Red Sox Favored in Series Opener with Yankees
Who: New York Yankees v. Boston Red Sox
When: Friday August 18th, 2017 7:10PM EST
Where: Fenway Park—Boston, Massachusetts
If it seems like the Red Sox and Yankees are playing each other every other week, that’s because they more or less are. Unfortunately for New York, however, recent history has not been too kind to them as they enter this 3-game series on the back of losing 2 of 3 against Boston about a week ago. While this is so, the Yankees followed that run up with a 4-game sweep of the Mets, so they will be ready to go for this one. Playing in Boston is never easy, and with both teams still fighting to preserve their positions in the post-season, you can bet that this series will be another exciting one. In last weekend’s series, 2 of the 3 games were decided by 1 runs, so excitement seems to be inherent in this year’s installment of baseball’s best rivalry.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, have been playing irresistible baseball of late. Over the course of their last 14 games, the Red Sox have accrued a record of 12-2 and both losses were very close. The Red Sox are arguably the hottest AL team besides the Angels right now and have recently opened up a massive lead in the AL East, 4 games. While a 4-game lead might not seem like much to many people, it is a huge margin in an AL East that had been closely contested all season long.
Because this is the beginning of a 3-game series, Bovada is currently offering odds regarding what team will win at least 2 of 3, thus winning the series. Right now, the hosts, Boston (-175), are favored to take the series. The Yankees (+145), however, are only slight underdogs. If I were a betting man, I would go with the Red Sox to win this series seeing as they have only lost 2 games total out of their last 14.
Game Overview and Analysis
As far as the series opener is concerned, the Red Sox (-127) are favored, and for good reason, because they will be sending Drew Pomeranz (12-4 3.39 ERA) to the mound. As you can see from his record alone, the 6-year veteran is having a year he will not quickly forget. As for his recent form, it is just as upbeat as his form has been all year long. His last two outing were both wins, and in both games he managed to pitch more than 6 complete innings.
Something that has helped Pomeranz and just about every other Red Sox pitcher this year is the fact that the offense has really been clicking. In Pomeranz’s most recent outing, his offense hammered home 10 runs. I don’t care how skilled of a pitcher you are, if your offense can provide you with 10 runs, it is difficult to mess that up.
For the Yankees (+107), Jordan Montgomery (7-6 3.94 ERA) will be making the start. Of all Yankee pitchers, Montgomery has been having a tough go of things in recent weeks. Though his record over his last 3 starts is just 0-1, the Yankees have lost 2 of his last 3 starts, and that will do nothing beneficial for his confidence. Montgomery did face the Red Sox about a week ago, so he will know fully what to expect from their batters.
On top of this, the Yankees offense seems to have been sputtering in recent weeks. A far cry from what we saw during the early goings of this season, the Yankees bats have been mostly quiet and not so much of a threat. For the Yankees to have a chance at Fenway on Friday night, they will not only need Montgomery to have a solid night, they will also need their bats to get runs across the plate. If they do not get both of those things, I am certain they will add another L to their record.
Betting Prediction
Pomeranz has been a dominant force through most of his starts this year, and for this reason I think you have to go with the Red Sox (-127) moneyline. In addition to the strength and power inherent to Pomeranz, the Red Sox bats have been doing overly well in recent weeks. All in all, I think the Red Sox will get this series off to a strong start.
As far as the over/under is concerned, it is currently listed by Bovada at an even 9 runs (-130/EVEN). Seeing as both of these offenses have a lot of power, I think the over (-130) is the right move to make. Even if the Yanks can’t get their bats going, the Red Sox are, quite honestly, strong enough to get a good majority of the over accomplished themselves.
Finally, there is the point spread that sees the Red Sox listed as -1.5 run favorites (+160). Though this is far from a sure thing, I think that the Red Sox have more than enough capability of winning this game by at least 2 runs.