Friday’s MLB betting slate on Aug 14, 2020 has a pair of New York teams kicking off important series against division rivals and we have your best picks for a big night for the Big Apple.

MLB Daily Picks Aug 14, 2020

Mets ( Jacob deGrom | 2-0, 2.45) vs. Phillies (TBD)

The Mets and Phillies meet in a very important game one of three in this NL East rivalry series.  This is a tale of two teams heading in different directions within the NL East with the Mets winning six of their last ten while the Phillies have lost six of their last ten.

New York is coming off a split four-game series at home against Washington.  The Mets really came to life after dropping the first two games and scored 19 runs to beat the reigning champs twice in a row.

Michael Conforto is the offensive stats leader so far, slashing 24 hits and 11 RBIs despite a slow start.

The entire New York team had a slow start actually, losing 11 of their first 20 games and leaving them with a steep hill to climb.  Lucky for them, this division has turned into a dumpster fire after injuries to the Braves left the only good team in rough shape.

The Mets are just three games behind the Marlins in the MLB standings and really need to build on their modest two-game winning streak.

New York will be putting their best foot forward int the form of Jacob deGrom taking the hill against Philly.

deGrom has been doing his thing as usual in 2020 with a 2-0 record and 2.45 ERA in four starts totaling 22 innings.  His numbers against Philly are unsurprisingly amazing.  A career 7-1 record and a BAA of .141 against current Philly bats is almost enough on its own for me to side with the Amazins.

The Phillies had yet to announce a starting pitcher as of Thursday night, but their entire rotation has been rather ineffective so far.  It doesn’t seem to matter who toes the rubber for Philly lately with the whole staff seeing their fair share of struggles.  Those struggles have led this team to a team ERA that ranks 30th and WHIP that sits at 28th.

I will admit that the Phillies offense looks sharp, so a play on the over might not be the worst idea.  But I just can’t ignore the value New York has on the MLB run line in our first pick for Aug 14.  deGrom is one of the best arms this league has seen in a long time and is on a roll heading into a start against a slumping squad. New York should make quick work of Philly here and cash the first leg of our Friday night MLB parlay.

Best Bet: New York Mets -1.5 (TBD)

Red Sox (TBD) vs. Yankees (Gerrit Cole | 3-0, 3.22)

The New York Yankees host their bitterest or rival Boston Red Sox on Friday night in what has become a less than a close matchup of late.

The Bronx Bombers will be gunning for their seventh straight win against the Bo Sox and steal game one of this important four-game series.

This series is not important for the usual reasons, however.

Usually, these two teams are embattled in a race to the playoffs and even pennant pushes.  This season has been a bit different considering the current MLB standings.

The New York Yankees have enjoyed a strong start to the season going 12-6, leading the AL East and are tied for the third-best record in the American League.  Boston, however, has a 6-13 record which puts them second-worst in the AL in front of the lowly Pirates.

The Red Sox’s luck won’t get much better tonight with the Yankees’ new ace Gerrit Cole on the mound.

Cole has impressed so far in his short time in NY with a perfect 3-0 record and 3.22 ERA in four starts. I think the biggest positive so far for Cole has been his apparent comfort pitching the notoriously hard city for new pitchers.  I believe this has a lot to do with his four starts taking place in front of a grand total of zero life fans.  Many NY newcomers have had their first starts or few at-bats ruined by the rowdy New York crowd.  They are ruthless and will not hesitate to jump all over a guy the club has just signed to a nine-year deal.

I know this from personal participation.

The crowd had no chance to jump all over him after coughing up two runs in the opening inning of his debut game.  He turned things around and eventually won but who knows how he’d have reacted if a shower of boos and Budweiser was raining upon him.

The point is, a Gerrit Cole who looks like he is actually having fun pitching for New York is deadly.

The Red Sox have yet to announce who will get the start Friday night but Nathan Eovaldi is expected to get the nod.  Eovaldi has given up seven runs in his previous two starts against teams with less dangerous bats than New York.

Much like the Phillies, it almost doesn’t matter who starts for Boston in 2020 with a combined team ERA of 5.24 (28th) and a WHIP of 1.55 (30th).

Compare that to the Yankees .254 BA (7th), 94 runs (5th), and .345 OBP (2nd) rankings and Boston’s hopes begin to really fall apart.

My favorite part of betting this MLB game is that taking the F5 on the Yankees is such an amazing value, which is why it’s our pick for Aug 14.

Gerrit Cole has been dealing and the Red Sox offense looks pretty lost overall.  Meanwhile, the Yankees offense is rolling and, despite a few key MLB injuries, are up against one of the worst pitching staff in the MLB.

Best Bet: New York Yankees F5

That’s it from us with our MLB daily picks for Aug 14. Good luck with your bets!