on the MLB evening schedule. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Wednesday, Sept. 24. All times Eastern

MLB best bets, where to watchRays at Orioles

Time: 6:35 p.m. | Location: Baltimore | TV: FS1 | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Orioles +1.5 (-190) | Expert: Junior Caminero to homer (+291)

Pride is the only thing these American League East rivals are playing for, as both have been eliminated from playoff contention. Baltimore lost three of four before posting a 6-0 victory in Tuesday’s series opener to take a 6-5 lead in the season series. The loss was the Rays’ 12th in 17 contests since they recorded a season-high seven-game winning streak from Aug. 29-Sept. 4 to pull within two of the final AL wild card spot. The SportsLine Projection Model sees the Orioles covering the run line in 64% of its simulations as it projects a score of 4.7-4.3 in favor of Tampa Bay. SportsLine MLB expert Jake Fetner likes Rays slugger Junior Caminero, who is fourth in the AL with a career-high 44 home runs, to end his six-game drought and go deep Wednesday. He feels Caminero wiill connect against Baltimore’s Tyler Wells, who has served up a homer in each of his previous three starts this season.

Mets at Cubs

Time: 9:05 p.m. | Location: Chicago | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Over 7 (-120) | Expert: Jonah Tong Over 14.5 outs recorded (-136)

After sweeping the Philadelphia Phillies from Aug. 25-27 to get to within four games of first place in the NL East, the Mets lost 15 of 23 and put their postseason hopes in peril. It looked like they would get bleaker on Tuesday as they trailed 6-1 after four innings, but the club rallied to take the lead and squandered it before Francisco Alvarez belted what proved to be a game-winning two-run homer in the eighth. The loss was the fifth in a row for the Cubs, who are looking to hold on to the first NL wild card spot and gain home-field advantage for their imminent matchup against San Diego. The SportsLine Projection Model doesn’t believe runs will be at a premium in this contest, as the Over hits 71% of the time in its simulations. SportsLine expert Angelo Magliocca (+695 on his last 74 MLB player prop picks) thinks Jonah Tong will work at least five innings as New York’s bullpen was called upon to get 23 outs in the series opener.

More MLB best bets

Time: 7:30 p.m., Thursday | Location: Greenville, N.C. | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)

SportsLine picks — Model: Under 52.5 (-108) | Expert: Army +5.5 (-115)

Army (1-2, 0-1 American) has played nothing but close contests so far this season and easily could be undefeated as both of its losses came in overtime, including a 45-38 setback against North Texas last Saturday in its first conference game of the year. East Carolina (2-2), which is coming off a 34-13 loss to BYU, won its first eight meetings with the Black Knights before falling 45-28 at West Point last season. Three of the Pirates‘ four games this year have finished with fewer than 48 combined points scored, and the SportsLine Projection Model is leaning toward the Under for Thursday’s contest, saying it hits in 71% of its simulations. SportsLine football expert Emory Hunt, who is +636 on his last 19 against-the-spread picks involving Army, sees the Black Knights covering as he notes their ability to score quickly and often.