Kyle Schwarber and the Philadelphia Phillies host Willson Contreras and the Chicago Cubs to kick off the second half of the MLB season. The Phillies currently own the third Wild Card spot in the National League and are trying to bank as many wins as possible until superstar Bryce Harper can return from the injured list. The Cubs, meanwhile, are likely to be sellers at the upcoming trade deadline and Contreras is likely playing his final handful of games in a Cubs uniform. Kyle Gibson will get the ball for the Phillies, and the Cubs will counter with Justin Steele.
First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET at Citizens Bank Park. The game is one of 14 on the MLB schedule for Friday. Others include an AL East battle between the Blue Jays and Red Sox, the Rays visiting the Royals, and a rivalry grudge match between the Giants and Dodgers. Before making any MLB picks or parlays, be sure to check out the MLB predictions and betting advice from SportsLine’s proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every MLB game 10,000 times, and it is 280-240 on top-rated MLB money-line picks since the start of the 2021 season, returning over $500 for $100 players. This is the same model that pegged the 2021 Atlanta Braves at 10-1 as one of three best bets to win it all last season. Anybody who has followed it has seen profitable returns.
Now, the model has locked in four confident MLB best bets for Friday. They all involve games at 7:05 p.m. ET or later, so there’s still time to get these MLB picks in. If you successfully parlay the picks, you’d be looking at a payout of more than 11-1. You can see the model’s MLB picks only at SportsLine.
Top MLB picks today
The model, which simulated every game on Friday’s schedule 10,000 times, is taking the Rays (-130) to beat the Royals in their 8:10 p.m. ET game. The Rays are having yet another strong season, and the Royals are languishing in last place in the AL Central.
Even with budding superstar Wander Franco sidelined with an injury, Tampa Bay is still a dangerous team. The latest in a long line of quality Rays pitching staffs has allowed the second-fewest runs in all of baseball, which spells trouble for a Royals offense that has scored the fourth-fewest. The Royals, to put it simply, are not good. While the Kansas City offense isn’t quite as dismal as that of the lowly A’s, the Royals don’t score nearly enough to compensate for the fact that they’ve given up the fourth-most runs in the sport.
Whit Merrifield has quickly become an offensive black hole, and slugging catcher Salvador Perez is injured for the foreseeable future. Even the arrivals of blue-chip prospects Bobby Witt Jr., MJ Melendez and Vinny Pasquantino hasn’t been enough. The one true threat in the lineup is All-Star Andrew Benintendi, but he can’t do it alone. Baseball’s a funny sport and sometimes the bottom-feeders look like giant-slayers, but the Rays were practically built in a lab to beat teams like the Royals.
Featured Game | Kansas City Royals vs. Tampa Bay Rays
How to make MLB picks and parlays for Friday
The model also locked in three other best bets for Friday, including a play on a game that should feature plenty of scoring. You can only see the model’s MLB parlay picks and best bets at SportsLine.
What MLB picks should you target for a payout of more than 11-1? And which potential slugfest does the model like on Friday? Visit SportsLine now to see the MLB best bets for Friday from a model that has a 280-240 record on top-rated picks since the start of the 2021 season, and find out.
