MLB Odds - Friday Night Baseball Picks

If Stanley Cup betting isn't your cup of tea, feast your eyes on the hot MLB betting matchups this weekend, featuring the Red Sox vs Phillies and the Mets vs Yankees. Let's make some picks.

Red Sox vs Phillies odds: Jon Lester (5-5, 5.09) vs Joe Blanton (4-3, 5.46), Friday, June 12 at 7:05 p.m. ET

Not so fast, sportsbook hot shot. I know everyone is hot to bet on Jon Lester right now, and he is really rounding back into form, but he still hasn't really figured things out away from Fenway Park. You may cite his one career start in Philly (7 IP, 0 ER) as proof he can win Friday night, but his 6.14 road ERA is the red flag for me. He'll pile up strikeouts—he has three double-digit efforts in his last seven outings—but he'll get beat up too. Joe Blanton struggles at home as much as Lester struggles on the road, but he faced the Red Sox plenty during his Oakland days and did fairly well, compiling a 3-2 record and 3.75 ERA. He'll get good run support and win what should be a slugfest.

MLB betting pick: Phillies

Mets vs Yankees odds: Livan Hernandez (5-1, 3.88) vs Joba Chamberlain (3-1, 3.79)

Livan Hernandez deserves a lot of credit. Many times in his career, he's been written off as washed up, yet he keeps bouncing back. Suddenly, he's pitching like he's a Marlins rookie again. But bettor beware! Yes, he had a 2.70 ERA in May and has a 2.13 ERA in June, but look at his opponents during that stretch—Washington twice and Pittsburgh twice. Hmm. Looking closely, he has a 6.37 lifetime ERA against the Yankees. When A-Rod comes to the dish, Hernandez may want to curl up a ball and suck his thumb; in 16 at-bats, he's batting .625 against him with three homers and 10 RBI. I'm betting online that Livan serves up at least three taters in the Yankee boombox Friday night. Joba will have enough run support to pitch as well or as poorly as he wants.

MLB betting pick: Yankees