Caleb Wilfinger
The 2025 MLB season keeps rolling along, and Friday features a full slate of 15 games for us to enjoy. I’m 14-6 on my MLB best bets and the Pickswise MLB handicapping team as a whole is 42-22-4 in these MLB best bets this season. Let’s keep it going as we get into today’s top picks on Friday, May 16. Also, don’t forget to check out our MLB picks for Friday’s slate.
MLB best bet: Boston Red Sox ML over Atlanta Braves (-108)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -125.
To start things off, let’s head to Boston for an interleague matchup between a couple of playoff hopefuls, as the Red Sox will host the Atlanta Braves. These teams are trending in different directions at the moment, with the Braves entering this series fresh off a couple of victories over the Nationals, while the Red Sox were just swept by the Detroit Tigers to drop back under .500 on the season. With that said, I’m of the belief that Boston will turn things around on Friday, and it’s largely due to the edge the Red Sox will hold on the mound.
Garrett Crochet is getting the ball for Boston, and that typically means good things for Alex Cora’s team. After all, the Red Sox ace holds a 1.93 ERA for the season and he’s been outstanding this month, allowing just 2 runs over 12 innings pitched, good for a 1.50 ERA in May. He’ll be in a solid position to succeed against a Braves lineup that averaged fewer than 4 runs per game against the very poor Pirates and Nationals pitching staffs over the past week. As for Atlanta, Chris Sale is getting the ball in this one, and the Braves surprisingly sport a 1-5 record on the season when Sale starts away from home. He’ll be going up against a Red Sox offense that is clicking at the moment, even in a couple of recent losing efforts. All things considered, I’ll lay the short number with the home favorites.
Read our full Braves vs Red Sox prediction for tonight’s game
MLB best bet: Arizona Diamondbacks -1.5 over Colorado Rockies (-172)
Odds available at Fanatics Sportsbook at time of publishing. Playable to -185.
For my 2nd MLB best bet for Friday, we’re heading to Arizona for an NL West showdown between the Rockies and Diamondbacks. This is a rare instance where I don’t mind eating the juice and laying the big number against a Colorado team that is clearly the worst unit in baseball, and potentially by some distance. Fading the Rockies has proven to be a profitable endeavor all season long, and Arizona should be in good position to pick up another win by margin at home. The Rockies have not determined a starting pitcher for this contest, but this is a pitching staff and bullpen that is ranked dead last in ERA (5.73) while being very susceptible to allowing the long ball, so the meat of the Arizona offense should get a nice shot in the arm in this matchup.
As for the Diamondbacks, Corbin Burnes is set to take the mound for Arizona, which typically means the team will be in good position to pick up a victory. Burnes currently holds a 2.95 ERA, while also allowing just one earned run over his last 13 innings pitched. Those recent outings came against the Mets and Dodgers, so it goes without saying that this Rockies lineup is a massive step down in class from those elite units. With that in mind, we can expect Burnes to cruise in this one, especially at home. Ultimately, Arizona has every reason to lead this game by multiple runs going into the 9th inning, so let’s back the much better team on the run line on Friday.
Start the weekend right by checking out our MLB parlay picks for tonight at +808 odds!
