Yankees vs. Cubs prediction: MLB Saturday picks, odds, best bets

The Yankees are not asking Max Fried to immediately carry a full starter’s workload.The southpaw missed more than two months with a bone bruise in his throwing elbow before returning July 22. Although the Yankees brought him back earlier than initially planned, manager Aaron Boone said Fried would not be working with a “full clip” and that the priority was continuing to build him up.Fried looked dominant in his July 22 return, allowing just one hit across five scoreless innings against the Pirates, but he was removed after only 57 pitches.His second outing Monday showed why betting on Fried to pitch deep remains risky.Fried needed 32 pitches to navigate the first inning against the White Sox and was ultimately pulled after three innings and 66 pitches, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks while striking out four.The Yankees increased Fried’s workload by only nine pitches from his first outing.Even another modest increase would likely leave him somewhere around 75 pitches Saturday night against the Cubs at Wrigley Field.That is a difficult number with which to complete six innings, particularly against one of baseball’s best lineups versus left-handed pitching.Chicago ranks second in MLB with a .790 OPS against southpaws, batting .266 with a .356 on-base percentage and .434 slugging percentage before the Yankees’ 2-0 win Friday.Fried has recorded exactly 15 and nine outs in his two starts since returning. He would need to complete five innings and record at least one out in the sixth to clear a total of 15.5.With the Yankees remaining cautious and the Cubs capable of extending innings, bet on Fried to go Under 15.5 outs recorded.The play: Max Fried Under 15.5 outsDylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst across many sports.He’s particularly knowledgeable about the big three — MLB, the NFL and the NBA....