The Yankees have been on a roll since the All-Star break and have their biggest lead of the year in the AL East. New York improved to .500 on the road with Sunday’s win in Minnesota and take on the major league’s worst home team when they face the Texas Rangers in the second of a four-game set.
ODDS ANALYSIS
Add the Yankees to the list of hottest teams since the All-Star break. New York improved to 7-2 since the break taking the final two of a weekend set in Minnesota. The Yanks were pounded 10-1 on Friday but responded with a few poundings of their own to take the series. The Yankees are up 3.87 units on the moneyline since the break and opened up a 6.5-game lead over Toronto in the AL East standings. They also improved to .500 at 25-25 on the road and get a Rangers team that absolutely sucks in their own yard. Texas has the worst home record in baseball with just 16 wins on the year and has just one win at Globe Life Park in its last 11 games. Overall the Rangers are in the red 10.2 units. Playing as the underdog in all three games, Texas swept a series in New York earlier this season, outscoring the Yankees 30-15
PITCHING MATCHUP
The Yankees will give Masahiro Tanaka an extra day of rest instead of starting this game, which could be a bullpen game, pitched by both Adam Warren (6-5, 3.51 ERA) and Chris Capuano (0-4, 5.64 ERA). Warren threw 29 pitches in Saturday’s game, picking up the win in relief of C.C. Sabathia, in what is the equivalent of a bullpen day. He opened the season in the rotation going 5-5 with a 3.59 ERA in 14 starts before being bumped to make room for Ivan Nova. Neither Luis Severino nor Bryan Mitchell is an option to start.
Martin Perez (0-1, 4.91 ERA) has made two starts since coming off the disabled list. He allowed four runs in six innings in his last start Wednesday against the Rockies. He gave up six hits and four walks while striking out two. He missed most of the season recovering from Tommy John surgery and has allowed seven runs in 11 innings of his two starts. This will be his first home start of the season and first appearance against the Yankees.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“I felt like I had swung the bat better than what it showed for a while. You know, you just stay the course, you work on the things you’re not doing well, which I continue to do and will continue to do. It’s a process, but I really didn’t feel like I was swinging the bat as bad as what the numbers said.” – Yankees third baseman Chase Headley, who’s hitting .344 since July 1.
LIVE BETTING or SITUATIONAL BETTING
Alex Rodriguez’s three-homer game Saturday against Minnesota showed that the Yankees’ slugger can still hit, even at his advanced age. Yet, as his 40th birthday approaches, New York manager Joe Girardi still has to keep Rodriguez fresh. That’s why A-Rod wasn’t in the lineup for Sunday’s series finale with the Twins. It was simply a day off for Rodriguez, who has started 85 games this season, almost all of which have come as the team’s designated hitter. Girardi believes having Rodriguez DH on a regular basis preserves some of the wear and tear on his 40-year-old body and facing a pair of left-handers to open this series, Girardi felt Sunday was an ideal time for a day off. A-Rod is second on the team among qualifiers with a .277 average and his 23 home runs and 58 RBIs trail only Mark Teixeira.
PROP TALK
Rangers’ first baseman Prince Fielder is having quite the comeback season and looks to continue his torrid pace against a team he has blistered in the past. In 25 career games against the Yankees, Fielder is hitting .353 with eight home runs, 25 RBIs and a .671 slugging percentage. It’s the highest average and slugging percentage against any team. Fielder feasted off Yankee pitching when the teams met earlier this season with eight hits, including a double and three home runs, in 14 at-bats for a 1.286 slugging percentage and 1.886 OPS. He also drove in nine runs and scored five leading the Rangers to a three-game sweep.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
All signs would point to a Yankees victory in this one. New York is playing super baseball since the break while the Rangers have struggled all season at home. Texas starter Martin Perez hasn’t exactly been lights out since coming back from elbow surgery, either. But New York’s pitching has been a question mark as well and with Tanaka getting pushed back a day for extra rest, the Yanks have a hole to fill. Chris Capuano isn’t the answer and Adam Warren threw 1.2 innings Saturday, leaving the staff to cover this game. And since the lights out back end of the bullpen can’t cover the first seven frames, the Rangers have a chance to get a rare home win.
Texas 6, New York 4
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