Friday night baseball and we will see the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. First pitch is scheduled for a 7:05 PM (Eastern) start time and the game will be televised on the MLB Network. Current Betting Odds, according to Sportsbook.ag, have New York listed as the favorite.
Current Odds
Boston +103
Philadelphia -113
Over/ Under: 8 U -115
Analysis: The Red Sox, who enter the series with a two-game lead over the Yankees in the American League East, took two of three in New York to begin the regular season. Jacoby Ellsbury has one hit in his last seven at-bats versus Sabathia, but is 11 for 23 in the last five games overall. He had three hits and stole a club-record five bases as Boston won for the 11th time in 16 games, 9-2 at Philadelphia on Thursday.Dustin Pedroia has eight RBIs in his last seven games. He is 11-for-40 with two RBIs in his career against Sabathia. Jon Lester was the Opening Day starter against Sabathia at Yankee Stadium and struck out seven while allowing two runs and five hits to earn a win. The left-hander has slowed of late, going 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in his last two outings. Lester was knocked around for a season-high 10 hits and four runs without factoring in the decision against the Cleveland Indians on Saturday. He was scheduled to face the Phillies on Thursday but was pushed back to make room for Franklin Morales in the rotation.
The Yankees have lost five in a row overall while scoring a total of 10 runs but are expected to get some lineup reinforcements on Friday, when Mark Teixeira and Kevin Youkilis come off the disabled list. Teixeira, who averaged 34 homers and 106 RBIs in his previous four seasons, has yet to play after injuring his wrist during the World Baseball classic. Youkilis, the ex-Red Sox infielder, was batting .266 with two homers and seven RBIs in 17 games before he went on the DL on April 30 with a back injury. CC Sabathia struggled with his command while walking four and allowing four runs and eight hits over five innings in that Opening Day loss. The burly southpaw seemed to figure things out over the following month but has gone five straight starts without a win. Sabathia allowed a season-high seven runs on eight hits on seven frames to absorb a loss at Tampa Bay on Sunday.
Pick: I like the Sox in this one. CC Struggles mightily vs the Red Sox, as he is 8-10 with a 4.33 ERA in his career vs them. Jon Lester has pitched well vs the Yanks, going 10-4 with a 4.08 ERA vs them, including 2-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his last 5 starts vs New York. The Yanks offense is sputtering and while they may get two pieces back it still may take them a bit to work off the rest. Boston Should get revenge for their earlier series loss to the Yanks.
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