New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox: Odds, Prediction
After a series-opening clunker, the sagging Boston Red Sox will hope to right the ship tonight at home against the New York Yankees at 6:45 PM ET.
Giancarlo Stanton homered and added a two-run double as New York took the first game in this three-game set last night, 4-0.
It was the Yankees’ Major League-leading fifth shutout of the season, and put them five games up on the cellar-dwelling Red Sox in the American League East.
Luis Gil allowed just two hits in 6 ⅓ innings, his longest outing of the season, as Yankees pitchers held Boston’s lineup to just four hits in another blah performance at the plate.
Now, riding a four-game winning streak, the Yankees send Max Fried (2-1, 2.97 ERA) to the hill to face Boston’s Ranger Suarez (1-1, 3.22 ERA).
MLB Betting Analysis
The Yankees are solid favourites at -150 on the MLB odds tonight. The Red Sox’s moneyline sits at +125. The run line is set at Yankees -1.5 (-110), while the over/under is 7.5 runs, with the over slightly favoured at -120.
New York Yankees
The Yankees lead the AL East with a 14-9 record. Ben Rice (.319, 8 HR, 18 RBIs) has been hot of late, homering in four of his last five games, though he did go 0-for-4 last night with four strikeouts.
Cody Bellinger has a nine-game hitting streak. Aaron Judge is batting just .235, the Major League norm now, but he already has nine home runs.
Fried, who is sporting a 0.81 WHIP and 23 K’s in 33.1 innings pitched, has started strong with just one home run allowed. He has a 3-1 career record at Fenway, while posting a sub-3.00 ERA.
Stanton continues to manage chronic elbow issues, but he remains active despite the ongoing discomfort. As he proved last night, he is always an offensive threat.
Boston Red Sox
The Red Sox stink right now. And worse, they’re boring to watch. They’re batting .229 with 13 home runs, tied with the San Francisco Giants for the fewest in the majors.
Wilyer Abreu (.282, 3 HR) was hot in the opening week, but has cooled down considerably. Willson Contreras (.273, team-leading 4 HR) has performed well since coming over from St. Louis, but there is little else offensively right now.
The pitching staff is sporting a 4.40 ERA, placing it in the bottom third. And now, the team’s pitching depth will be tested with starter Sonny Gray on the IL (hamstring).
Suarez, tonight’s starter, struggled in his initial outing, but he has now tossed 14 consecutive scoreless innings, including eight scoreless against Detroit last Friday.
Boston is just 5-6 at Fenway Park, and the natives are already getting restless, with the boo birds out in force.
Who Will Win Yankees vs. Red Sox?
Red Sox fans will point to Rafael Devers’ slow start (.226, 2 HR) with San Francisco with stupid pride that last year’s deal was the right decision, but the fact remains Boston is without an intimidating presence in the middle of the lineup right now.
Putting too much on the shoulders of youngsters Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, combined with middling offseason acquisitions, has last year’s 89-win team looking at a long season if it doesn’t turn things around soon.
Don’t look for that to happen tonight against Fried and the Yankees. Suarez seems dialled in and can limit New York’s lethal lineup, but look for the Bronx Bombers to clinch a series win with a 4-2 triumph.
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