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The high-octane New York Yankees put continue out on the road as they travel to “The Forest City” to square off with the Cleveland Guardians out on the diamond. It is time to check out our MLB odds series, where our Yankees-Guardians prediction and pick will take place.
Apparently, the Yankees can lose after all! While it has rarely happened throughout the course of this season, New York's 2-1 loss at the hands of the Astros in Houston marked the third time in four games that the Yankees have gone down in defeat versus their American League foes. With the Astros in the rearview mirror, for now, the 56-21 Yankees will place their focus on the Guardians by sending out none other than right-handed ace Gerrit Cole who is 6-2 with a 2.99 on the campaign.
Cleveland is no slouches by any means, and while they're in for a challenging test against the ‘Yanks, the Guardians are a scrappy bunch that is capable of hanging tough even when facing the league's best squads. Getting the start on the mound against Cole and the Yankees will be RHP Aaron Civale who has a 2-4 record but a swelling 7.20 ERA in nine games started.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Yankees-Guardians MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Guardians Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (-128)
Cleveland Guardians: +1.5 (+106)
Over: 8 (-118)
Under: 8 (-104)
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Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread
Start spreading the news, but the Yankees are hands-on the favorites to take home all of the marbles in October as they stand 77 games into their season. Entering the month of July, New York has showcased to the rest of the league that they can not only get off to fast starts but that no lead is safe. With an array of weapons at their disposal and with arms on the roster who can silence any bat, do the Yankees have a weakness? They have yet to show any up to this point.
Offensively, New York is as good as it gets with the most runs in all of baseball scored and a .432 slugging percentage that would strike fear into Cy Young himself. Much of this offensive explosion has been the result of a career year by OF Aaron Judge, as the 30-year-old is absolutely teeing off of big-league pitching. Judge is on a record pace in 2022, as he is on track to mash 62 home runs which would be the most hit in many years. The Yankees outfielder alone has walked off a few games already, so expect the towering slugger to be a thorn in the Guardians' side this evening.
On the mound, the Yankees lead in numerous statistical categories such as ERA (2.92), WHIP (1.07), and even batting average against (.212). Not to mention, but Gerrit Cole has pitched magnificently in his three starts at Cleveland with a 2-0 record and 2.14 ERA. With New York's multitude of ways to defeat an opponent, the Yankees are an extremely tough team to beat and rarely don't cover the spread in their matchups on the year.
Why The Guardians Could Cover the Spread
Cleveland has faced off with the Yankees a trio of times in 2022, and each time saw them go down in flames by getting outscored 19-7 in those three contests. The Guardians certainly have their hands full on Friday, but don't forget that this a club that has three of four after dropping a handful in a row. With the setback in the rearview mirror, Cleveland is a much different team than when they squared off with New York back on April 22-24th.
The good news for the Guardians? They only managed three hits on Thursday in their win versus Minnesota and a flourish of more hits should be expected against the Yankees. As a whole, the Guardians are slashing .246 on the year and possess one of the best all-around hitters in the game in third-baseman Jose Ramirez. The dangerous switch hitter has already belted 16 homers and driven in 63 runs, which is good for the third-most in all of baseball. Additionally, Ramirez has a top-ten OPS at .977 on the season. This type of offensive prowess is something that can leave teams in a world of hurt, and Cleveland will need its top player to show up in order to cover the spread.
Yes, Civale has certainly had his struggles on the season, but his 4.43 ERA career-wise against the ‘Yanks fares better than what his earned-run average currently stands at. Civale has only surrendered five runs in his previous three outings combined, so there is some hope from Cleveland's side that the righty can pitch well enough to give the Guardians a chance in the later stages of this one.
Final Yankees-Guardians Prediction & Pick
This matchup acts as the perfect measuring stick to where the Guardians are at, and a victory over the big, bad Yankees would put the pressure on the Twins to hold the division lead out in the AL Central. However, New York is a stupendous 22-12 away from home, and with Cole scheduled to take the mound, the Guardians are in over their heads.
Final Yankees-Guardians Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-128)
