The best and most-heated rivalry in baseball gets underway when the Yankees visit the Red Sox on Friday. New York won seven of nine games in Fenway Park last season, pushing Boston to the bottom of the AL East standings. New York is in the cellar looking up at the rest of the division when the teams meet for the first time in 2016.
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ODDS ANALYSIS
The offensive numbers for the Yankees are ugly to begin with. They get even tougher to look at when a left-handed pitcher is on the mound. New York got to Rangers southpaw Cesar Ramos on Monday for just their third win in nine decisions against lefties. The Yanks are hitting just .225 as a team with a .609 OPS against left-handers this season. “I got no idea,” outfielder Carlos Beltran said when asked of the struggles against lefties.
Offseason alterations were made to help the offense against lefties. Starlin Castro was acquired and Aaron Hicks was brought in. Switch-hitters Beltran, Mark Teixeira and Chase Headly were supposed to protect the Yankees against such problems, but so far it hasn’t worked out. The Yankees will face lefty Henry Owens on Friday and get David Price over the weekend with more opportunities to improve their numbers.
PROBABLE PITCHERS
Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.92 ERA) has been the anchor of a struggling Yankees rotation. He struck out seven while allowing two runs over seven innings against the Rays on Saturday but didn’t factor in the decision. He showed strong command walking just one batter – the third time in four starts he’s walked either one or none. He’s been effective in his outings this year, carrying a 2.92 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and a 23/6 strikeout to walk ratio in 24.2 innings.
Tanaka went 3-0 in his four starts against the Red Sox last season but was aided by an offensive avalanche. The Yankees scored 45 runs in those four games and Tanaka was able to go undefeated despite a 5.64 ERA across 22.1 innings.
Lanky left-hander Henry Owens (0-0, 8.10 ERA) will make another start in place of the injured Joe Kelly. Owens gave up three runs with four walks and four strikeouts in 3.1 innings Sunday in Houston, but the Sox are comfortable giving him another start despite the rough season debut.
Owens was hit hard in two starts against the Yanks last year, going 0-2 with a 13.50 ERA. In his career at Fenway Park, Owens is 2-2 with a 5.00 ERA. He is likely to hold down a spot in the rotation until Eduardo Rodriguez returns.
LIVE BETTING
Over the past few days Travis Shaw recognized a trend. Opposing pitchers were attacking him with inside fastballs, believing he’s vulnerable to pitches in that location. So, after a hitless Monday night, the Red Sox third baseman worked overtime in the batting cage. And the extra sessions paid off. In his first at-bat Tuesday night, Shaw planted the fourth pitch he saw from Braves starter Matt Wisler over the right field wall for a three-run homer. And just like that, any doubt about Shaw’s big league staying power was erased.
After going 2 for 5 with a career-high five RBIs on Tuesday, Shaw is batting .324 and slugging .521 with a .392 on-base percentage, two homers and eight doubles. There was a reason to wonder about Shaw’s offense, especially considering his pedestrian numbers in Triple-A. Not anymore.
QUICK PICK
It’s been a rough go for the Yankees scoring runs in the first month of the season. They were hammered 10-1 in Texas on Tuesday and have scored more than three runs just five times in their first 19 games. Maybe playing the Red Sox with their ace Tanaka on the bump is what they need to break out of their funk.
Tanaka was the beneficiary of an offense that produced 45 runs in his four starts against the Sox last season. He was far from spectacular, but he didn’t need to be when his mates averaged over 11 runs per game in those contests. It’s hard to imagine this Yankees team producing like that, but Owens doesn’t resemble Cy Young and the Yankees claim a victory against their heated rivals.
MLB Odds: New York 7, Boston 4
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Don’t miss out on getting paid because you couldn’t bet, click here and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox will take place Friday, April 29, 2016, at 7:10 p.m. ET at Fenway Park. You can watch the contest live on the MLB Network.
