Date/Time: Fri, Aug 17 / 07:05:00 PM ET, Yankee Stadium, New York, New YorkThe Boston Red Sox will visit the Yankee Stadium for a three game series set to kick off this Friday at 7:05 pm ET and that could put an end to Boston’s playoffs pretensions. The Boston Red Sox would have to sweep a three-game series against their hated rival just to get their record back to .500, which puts them in an uncomfortable spot.
Winning three games at the Bronx will be a heroic task for a team has struggled to stay on float all season. Boston snapped a two-game skid with a 6-3 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night, but that didn’t help the club to recover from its lowest point in a season since 1997. They are still 12.5 games out of the AL East lead (Yankees) and seven games from securing a Wild Card spot. Additionally, Boston is only 5-10 in August, 3-6 against the Yankees this season and 5-10 in their last 15 against New York.
The situation is the complete opposite for the Yankees. New York enters the series with the best record in the American League at 70-48. In addition, the team is six-game on top of Tampa Bay Rays and Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.
The Yankees, though, lost the last in their four-game set vs. the Texas Rangers on Thursday, falling to the AL West leaders, 10-6. Despite the loss, the setback was just their second in the last nine games.
PITCHING MATCHUP: Red Sox LH Franklin Morales (3-3, 3.29 ERA) vs. Yankees RH Phil Hughes (11-10, 4.44)
Boston will count with lefty Franklin Morales, who has split time between the bullpen and rotation and is 3-3 with a 3.29 ERA. Morales lost on Saturday in Cleveland, as he allowed three runs and two hits with four walks in 5 1/3 innings. Morales has started one other game against the Yankees, but has faced them five times out of the bullpen. He is 1-1 with a 7.27 ERA in his six games against New York.
Meanwhile, the Yankees turn to right handed Phil Hughes, who has suffered back-to-back losses on the road in his last two starts and four of his last six decisions. In his last game as starter, Hughes had a forgettable performance vs. the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday, allowing seven runs and nine hits in four innings, dropping him to 11-10 on the year to go along with a 4.44 ERA. Hughes beat the Red Sox the last time he faced them, but is 3-6 in 18 games (10 starts) against Boston with a 6.17 ERA.
Game Odds:
Boston: +1.5 -165, ML +125
NY Yankees: -1.5 145, ML -135
Game Total: 9.5, o/-105, u/-115
Bet Baseball at SportsBettingOnline.ag. Find and compare the latest MLB Lines and get ready for some betting action with our exclusive 10% weekly cash back promotion. Click here for a free betting account.
No comments:
Post a Comment