MLB Expert Adam Thompson's Best Bets for Friday's Games Including Yankees-Mets and Cubs-White Sox

Free MLB picks, predictions for Friday: Expert's best bets includes Yankees-Mets, Cubs-White Sox, more

SportsLine's Adam Thompson reveals his best MLB bets for Friday's games

By Adam Thompson

May 15, 2026 at 11:42 am ET • 2 min read

- - -

It's Rivalry Weekend in MLB , which means the schedule is packed with plenty of series pitting local rivals against one another. Highlights include the Yankees vs. Mets Subway Series, the Dodgers vs. Angels Freeway Series and the Cubs vs. White Sox battling it out for Chicago supremacy. SportsLine's Adam Thompson has shared three MLB picks for Friday's slate, with all three coming from local rivalries.

An analytics-driven exploiter of matchups, Thompson specializes in the NFL , the  NBA  and MLB. He also has delivered consistent winners in college basketball, horse racing and golf. Over the past two seasons, Thompson is up over 70 units in MLB and over 60 units in the NBA.  You can find more of his picks at SportsLine , and in the member-exclusive SportsLine Discord server , a community of sports betting enthusiasts and SportsLine experts.

Here's Adam Thompson's best bets and analysis for Friday's MLB games.

Sign up with the BetMGM promo code for a great offer for Friday's games.

Best MLB picks for Friday

- Yankees vs. Mets 0 runs in first inning - Guardians money line vs. Reds - White Sox money line vs. Cubs

Yankees vs. Mets 0 runs in first inning (-135, FanDuel)

You couldn't ask for a better pitching matchup to begin the Subway Series. Cam Schlittler is 5-1 and brings 1.35 ERA into Friday's showdown with Clay Holmes , who is 4-3 with a 1.86 ERA.

In 17 combined starts between the two, Schlittler and Holmes have allowed three first-inning runs with 18 strikeouts. The Yankees rank first in MLB in first-inning run percentage at 47.7%, the Mets are at 27.9%.

Guardians money line vs. Reds (-134, FanDuel)

Tanner Bibee has a 4.21 ERA overall, but in five home starts it's 1.63. He's still 0-2 because the offense has struggled when he's on the mound. But he could get support here. Cleveland owns a .781 OPS vs. left-handers this month, and it faces one here in Andrew Abbott .

Abbott blanked the Cubs and Astros over 11.1 total innings. He also hasn't gone over six innings in any of his nine starts, and has usually been pulled in the fifth or sixth. Cincy's bullpen this month has a 7.63 ERA and ranks dead-last in home runs allowed with the highest walk rate and batting average allowed.

White Sox money line vs. Cubs (+130, Caesars)

Cubs starter Edward Cabrera has allowed at least three runs in six straight starts. Sean Burke was knocked for six runs against the Mariners last time out, but tossed 13.1 scoreless frames in the previous two. The White Sox bullpen is a run better this month, and the offense has a better OPS by 70 points, too.

The Cubs rank fifth in MLB in scoring, but a 5.4 run average at Wrigley Field inflates it. On the road, they're at 4.57 and they've managed just three runs over their last four games, all losses. The White Sox have won three straight, scoring six runs in three of those victories. We'll take those plus odds.

Bet on Friday's MLB games using the latest FanDuel promo code .

Join the Conversation comments

_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/free-mlb-picks-predictions-for-friday-experts-best-bets-includes-yankees-mets-cubs-white-sox-more/)._