The New York Yankees take on the St. Louis Cardinals. Check out our MLB odds series for our Yankees Cardinals prediction and pick.
Domingo German gets the start for the Yankees, while Jordan Montgomery takes the mound for the Cardinals.
Domingo German has pitched just 12 2/3 innings this year, giving up nine runs. It's hard to draw any big, sweeping conclusions from that, or make an especially informed prediction on how he will pitch in this game. German was brought up because of the injuries to the Yankees' starting rotation. Luis Severino got hurt, which limited the Yankees' options. It will be fascinating to see if German finds a groove, or if he struggles as the month of August unfolds. With Gerrit Cole running into trouble and Nestor Cortes not being as strong as he was in May and June, the Yankees are facing some fresh questions about the durability and quality of their starting rotation. German could provide an important piece to the puzzle in New York.
Jordan Montgomery begins his Cardinal career against his former team. Montgomery was a reliable, dependable, back-end member of the Yankees' starting rotation. Back-end starters aren't expected to dominate. They are expected to minimize damage and keep their team competitive. Montgomery definitely did that for the Yankees. The trade which sent him to St. Louis in exchange for a currently injured Harrison Bader was viewed by most baseball experts as a win for the Cardinals. That's partly a reflection of Bader's current health, but that view also flows from an awareness that the Cardinals needed starting pitching and the Yankees needed some Severino insurance. The deal seemed to give the Cardinals more of what they required. Now we get to find out if Montgomery can prove the experts right and help the surging Cardinals win the National League Central.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Yankees-Cardinals MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Cardinals Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+140)
St. Louis Cardinals: +1.5 (-170)
Over: 8.5 (-105)
Under: 8.5 (-115)
Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread
The Yankees know Jordan Montgomery's pitching tendencies and patterns. They are going to jump all over him and score a bunch of runs in this game. The Yankees are steaming mad after they let Friday's game — in which they led 3-1 — slip away. They will come to the ballpark focused and motivated. The Yankees have been drifting for the past month. They want the No. 1 seed in the American League, and they realize that if they are going to beat out the Houston Astros, they need to start stacking wins again.
Why The Cardinals Could Cover the Spread
After he was traded from the Yankees, Jordan Montgomery knows he has a lot to prove in St. Louis. More than that, he now gets to face a bunch of hitters he has studied up close for years, given that he was a teammate on the Yankee roster. Montgomery's inside knowledge of the Yankees' batting order will help the Cardinals. What will also help the Cardinals is that they are playing great baseball, roaring up the standings and tying the Milwaukee Brewers for the N.L. Central lead. Crucially, role players such as Paul DeJong are helping the superstars. It's not just Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado who are raking. DeJong is getting big hits. So is Tyler O'Neill. So is Lars Nootbaar. This is a balanced team playing quality baseball right now.
Final Yankees-Cardinals Prediction & Pick
If you can predict which way Jordan Montgomery versus the Yankees will go, be my guest. This is a coin-flip situation and therefore a stay-away game. If you insist on making a pick, lean to the Yankees.
Final Yankees-Cardinals Prediction & Pick: Yankees -1.5
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