They played just three games against each other through what was essentially the first half of the season, but the greatest rivalry in baseball comes at fans for a second straight weekend to close the pre All-Star break schedule. The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees play the middle of a three-game set Saturday on FOX with the Sox looking to continue their run of good fortune against the Bombers. After dropping the first two of a four-game set at Fenway Park, the Sox rallied against the stingiest bullpen for a win and pummeled Saturday’s probable Jameson Taillon in a big win to get the split. It didn’t help Boston in the standings, but it was the start of a season-high losing streak for New York.
First pitch for this AL East matchup between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees is set for 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 16, 2022. The game will air live on FOX from Yankee Stadium. BookMaker.eu will have betting options for every game of the MLB season.
MLB Betting Odds at BookMaker.eu
Odds Analysis
With every team in the AL East having at least 44 wins at the time of this writing the division is easily the toughest in baseball. And the Sox continue a run against division foes to close the unofficial first half. The unbalanced schedule has teams facing each other 19 times and the Sox are wiping out nearly half their games against Tampa and New York in two weeks. Since July 4 they’ve played just those two clubs dropping six of the first nine. That put the Sox a woeful 11-22 against their division brethren while going 31-14 against all other AL teams.
They probably won’t catch the Yankees but the wild card race is wide open now that it’s been expanded to include three teams. And it’s the offense that will carry the Sox to the postseason. They scored 17 runs to win the final two games of last weekend’s series getting to the Yankees vaunted bullpen for a 6-5 comeback win on Saturday followed by an outburst in Sunday’s 11-6 victory. All four games exceeded the closing total with the OVER 5-2 in the first seven meetings.
I haven’t researched this but I think it’s safe to say that every team has lost at least three consecutive games at least once with others enduring longer skids. But when the Yankees do it it’s kind of a big deal. And the bullpen unraveled in two of those losses. They coughed up a lead in the eighth inning and surrendered three runs in the 10th to lose 6-5 at Boston. The skid reached three games on Tuesday when the Reds scored four times off closer Clay Holmes in the ninth to win 4-3.
It is a long season and stuff happens so I wouldn’t be overly concerned if I’m the Yankees. Before their losing streak they were on pace to win 116 games, which would match the MLB record for most wins in a season. Even after dropping three in a row they’re winning more than 70 percent of their games and they’ve been money at home going 34-10. The teams played in the Bronx to open the year with New York winning two of three.
Probable Pitchers
We’re in line to see a pitching matchup from last Sunday in a game Boston won 11-6. Neither starter was effective and Nick Pivetta (8-6, 4.08 ERA) was taken off the hook after his mates rallied. He lasted just 3.1 innings charged with six runs and eight hits. He yielded a pair of homers with the Yanks clubbing four dingers off him in the nine combined innings he’s pitched against them. After going 8-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 12 starts in May and June, Pivetta has been shelled in both starts this month posting a 13.00 ERA and 2.22 WHIP. Despite his recent struggles the Sox are 10-2 in his last 12 starts.
Staked to leads of 4-0 and 6-2 early in last week’s matchup, Jameson Taillon (9-2, 4.01 ERA) couldn’t hold on eventually leaving after allowing six runs on seven hits, including three homers. And his struggles date back further than those of Pivetta. In 21 innings over his last four starts, Taillon surrendered 20 runs on 30 hits with seven of those leaving the yard for an 8.57 ERA and 1.57 WHIP. He’s actually coughed up more homers in that span than he did in his first 13 starts.
Yankees at Red Sox MLB Odds Pick
I don’t think we’re going to see the slugfests we witnessed in Boston last weekend, but with the starters slumping and two of the best offensive teams in baseball going at it the total is certainly in danger of cashing the OVER. The Yankees just play better ball inside their stadium and taking on their hated rival makes it more satisfying when you win.
MLB Odds Prediction: New York Yankees / OVER
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