Yankees Set Sights on Taking 2 of 3 from Boston
The Yankees have gotten the 2017 campaign off to a great start, and are looking to extend that run. Having beaten the Boston Red Sox 2 times out of 2 (3rd game of the series was rained out) back in April, the Bronx Bombers have taken game 2 of the series, after dropping game 1 by a margin of just one run.
Dominant Shutout Performance
The Red Sox (-102) and Yankees (-108) got the game off to a one-sided start on Wednesday. Led by CC Sabathia, the Yankees blanked the Sox by a final score of 8-0. The win marked Sabathia’s fifth of the season and is helping make the case that he is, in fact, one of the best pitchers in the league at the moment. It wasn’t only Sabathia that helped the Yankees, however, as his 8-inning, 5-hit performance was matched by the offensive side of the team. Chris Carter, who hit a 3-run homerun, was just one of 6 Yankee players to record a hit. In total, the Yankees scored their 8 runs off of 12 hits. Unfortunately, those who wagered on the over might be licking their wounds today, because the 8 runs scored by the Yankees and 0 recorded by the Red Sox mean that the over/under of 9 (-105) was just narrowly missed.
Sabathia has been dealing with injury problems for a while now, and last night was no exception. According to ESPN, Sabathia halted play in the 4th inning to fix a brace that he now wears on his leg. Though many people feared the worst, he was merely making an adjustment to the brace. Even in light of all these injury concerns, Sabathia has now won 5 consecutive games, and the Yankees have won 3 of their last 4 games against the Red Sox.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, couldn’t get much of anything going, and matters were made worse by the fact that starting pitcher, Rick Porcello, was hammered for 5 earned runs over just 6 1/3 innings. On the other side of the ball, the +1.5 (-195) Red Sox could not get the bats going at all. Before long, the Sox were far from covering, and things really change much from there. Between Sabathia’s dominance on the mound and the Yankees’ hot bats, the Sox did not stand much of a chance.
Looking to Change for Game 3
On Thursday night, David Price (Even) will take the mound, facing off against Michael Pineda (-120). Price is a solid pitcher, but in his second season with the Red Sox things have gotten off to a less than stellar start. Though he has a 1-0 record, the star has been dealing with injuries through the first few months of the season, and is still recovering.
Pineda on the other hand, is sporting a 6-3 record and 3.76 ERA. Though this isn’t the best, he is slowly but surely proving to be a bit more consistent than most had hoped. With that being said, the over, which is listed on Bovada at 8 (-110), seems like it might be a good wager. The reason for this is that, in his last 10 games, Pineda has given up runs on all but one occasion. Further, the fact that David Price is still trying to get his bearings may also lend itself to a night of heavy bats.
The Yankees are once again -1.5 run favorites (+170) while the Red Sox are currently listed on Bovada at +1.5 (-210). As far as this one goes, it’s more of a toss-up than anything. On one hand, both teams are vying for the top spot in the AL East and similarly skilled, but the Yankees have been the more consistent outfit. I think the Yankees are going to keep the bats going against a David Price who is still trying to fully recover. Pineda has only given up a total of 3 earned runs in his last 2 outings, and the Red Sox bats have been struggling. When you combine these two, it seems as though the Yankees should have no problem scoring runs. With all of this being said, Red Sox manager John Farrell had nothing but positive things to say about his performance almost a few days ago in Baltimore. Farrell said, in part, that “He was in complete control. He got into a great rhythm. A big night for David and a boost for us.”
Our Pick
This will all come down to whether or not Price’s last performance is an indication of what the future holds, or an outlying performance on what will continue to be a rocky road to recovery. From our perspective, this game is looking like it is going to be all Yankees yet again. The 8-run over/under (-110/-120) seems likely to hit because of the way the Yankees have been hitting and driving runs in, but we see the most value in the fact sites like Bovada and BetOnline have the Yankees moneyline listed at -120. The Bronx Bombers are hot right now, Price is still recovering, and things simply look set up for the Yankees to have another dominant performance.