The New York Yankees host the Chicago Cubs on Friday, July 11, 2025. First pitch from Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET; the game will be broadcast on Marquee Sports and YES.
The Yankees have righted the ship of late, winning four straight games entering Friday's series opener against the Cubs. Can they keep it going before they hit the All-Star break?
Find my Cubs vs Yankees prediction for Friday night below.
- Cubs vs Yankees picks: Cubs Moneyline +160 (Play +140)
My Cubs vs Yankees best bet is the Cubs moneyline. Make sure to find the best odds by checking our live MLB odds page.
Cubs vs Yankees Odds
Cubs Odds | ||
---|---|---|
Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+1.5 -122 | 9 -119o / -102u | +152 |
Yankees Odds | ||
---|---|---|
Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-1.5 +100 | 9 -119o / -102u | -187 |
Cubs vs Yankees Projected Starting Pitchers
Chris Flexen (CHC) | Stat | Carlos Rodon (NYY) |
---|---|---|
5-0 | W-L | 9-6 |
0.3 | fWAR (FanGraphs) | 1.8 |
0.83 / 3.26 | ERA /xERA | 3.30 / 3.12 |
3.57 / 4.55 | FIP / xFIP | 3.74 / 3.57 |
0.86 | WHIP | 1.03 |
7.4% | K-BB% | 19.4% |
38.9% | GB% | 41.0% |
83 | Stuff+ | 104 |
104 | Location+ | 97 |
Mike Ianniello’s Cubs vs Yankees Preview
Chicago will go with a bullpen game on Friday with veteran Chris Flexen getting the ball first. Flexen has been a starting pitcher the majority of his career. He has 110 career starts under his belt, including 30 last season with the White Sox.
In his first season coming across town to the Cubs, Flexen has worked extensively out of the bullpen and has been brilliant. In 17 appearances, he has amassed a 5-0 record and has allowed just three earned runs across 32 2/3 innings for a 0.83 ERA. He is not a strikeout guy, but he limits hard contact with an elite defense behind him.
Flexen won’t only have an elite defense backing him, but an elite offense as well. Chicago has scored the second-most runs and has the third-best wRC+ in the league. It ranks top five in nearly every offensive category.
The Cubs’ lineup is as deep as any team in the league. They bang from top to bottom of the order. Kyle Tucker is the best all-around hitter, while Pete Crow-Amstrong is having the best season, but it doesn’t stop there. Seiya Suzuki leads the MLB in RBI and Michael Busch leads all first basemen with a .934 OPS.
As somebody who has watched nearly every Carlos Rodon start this season, I can assure you he is perhaps the most bipolar pitcher in the league. Not just game to game, but often inning by inning. When Rodon is on, he is as unhittable as any pitcher in the league — but when he gets into trouble, things completely unravel.
Overall, Rodon has a 3.30 ERA on the season. In 19 starts, he has allowed one run or fewer in nine of them, but has also yielded four runs or more six times.
The problem for Rodon is that he has elite strikeout stuff, but when he gets hit, he gets hit hard. He also struggles with his command, so walks can turn into multirun home runs in a hurry.
Much like Rodon, the Yankees' offense has been streaky at times. But overall, they are still one of the elite offenses in the game. This team is third in scoring and has the best team OPS in the league. They lead the league in walks and home runs and have the best player on the planet.
Aaron Judge is hitting .359 and leads all players with a staggering 1.202 OPS. While the rest of the team behind him has been a bit up and down, there have always been at least two players on hot streaks along with Judge.
Right now, that has been Jazz Chisholm and Cody Bellinger, who are both red hot at the plate. Austin Wells has also been crushing the ball with three home runs this week.
Cubs vs Yankees Prediction, Betting Analysis
Who else remembers the great Chris Flexen run of 2021?
The Seattle Mariners went 22-9 in Flexen’s starts and he finished the year as the most profitable pitcher to bet on in MLB. His incredible season basically paid for my wedding, so he will always have a soft spot in my heart.
He struggled last season with the White Sox, as many do, but his move across town and to the bullpen has been a roaring success so far.
No pitcher in the entire league has pitched as many innings as Flexen this season and allowed fewer runs. Opponents are hitting just .175 against Flexen this season and he has limited hard contact at a career-best rate.
He is used to starting games and has pitched multiple innings already nine times this season, so he should have no problem getting this started for the Cubs.
Rodon is the better pitcher, but he has shown that when he gets into trouble, it snowballs on him very quickly. The Cubs are an extremely difficult team to avoid trouble against. The two biggest areas Rodon runs into issues are allowing walks and home runs.
The Cubs' offense ranks top five in home runs and walks, as well as team wRC+, OPS, and stolen bases. Over the last month, no team has had more home runs than Chicago.
Given that the Cubs have a major advantage defensively and on the base paths, and these offenses are both elite, the gap between these two teams on Friday is much smaller than the line indicates. There is value on Chicago at this big of a number.
Pick: Cubs Moneyline +160 (Play +140)
Moneyline
There is value on the Cubs as this big of an underdog.
Run Line (Spread)
I have no play for either side of the spread.
Over/Under
I have no bet on the game total.