The New York Yankees (50-41, $106) and Baltimore Orioles (46-45, -$109) will wrap up their three game series on Thursday. This game is crucial as the AL East race remains close though the Yankees are starting to separate themselves a bit.
ODDS ANALYSIS
According to history, the Yankees have the edge in this series—including Thursday’s finale—as they’re a very solid 27-17 at home while the Orioles have struggled mightily away from Oriole Park at Camden Yards, winning just 17 of 43 on the road.
While away games have been a struggle, day game have not. Baltimore is 20-14 in day games this year while the Yankees are 16-13 under the sun.
Head-to-head these teams have split their first 10 games though the Orioles have won three of the last five. At Yankee Stadium, the Yankees won three of four.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Their ace is on the mound to wrap up the series for New York as Masahiro Tanaka gets the ball against the Orioles’ Ubaldo Jimenez.
Tanaka has yet to record a win against the Orioles, going 0-1 in two starts despite a 3.86 ERA and 1.071 WHIP in his 14 innings pitched.
On the year, Tanaka is 6-3 with a 3.65 ERA and 1.027 WHIP in 74 innings of work over 12 starts. The 26-year old right-hander from Japan has pitched very well in his sophomore season in the big leagues, though injury concerns remain as he opted to rehab a partially torn ligament in his elbow rather than opt for surgery.
As for Jimenez, he’s followed up a disastrous first season in Baltimore with a much better one so far here in 2015.
After walking 5.5 batters per nine innings last year, his walk rate is down to 2.8 this year and that’s made a huge difference. Overall his WHIP is still a bit high at 1.279, but his ERA is down to 3.29 and his FIP is down to 3.49.
Jimenez has made six more starts than Tanaka who missed a chunk of time due to injury and has thrown 104 innings.
For Jimenez, his biggest issue this year has been pitch count as he’s been prone to deep counts, forcing Buck Showalter to go to the bullpen after only five or six innings from his starter.
The veteran right-hander’s first start of the second half was concerning as well with him lasting just four and two-thirds innings, allowing seven runs on seven hits though he didn’t walk a batter.
QUOTE TO NOTE
Following his poor start on Friday after the All-Star break, Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez had this to say about his outing:
“As a pitcher you want to go out there and compete and give your team a chance to win; especially when you finish the first half losing. But it doesn’t matter how much you want it, sometimes it goes like that. You have to keep moving forward.”
LIVE/SITUATIONAL BETTING
The powerful Yankee lineup will look to provide support for their ace in Thursday’s series finale. In Tanaka’s 12 starts, the Yankees have backed him up well, scoring 5.5 runs per game. Jimenez, meanwhile, has gotten just 4.17 runs per game from the O’s.
Overall, both the Orioles and Yankees can score runs, though the O’s offense has struggled a bit before putting up nine runs on Sunday.
Still, the lineup with Manny Machado (.899 OPS), Adam Jones (.836 OPS), Jimmy Paredes (.790 OPS) and Chris Davis (.782 OPS) is dangerous, particularly when you factor in the hot bat of Jonathan Schoop (1.000 OPS) who despite missing a chunk of the season due to injury, may be breaking out in his second season with the big club after a very good first 18 games.
Of course, the Yankees have their stars as well. Overall, the team has gotten above-average—or better—production from every position outside of second base, shortstop and third base. Of those three spots, third is least concerning as Chase Headley has been serviceable with a .256 average.
Even with a couple holes, the Yankees have managed to score the second most runs in the majors as Alex Rodriguez (.893 OPS) and Mark Teixeira (.896 OPS) are performing as if it were 10 years ago.
PROP TALK
One player to keep an eye on in this game is Schoop. The second baseman has hit well since his return, hitting .344 with three home runs in his nine games played. He is also in the midst of a five game hitting streak with four multi-hit games in that span.
Against Tanaka, the young second baseman is 2 for 6 with a pair of homers.
On the other side, Jacoby Ellsbury has owned Jimenez, going 5 for 9 which should serve the Yankees well atop the order.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This game should be a tight one with a couple potent offenses and two solid pitchers who have questions. Jimenez, however, has a couple more questions after his poor start on Friday and Tanaka’s questions are purely health based.
I look for the Yankees to get the win, particularly considering the Orioles’ road record and the Yankees shut down bullpen should Tanaka get New York through seven innings as he’s averaged against the Orioles in his only two starts against them.
New York 5, Baltimore 3
The MLB lines for this contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Since this game can be seen by anyone with a TV, BookMaker will have a multitude of wagering options available for it. Outside of the normal lines, you can gamble on real-time moneylines, player props and inning totals. Live betting is open during every commercial break!
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker today! The ballgame pitting the Baltimore Orioles versus the New York Yankees will commence Thursday, July 23, 2015, at 1:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
