The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox are kicking off a four-game series on Thursday night. It's time to continue our MLB odds series and make a Yankees-Red Sox prediction and pick.
The Red Sox played the Yankees right after the MLB All-Star Break and took just one game with one being postponed due to COVID-19 complications. The Red Sox are fresh off of taking two games against the Toronto Blue Jats where they combined for 20 runs and they are hoping the bats can continue that momentum.
The Yankees have won four straight, including two against the Red Sox and two against the Philadelphia Phillies as they try any way they can to make a late surge and make things more interesting in the American League East. The four-game set between two division rivals could have huge playoff implications.
Here's how oddsmakers have set the lines for Thursday's game.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Red Sox Odds
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New York Yankees +1 1/2 (-152)
Boston Red Sox – 1 1/2 (+132)
Over 9 1/2 runs (-105)
Under 9 1/2 runs (-115)
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
Plain and simple, the Yankees are hot. They have won four straight going into this series against Boston and have won nines games in the month of July in total and are 7-3 in their last 10 games.
Sure, traveling to Boston should tilt the scales in the favor of the Red Sox, but not on Thursday night. The Yankees are tossing out Jordan Montgomery to kick off the series against the Red Sox. While Montgomery hasn't been spectacular, he has done just enough. In his previous two starts, Montgomery has gone at least six innings and given up three runs in each of those games. Not great, but not terrible either.
The Yankees' backs are against the wall already, in a way. They sit 3.5 games back of the Oakland Athletics for the last wild card spot and are seven games back of the Red Sox for the top spot in the AL East. Any victory they can get against the Red Sox is crucial, especially as the season heads into August.
Why The Red Sox Could Cover The Spread
The Red Sox bats caught fire against the Blue Jats and they should continue to do so against the Yankees. The Yankees are throwing Montgomery on the mound, and if Boston can get to him early, they could force the Yankees to use their bullpen more than they had hoped.
The Red Sox are tossing out Tanner Houck, who has pitched in just four games this season. The book is still opened on Houck, who has an 0-2 record with a 3.38 ERA and threw three scoreless innings in relief last time out against the Yankees, a game that Boston won 4-0.
If Houck can get off to a good start, and the Red Sox can continue to hit as they did against Toronto, things should go splendidly in front of a Fenway Park crowd.
Final Yankees-Red Sox Prediction & Pick
Yankees-Red Sox series are always tough to predict and these teams are both on a roll as of late. However, the Red Sox have home-field and just a better team in general. For the first game of the series, both teams should have no issues scoring runs, but the Red Sox should take this game and continue to hit the cover off of the baseball.
Final Yankees-Red Sox Prediction & Pick: Red Sox -1 1.2, Over 9 1/2 runs
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