After 3 series losses in a row to the Guardians, Rays and Reds over the past week and a half, the Red Sox sit at 31-32, 5th in the AL East and 3-7 in their last 10 games and searching for answers in the pitching and hitting departments.
Catching up with the Sox
In this weekend series, they are meeting their bitter rival for the first time this season. The New York Yankees are home for a 3-game set in the foggy Bronx, starting Friday night at 7:05pm EST.
The AL East only gets harder and harder to compete with for the Sox and their recently play certainly won’t help them climb up the standings any time soon. This is a big series in the beginning of June, and every game is an opportunity for the Red Sox to get back on track.
Lines and odds are courtesy of Draftkings Sportsbook
Claim your BONUS and bet on Red Sox vs Yankees at DraftKings Sportsbook
Download Caesars Sportsbook and place your bet on Red Sox vs Yankees
Claim your bonus and bet on Red Sox vs Yankees at FanDuel Sportsbook
Red Sox – Yankees Betting Lines for June 9
ML:Â
BOS +130
NYY -150
Run Line:Â
BOS +1.5 (-155)
NYY -1.5 (+130)
O/U: 8Â
Projected Starters for the Series
June 9: Whitlock (2-2, 5.61) vs Cole (7-0, 2.82)
June 10: Houck (3-5, 5.46) vs German (3-3, 3.69)
June 11: Bello (3-4, 3.97) vs Schmidt (2-6, 4.96)
Pitching Match: Whitlock vs Cole
It is no secret that Gerrit Cole has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball this season, earning the win in 7 out of his 12 starts and not getting a loss in any start, and posting a 4-0 record at Yankee Stadium this season. It will be hard for the Sox to get to Cole especially after seeing how they’ve been hitting recently. I like Gerrit Cole to go over 6.5 strikeouts (-140)Â tonight, a mark he has hit in 5 of his 8 home starts, as I would be happy to fade the Sox lineup right now with the way they’ve been hitting.
Embed from Getty Images
For Garrett Whitlock, he has been inconsistent in his 5 starts this season and was sidelined for a month from late April to late May. This will be his third start since coming back from the IL, and made his last start on June 3rd in a 8-5 win against the Rays where he went 4.2 innings, allowing 6 hits and 4 earned runs while striking out 5. It’s all about getting back to form for Whitlock, who has shown flashes of being a great pitcher for Boston, especially when he came out of the bullpen. Most of Whitlocks appearances vs the Yanks have came out of the pen where he’s found success. I still think the Sox want to ease him back into the rotation and he may struggle against this Yankees lineup, so I like his under 16.5 outs recorded (-125)Â for the series opener on Friday.
Batting Props – Can the Sox Hit?
In their past series losses, the Sox have been playing bad baseball in all facets of the game, hitting, pitching and defending. They haven’t looked like the hungry and slept on Red Sox we saw over the first 2 months or so of the season. There is not much to like for the Sox vs Gerrit Cole tonight, but there are two that I will be playing: Rafael Devers over 1.5 Hits + Runs + RBI (-110) and to hit a home run (+400) – mostly based on Devers track record vs Cole (6 HRs, 15 RBIs in 34 plate appearances), Cole likes to throw his fastball and all it takes is one for Devers to sit on and pull over the short porch.
For the Yanks, they have been playing decent ball and have won 6 of their last 10. Backed by what should be the AL MLP frontrunner Aaron Judge (now on the IL), this lineup can take off on any given night. We don’t know what form of Garrett Whitlock we will get tonight. Some plays I like for Yankees hitters include: Anthony Rizzo over 1.5 Bases (+135) and Giancarlo Stanton over 1.5 Bases (+120), With Judge injured, the Yanks will need their other big names in the lineup to step up to produce runs.
Game Prediciton: Yankees First 5 Innings ML (-155) and Under 8 Runs (-110)
The Sox have had Cole’s number more often than not, but I feel the Yanks will be able to get to Whitlock more than the Sox get to Cole in this one, even without Judge. The pitching advantage is clearly with New York, but Whitlock can still hold his own when he’s on his game as we’ve seen in the past. I like these starters to have good outings and carry this game into the later innings with not too much damage done, give me the under 8 runs. The Rivalry continues in the smokey Bronx tonight.
Claim your BONUS and bet on Red Sox vs Yankees at DraftKings Sportsbook
Download Caesars Sportsbook and place your bet on Red Sox vs Yankees
Claim your bonus and bet on Red Sox vs Yankees at FanDuel Sportsbook
