(977) YANKEES at (978) RED SOX
FREE PICK: (978) RED SOX -130
This is about as high as I like to go when betting a baseball favorite, but I think there’s a decent case to be made for the Red Sox here.
Boston is struggling. The starting pitching has been shoddy and that’s putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the offense to score loads of runs. Pardon the dead horse beating, but I’m sure not the only one who has been dubious about the Red Sox going into the season with a bunch of mid-rotation at best starters.
One plus has been Joe Kelly. He’s full bore with the big heater from the opening pitch, and while Kelly is a guy who I think needs to be on roughly a 90-pitch leash because he’s so max effort, he’s currently the best bet on the Boston staff to fashion a quality start.
Adam Warren will throw for the Yankees here and he can get a little wild at times. That’s a potential vulnerability against the patient Red Sox, who are about as willing as any team to take their walks. Fenway is a ballpark where issuing free passes can lead to crooked numbers getting posted on the scoreboard. Warren will need to get ahead of the Red Sox hitters this evening, or he could get victimized.
This is a big game for the hosts. They surely don’t want to get swept by the rural Yankees and they also need to get the offense going. I like their chances of breaking out to some extent here, and I’ll bank on Kelly to get me six decent innings and will look to the bullpen to hold the fort down the stretch. The price isn’t ideal, but it’s reasonable enough to allow for action on the Red Sox.