Chicago Cubs vs NY Yankees | MLB Odds Favorites to Win

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Arguably the two most popular franchises in Major League Baseball are the Chicago Cubs and New York Yankees. They don’t play very often, so it will be a bit of an event when they open a series in the Bronx on Friday night with the Yankees as heavy favorites on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Cubs at Yankees MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 7:05 PM ET
Where: Yankee Stadium
Probable pitchers (away/home): Wade Miley/Luis Severino
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -240, Cubs +220 (total 9)

Why Bet on Chicago?

The Cubs are on pace for a 95-loss season heading into this weekend’s three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

The Cubs took care of some business during Thursday’s off day in New York as the team and All-Star catcher Willson Contreras reached an agreement on a contract for the 2022 season worth $9.625 million instead of going to arbitration. Contreras, 30, is in the midst of his best offensive year, batting .277 with 10 home runs and 23 RBIs in 47 games. It’s all but a lock that Contreras is traded by the Aug. 2 deadline with the Cubs rebuilding and him an upcoming free agent.

Chicago enters on a three-game losing streak but hasn’t played since Tuesday’s 9-3 loss in Baltimore as Wednesday’s game there was postponed by rain and then the Cubs were off Thursday. The Cubs might get back Rookie of the Year candidate Seiya Suzuki on Friday. Suzuki, who has been sidelined since spraining his left ring finger on a slide May 26 in Cincinnati, is just one of several players on the IL who are eligible to return already or will be by Friday.

Suzuki, who started the year scorching hot, had gone cold prior to the injury, slashing.211/.279/.338 in the month of May. His patient approach, at times, looked almost too patient and on a nightly basis, borderline calls on the corners of the plate didn’t go his way, only exacerbating his struggles.

One of the most underrated Cubs has been Patrick Wisdom. Friday will be his 162^nd career game with the Cubs, so basically a full season. So far: 40 homers, 92 RBIs, .805 OPS. Wisdom also has 228 strikeouts in 590 plate appearances across parts of three seasons with the Cubs. He’s not a contact hitter (.227 batting average), an on-base machine (30 percent) or a young player (30 years old). But he’s a plus defender at third base, athletic enough to play center field on occasion, and a versatile option if the Cubs need a first baseman or a corner outfielder.

After Wednesday’s rainout, Cubs skipper David Ross has decided to shuffle his rotation and Kyle Hendricks will no longer start against the Yankees on Friday. Instead, lefty Wade Miley (shoulder) will return from the injured list to start against the Yankees. It’s the first day that he’s eligible to return. Miley boasts a 3.38 ERA, 1.19 WHIP and 10/7 K/BB ratio over his first 16 innings on the season.

Why Bet on New York?

The Yankees became just the seventh Major League team in the last 48 years (since 1975) to win at least 40 of their first 56 games of a season. Their 15 comeback wins are tied with Colorado and San Francisco for the most in the Majors this season. The Yankees are 35-4 when they score at least three runs.

New York is 12-4 (.750) all-time vs. the Cubs, tied for the Yankees’ best winning percentage vs. any opponent (9-3 vs. St. Louis) and tied for the fourth-best record by any team vs. any opponent in MLB history (minimum 10 games).

It’s right-hander Luis Severino (4-1) on the mound. Severino recorded 10 strikeouts over seven shutout innings last Saturday in a win over the Tigers. Severino authored a dominant performance by limiting the Tigers to just a pair of baserunners over seven frames, and retiring the final 13 batters he faced. The lone hit off Severino was in second inning when veteran Miguel Cabrera roped a hot shot that deflected off shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa and careened into left field. After Cabrera’s hit, Severino retired 16 of the next 17 and 12 straight before retiring the side in the seventh. He had two strikeouts in both the first and second innings and struck out the side in the sixth.

Severino generated 20 swinging strikes and finished with a solid 34 percent CSW. He has allowed three earned runs or fewer, and also completing at least five frames, in right of his 10 starts. The 28-year-old righty carries 2.95 ERA, 1.00 WHIP and 61/14 K/BB ratio across 55 innings (10 starts) into Friday.

In his heyday, Severino threw his slider about 35% of the time, give or take. Severino has thrown his slider just 16.7% of the time this year but over his last five starts, he has thrown his slider 20.6%, 12.6%, 28.7%, 20.4%, and 26.4%. Severino throwing his slider more has meant more success and also likely that he feels confident in the health of his surgically-repaired elbow.

“Right now, when I’m pitching, it’s not the same as before. I am just thinking about making pitches and I don’t let the results affect who I think I am and who I can be,” Severino said. “I don’t let the results affect me anymore. Every time they give me the ball, I’m just happy to be pitching.”