Indians Favored to Take 2 Consecutive From Yankees
Who: New York Yankees v. Cleveland Indians
When: Friday August 4th, 2017 7:10PM EST
Where: Progressive Field—Cleveland, Ohio
Though the real Yankees story heading into their 2nd game of their series with the Indians is that they are 2 games off the pace in the division, the story Friday night will be of their starting pitcher, Jaime Garcia. In his last 3 starts, he has pitched for 3 entirely different teams; something you don’t see very often, if ever. To give you his iteinerary, Garcia began the season with the Atlanta Braves, was traded up to Minnesota on the 24th of July, and was then traded again this past Sunday. How he performs has yet to be seen, but he is having a decent season overall.
For the Yankees, the elephant in the room is the fact that they have lost their last 3 consecutive games, 2 against the lowly Tigers and 1 in the series opener against Cleveland. Though the Yankees are still sitting in a Wildcard playoff position, they will need to really pick up their level of play if they hope to stay there. The Indians are the perfect team to do this against, seeing as there is a chance these two teams will meet in the post-season.
For Cleveland, the second half of MLB’s season could not be going any better. Despite having lost their previous 3 games before their series opener with the Indians, they have been playing great baseball. Their offense has really come on since the All-Star Break, and that propelled them to winning 10 consecutive games just before their 3-game skid. With what is now a 2.5 game lead in the AL Central, the Indians appear poised to win the division and head into the playoffs in a good position. For them, this series is just as important as it is for the Yankees.
Game Overview and Analysis
The Yankees (+115) will send Jaime Garcia (5-7 4.29 ERA) to the mound to make his first start for the Pinstripes. For a guy who will now have played for three different teams, he has had a decent season. To be honest, Garcia’s one glaring downside is the fact that he cannot keep runs off the board. While this is not necessarily a big deal if you have a consistent, strong offense, Garcia did not have that with the Braves, and his record suffered as a result. With the Yankees, Garcia will be able to withstand giving up a few runs, but the team from New York will be hoping that he has righted the ship and will stop the leaks. In his sole appearance for the Twins, Garcia earned a victory by pitching more than 6 innings, giving up 3 runs, and fanning 7 batters.
The Yankees, as a team, have really let the division lead slip in the past few weeks and now Boston has unearthed a 2-game lead. That is precisely the reason why this series is so important. Though the Yankees are more than likely making the playoffs regardless of whether they win the division or not, they will obviously want to win the series as it gives them better post-season positioning. Now is do or die time for New York.
For the Indians (-135) it will be right-hander Trevor Bauer (9-8 5.25 ERA) who will be making the start. Bauer has been solid for the Indians all season long and has won 2 consecutive games heading into his start against the Yankees. Though his ERA might lead you to believe otherwise, Bauer has been pretty good at keeping earned runs to a minimum. Over his last 10 starts, Bauer has given up 2 or fewer runs on 6 occasions. If he can keep the runs down against the Yankees, I like the Indians chances of winning.
The Indians bats have been on fire recently as far as their offense is concerned. They were able to rattle off 10 wins in a row, and that really put them where they are now. If they can bounce back from some recent losses, they should be able to take care of the Yankees and increase their divisional lead.
Betting Prediction
As far as a moneyline bet is concerned, I think you have to go with the Indians (-135) in this one. Though I do not necessarily love the odds, the Indians are putting the better pitcher on the mound in Bauer. Not only that, they are at home and have already beaten the Yankees. All things considered, I like the Indians to win, but do not exactly love it.
As far as the over/under offered by Bovada is concerned, it is currently listed at 9.5 runs (-105/-125). Being that both of these pitchers are prone to giving up some runs, I think you might want to take the over (-105) in this one. My reasoning is that both of these offenses are high-powered and neither of the pitchers are overly impressive. At -105 odds, this is a decent value bet as well.