The New York Yankees are probably just about conceded to their fate at this point. They're going to make the playoffs, but they're going to be forced to play in the AL Wild Card game. If they have any hope to win the AL East, they have no choice but to beat the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Ivan Nova was excommunicated from the rotation by Joe Girardi after his last start, but all of a sudden, after not throwing a pitch in a game for a week and a half, he's going to be called upon to start on Wednesday in what might be the biggest game of the season.
Of course, the reason that Nova is here in this spot is because Masahiro Tanaka hurt his hamstring running the bases last week against the Mets.
Nova's ERA is over 5.00, and his peripheral stats are awful since coming back from Tommy John surgery last year. However, it isn't raw stats we're worried about in live betting. It's all up in the head, and you'll know right away whether Nova is right or not. If he is throwing balls all over the place and isn't pounding the strike zone, this is going to be a short night for him and a long night for the New York bullpen, which should scare live bettors.
Jay Gibbons made it clear when he announced his rotation for this series that he wasn't afraid of the Yankees. Instead of protecting Marcus Stroman and getting him out of this spot, he's going to keep with his guns and let his youngster make his third start off of ACL surgery in this one.
Stroman has been very good in his two starts, but we suspect that he is going to end up with a short outing on Wednesday. He's pitching on regular rest for the first time in over a year, and he did throw 96 pitches against Boston.
Remember too, that this is the second time that Stroman has faced the Yanks. Last week, he allowed three runs in five frames over 78 pitches, and if that happens again, it probably won't be good enough for live bettors.
ADVANCED STATS
You'd like to think that not having Troy Tulowitzki in the lineup would slow down the Toronto offense.
Not exactly.
Even without Tulo, live bettors have had a field day betting on this Toronto team. The club has a .188 ISO as a team and 21 homers in its last two weeks. Big innings are always possible when the middle of the Jays lineup is due up, as Josh Donaldson, Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista are all capable of going yard each and every at bat.
TALKING BULLPENS
To say that September hasn't been kind to the Yankees' bullpen would be an understatement, and that makes this game all the more dangerous for live bettors.
New York's pen has allowed 31 home runs on just 218 at bats in that span, and as we highlighted earlier, bringing that much trouble into Toronto is asking for trouble in live betting.
We're not guaranteeing that the Bronx Bombers are dead if they have to call upon their bullpen for a big chunk of this game, as there still are some great arms here as well with Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, but aside from those two, it's tough to have a load of confidence.
The MLB lines for this Wednesday contest will first be released by BookMaker Sportsbook. Gamble on the game between every half inning with BookMaker's live betting feature. Along with an adjusted in-game moneyline, you can wager on what will happen in the next at-bat or how many runs will be scored in the next inning. Live betting is the most exciting way to play!
Need to fund your account before the big game but don't have your computer? No problem! BookMaker Sportsbook now offers a mobile betting cashier so you can deposit money directly from your smartphone. Don't miss out on getting paid because you couldn't bet. Click here, and deposit at BookMaker now! The ballgame pitting the New York Yankees versus the Toronto Blue Jays will commence Wednesday, September 23, 2015 at 7:07 p.m. ET at Rogers Centre. You can watch the contest live on ESPN.
