Friday MLB Best Bet: Cubs vs. Red Sox

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 20 May 2011 17:55

Friday’s MLB best bet will be an easy winner if our handicapping is correct.

The 7:10 PM ET game between the Chicago Cubs (19-23) and the Boston Red Sox (23-20) has been selected as our MLB best bet for Friday night.  We won last time out with the San Diego Padres and this game should be another profitable selection in a season full of big wins.  Online sportsbooks have listed the Red Sox as large home favorites, and their 14-9 record at Fenway Park easily eclipses the 10-10 road mark that the Cubs have amassed.

We’ll have two left-handed starting pitchers today with Chicago going with Doug Davis (0-1, 1.00 WHIP, 1.80 ERA) and Boston leading out with Jon Lester (5-1, 1.25 WHIP, 3.28 ERA).  The Cubs are hitting .298 over their last 10 games, while the Red Sox have also been hot with a .279 mark over the same time span.  Chicago has crushed left-handed pitching this season (.293 average), while Boston is swatting .258 against the south paws.

Davis is a veteran pitcher but he’s also a guy that is getting up there in age and is no longer as effective as he once was.  Although Davis had a good start against the Red Sox in Fenway back in 2008, I think he’ll give up some runs with the Boston bats finally heating up.  Lester is coming off of two rough starts but he also drew tough assignments, having to travel to face the Blue Jays and Yankees.  Chicago has never squared off against Lester and it’s tough to pinpoint how he’ll do.

Ultimately I feel that the Cubs are worth a wager as huge underdogs in tonight’s MLB best bet.  Lester is a great pitcher and hard to locate, but I like the fact that Chicago has been crushing lefties this year.  Davis is a liability but he was solid in his first start of the season and Boston still has some offensive issues despite their recent improvements.  With Lester coming off of two poor starts, we just need to hope that he has a 3rd in a row.

Cubs 5

Red Sox 4