It wasn’t so very long ago that picking the online betting favorite of the American League East meant deciding whether the Red Sox or Yankees would come out on top. Both of the big boys have fallen on some lean times, though, and most pundits have the Orioles and Blue Jays being the team to beat in that division this year. Things don’t always go as planned, though, but the Jays have a chance to make an early season statement against the Yankees in the opening series of the season.
Toronto Blue Jays vs New York Yankees MLB Betting Analysis
Date: Wednesday, April 08, 2015Time: 7:05PMVenue: Yankee StadiumOpening Line: Yankees -137Yankees DH Alex Rodriguez receives loud ovation from crowd before drawing walk in his first regular season at-bat since September 2013.— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) April 6, 2015
There are not very many people picking the Yankees to be very competitive in the AL East this year, as this is a team that has some age issues. Derek Jeter is gone, but the man who everyone loves to hate, Alex Rodriguez, is back in the fold. How much playing time he will actually get remains to be seen, and he DH in the opening day loss to the Jays, going 1 for 2, with a walk, on the day. The Yankees will be pinning a lot of their hopes on their starting rotation, particularly Masahiro Tanaka, who missed a couple of months through injury last season. His debut this season was a rocky one, as he was shelled for 5 runs before being yanked in the third inning versus the Blue Jays. The Yanks have a day off on Tuesday before sending Michael Pineda to the mound versus Toronto on Wednesday.The Blue Jays have a genuine shot at winning a division title this season if their young arms can deliver over the long haul. They have made some very nice additions to the outfield in the off-season, and look set to go head to head with Baltimore, and possibly Boston, for the crown. It was certainly a good start for the Blue Jays pitching staff, as 24-year old Drew Hutchison kept the Yankees off the board until the 6th inning. It’ll be the turn of the knuckleballer R.A. Dickey on Wednesday, as Toronto looks to get a very early leg up on their division rivals.