Red Sox vs. Yankees Betting Line – August 5
The Red Sox vs. Yankees betting line was as follows: New York -205, Boston +175, Total: 9
The Boston Red Sox look to pick up the pieces after a devastating loss in game one of this series as they take on their rivals, the New York Yankees, for the second of three contests.
It has been another long season for the Red Sox, and despite making a ton of big moves in the offseason to acquire names such as Ramirez, Sandoval and Castillo, they have been unable to get the job done. After Tuesday’s loss, they brought their record since the All-Star break to 5-13 while losing all eight games played on the road in that stretch. They opened up this set looking flat in the Bronx, taking a close game into the seventh inning before letting the Yanks offense drive in nine runs as the Boston offense saw their top four batters in the lineup go 0-for-15 in the 13-3 loss. SS Xander Bogaerts (.315) was hitless in the defeat, but has been the team’s hottest hitter and in the last 10 games has gone 15-for-42 (.357) with 10 runs scored.
While the Sox are struggling, the Yankees are looking like a new team as they lead the AL East by 5.5 games over the Blue Jays. Their second-best scoring offense has led the team to a record of 12-5 since the Midsummer Classic and has won all but a single contest out of seven at home during that stretch. New York scored double-digit runs for the fourth time in the last seven games, scoring an average of 9.9 runs per game during that time, when they went 8-for-15 in the 13-3 win on Tuesday night. OF Chris Young (.268) continued his dominance of lefties (.363 vs LHP) in the game as he was 3-for-4 with four runs scored, a homer and three RBIs.
It will be RHP Steven Wright (4-4, 4.53 ERA) who gets the call to toe the rubber in this one for the Red Sox while a night after top prospect Henry Owens earned his first career start for Boston, the Yankees prized prospect, RHP Luis Severino (0-0, 0.00), will take the ball for the first time in a big league uniform.
The road has been unwelcome for this Boston group in 2015 as they are 20-32 (.385) away from the confines of Fenway and will be facing the Yanks who have posted a record of 31-17 (.646) when they play in front of their fans. This rivalry has lost some of its luster over the years, but the teams have still played tough and since the start of the 2013 season New York holds a slight 25-23 edge in the series; going just 11-13 at home during that time though. This year, the Yankees have been able to take 7-of-10 games against the Red Sox and in the last four games have outscored them 29-15.
Trends show that New York is just 7-7 as a home favorite of -150 or more this season while also being 22-7 (.759) in home games at night this year. Some big bats could be missing from the lineup the Red Sox as OF Hanley Ramirez (Knee) is questionable while 2B Dustin Pedroia (Hamstring) and OF Mookie Betts (Concussion) ride the DL. New York will be missing both OF Mason Williams (Shoulder) and 2B Dustin Ackley (Back) who are currently on the 15-day DL.
Wright had a long road to the majors as he spent nearly six seasons in the minor leagues with both the Indians and Red Sox before making his debut in 2013 with Boston. He was never a prized prospect, but was able to get the job done and earned himself some time with the MLB club after some solid 2014 numbers (2.57 ERA, 9.4 K/9) over 21 innings. In 2015, Wright has pitched in 14 games (7 starts) and has failed to get many out via the strikeout (5.9 K/9) while giving up tons of homers (1.66 HR/9). In his 39.1 frames as a starter, he has a 4.58 ERA and has allowed eight long balls (1.83 HR/9). The 30-year-old is coming off of a solid outing against the White Sox, though, when he went seven innings, giving up two runs on six hits with eight strikeouts (2 walks) in a winning effort.
He did have one start against the Yanks last year and despite taking a loss did well with five innings of pitching in which he gave up two runs (0 ER) on four hits with four strikeouts. As a team, the players that have faced Wright from New York are a collective 6-for-32 (.188) with four strikeouts as OF Carlos Beltran and C Brian McCann each have a double in the matchup.
The Red Sox bullpen has gone 13-16 with a 4.07 ERA (1.35 WHIP) and are 25-for-39 (64%) in save opportunities. Koji Uehara (2.33 ERA, 23 saves) has been hot of late and over his last nine appearances (9.2 IP) he has allowed one run on five hits with a 16:2 K/BB ratio.
The Yankees would not allow other clubs to add Severino to any trade deals when the deadline hit and now they get to showcase the young arm that has been climbing up prospect lists since he was added to the team in 2012. The righty is a mere 21-years-old, and after beginning last season with the high-A club in Tampa, has risen quickly through each stop and was a stud in his 11 starts with the triple-A affiliate RailRiders. He went 7-0 with a 1.91 ERA (0.93 WHIP) with that club, and despite seeing his strikeouts (7.3 K/9) dip lower than double digits per nine innings for the first time since A-ball, was able to keep his control (2.5 BB/9) and did not give up a single homer in the 61.1 innings at the triple-A level.
With this being his first start of many, Severino has never had the chance to face the Red Sox or any of their batters at this level, but will need to be careful against DH David Ortiz who has begun to heat up with a .317 average to go along with five homers and 16 RBIs in 60 at-bats since the break. On the other side of things, the young righty might make easy work of OF Hanley Ramirez if he plays as the outfielder is a poor 14-for-62 (.226) with 12 strikeouts and no HRs in his past 16 contests.
New York’s relievers have been solid and are 18-10 with a 3.35 ERA (1.15 WHIP) as they have been successful in 33-of-41 (80%) save chances. Andrew Miller (1.75 ERA, 23 saves) has yet to blow a game this year and owns an amazing 54:12 K/BB ratio with 14 hits allowed over his 36 innings of work.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
