New York Yankees vs Boston | Odds, Picks & Predictions MLB

The The NL Central Division race figures to go down to the season’s final days, but first place for now is on the line starting Friday night when the Milwaukee Brewers visit the St. Louis Cardinals. The Cards are short favorites on the MLB odds. lead the AL East Division by a mile but haven’t been playing very well lately as they open a series at archrival Boston on Friday night. The Yanks are favored on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Yankees at Red Sox MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Friday, 7:10 PM ET
Where: Fenway Park
Probable pitchers (away/home): Domingo German/Nathan Eovaldi
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -125, Red Sox +115 (total 9.5)

Why Bet on New York?

The Yankees enter off a 4-3 loss in Seattle on Wednesday, their eighth loss in the past nine games. Forget about breaking the MLB record of 116 victories or maybe even finishing with the most in the majors.

Aaron Judge slugged his 45th home run of the season on Wednesday, but it wasn’t enough. Judge clobbered a 412-foot solo shot off of Penn Murfee in the seventh inning, extending the Yankees’ lead to 3-1. He also drew a pair of walks in the ballgame, finishing the day 1-for-2. Judge is slashing .304/.396/.681 with a league-leading 45 homers, 99 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Judge has reached base multiple times in 63 games this season, the most such games in the AL. According to FanGraphs, his 7.1 WAR is the highest in the majors among all players.

The Yankees during the Seattle series lost Matt Carpenter to a broken foot but he plans to return this season. The 36-year-old slugger is currently in a walking boot and utilizing a pair of crutches, but the Yankees got good news on Wednesday when doctors determined that he has a “clean break” in his fractured left foot and that he will not need surgery. He’s expected to be sidelined for 6-8 weeks.

Carpenter has been perhaps the most consistent and dangerous hitter in the Yankees’ lineup other than Judge. He had 15 homers and a 1.138 OPS in 47 games before going down with the injury.

“They threw a number out there,’’ Carpenter said, referring to the potential time he will miss. “I’m gonna do whatever I can to speed the process up and see how it goes. I don’t like to put restrictions or a timeline on it. When I feel like I can come back, I’m gonna be ready to go.”

New York remains without slugger Giancarlo Stanton and the team is 5-10 since Stanton went down with Achilles tendinitis last month. Stanton won’t return for this series.

It’s Domingo German on the mound Friday. German (1-2) took the loss during last Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at the hands of the Cardinals, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts in five innings. German surrendered his lone run in the first inning on consecutive two-out hits but shut down St. Louis the rest of the way, including retiring the final six batters he faced. Since allowing a combined seven runs in 7.2 innings in his first two starts, the 30-year-old has allowed three runs across 10 innings in his last two turns. He has a 5.09 ERA and 1.53 WHIP with 13 strikeouts in 17.2 innings.

Why Bet on Boston?

Boston is at a minor disadvantage here in that it had to play on Thursday vs. Baltimore but at least didn’t have to travel.

The Sox added Tommy Pham at the Trade Deadline and he has been great. In his first eight games with the Sox (entering Thursday), he has eight hits, including three doubles, and a trio of home runs. He has more extra-base hits and RBI in eight games with the Sox than he did all July with the Cincinnati Reds; he didn’t hit a single home run last month.

Rookie Jarren Duran, a natural second baseman who was converted into an outfielder in the minors, has been an adventure for the Red Sox in center field. There have been the issues with the sun, but outside of that, poor routes and a bad (but improving) first step has resulted in a few too many defensive miscues. The Duran situation in center field looks worse when you consider the Red Sox just cut Jackie Bradley Jr., arguably the greatest defensive player at the position in franchise history, while Kiké Hernández is rehabbing an injury. They’ve left themselves no choice but to ride things out with Duran.

It’s Nathan Eovaldi (5-3) on the mound here. Eovaldi allowed four runs on seven hits and struck out seven in six innings, taking a no-decision versus the Royals last Saturday. Eovaldi gave up solo home runs to MJ Melendez and Kyle Isbel as well as a two-run single to Bobby Witt. It was the second time in his last five starts Eovaldi has avoided walking a batter, though he’s given up at least three runs in four of those outings. The midseason slump has him at a 4.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 93:16 K:BB across 93.2 innings through 17 starts this year.

Since being reinstated from the injured list on July 15, he’s 1-1 with a 7.11 ERA (20 ER/25.1 IP) in 5 starts. Eovaldi has issued 2 or fewer walks in 16 of his 17 starts this season (1.54 BB/9.0 IP). He has tossed 6.0+ IP in 9 starts this season, allowing 3 ER or fewer in 8 of those.

The big right-hander is 0-0 with a 5.79 ERA in 9.1 innings vs. the Yankees this season.