Rather shockingly, neither the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees made a big trade before Wednesday’s deadline. The rivals square off Friday night to open a series at Yankee Stadium with the Bombers as MLB Betting favorites.
How to Bet Red Sox vs Yankees MLB Lines & Game Info
- When: Friday, 7:05 PM ET
- Where: Yankee Stadium
- Probable pitchers (away/home): Eduardo Rodriguez/James Paxton
- TV: MLB Network
- MLB Lines: New York Yankees -130 (Total 10.5)
Brewers vs Cubs MLB Odds, Preview & Prediction
Why Bet on Boston?
The Red Sox are the only team with as many as 5 qualifying players with a .350+ on-base percentage. No other AL team has more than 3 such players.
Stunningly, the Red Sox didn’t make a trade acquisition by Wednesday’s deadline – the team got starting pitcher Andrew Cashner a few weeks ago but more was expected. GM Dave Dombrowski admitted at a Wednesday press conference Boston might have been more willing to part with prospects if they were closer in the standings, but the Red Sox entered the day facing a double-digit deficit in the American League East. Instead, Dombrowski operated under the belief that the cost-benefit analysis wasn’t worth the risk, especially with the price of doing business at the deadline.
It’s Eduardo Rodriguez on the bump. Rodriguez (13-4) earned the win Saturday against the Yankees after allowing three runs on seven hits across 5.2 innings. He struck out five and walked three. It wasn’t Rodriguez’s cleanest outing as he delivered only 64 of his 108 pitches for strikes, but he battled enough to limit New York to three runs.
“He showed a lot of conviction,” Manager Alex Cora said. “(The Yankees) had good at-bats but he made good pitches. He’s been doing this for a month and a half. He’s becoming the guy that everybody envisioned. He did an outstanding job.”
The 26-year-old has a 2.23 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 34:17 K:BB in his last six starts. In addition, the lefty is 8-1 with a 3.03 ERA in his past 11 starts. Rodriguez is 2-3 with a 3.74 ERA lifetime at Yankee Stadium.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.83
- Hits: 9.93
- Walks: 3.73
- Strike Outs: 8.40
- Runs: 5.15
- Hits: 8.86
- Walks: 3.45
- Strike Outs: 10.20
Why Bet on NY Yankees?
Even more stunning than Boston doing nothing before the deadline was the Yankees doing the same – they badly need starting pitching. The Bombers will have an advantage on Friday because they were off on Thursday and thus their bullpen could rest, while Boston had to finish a series vs. Tampa Bay.
Aroldis Chapman labored through a difficult ninth inning Wednesday but still earned his 27th save Wednesday in a win over Arizona. He wound up walking two while also allowing a two-out, RBI double to David Peralta. July wasn’t kind to the left-hander, who submitted a 9.35 ERA with three blown saves in the month.
The Yanks are 19-11 in their past 30 games and are 29 games over .500, two shy of their season-high. The Yankees are also 14-0-2 in their last 16 home series (since 4/16), their second-longest unbeaten-series streak at the current Yankee Stadium behind a 17 series stretch from 4/16-8/12/18 (14-0-3). New York is 36-12 in 48 home games during the current streak.
The Yankees start James Paxton. Paxton (5-6) allowed seven runs with nine hits, zero walks, and nine strikeouts across four innings while taking a loss against the Red Sox on Friday. The nine strikeouts were nice, but the left-hander couldn’t keep the ball in the park. Mookie Betts took him deep three times, and J.D. Martinez hit a homer off Paxton as well. Paxton became the first Yankee ever to permit at least seven runs in four or fewer innings while also walking none and striking out at least nine.
Those four long balls accounted for six of the seven runs against Paxton. Home runs have been an issue for the 30-year-old most of this season, as he owns a career-high 1.7 HR/9. He also has a 4.72 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 117 strikeouts in 89.2 innings this season.
Team Stats
Offense- Runs: 5.79
- Hits: 9.22
- Walks: 3.69
- Strike Outs: 8.89
- Runs: 4.67
- Hits: 8.78
- Walks: 3.04
- Strike Outs: 9.28
Red Sox vs Yankees MLB Betting Trends
- Red Sox are 4-1 in Rodriguez’s last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record
- Yankees are 2-5 in their last 7 games vs. a left-handed starter
- Over is 7-0 in the last 7 meetings
- Red Sox are 15-5 SU in their last 20 games on the road
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Boston’s last 6 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees
- Yankees are 15-5 SU in their last 20 games at home
- The total has gone OVER in 9 of NY Yankees’ last 10 games this season
Expert Final Score Prediction for Red Sox vs Yankees
Boston Red Sox 5 – New York Yankees 6
