Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees: Preview & Prediction
By Sascha Paruk in MLB Baseball
Published:
Baseball’s fiercest rivalry takes center stage once again this evening (7:10 PM ET) when the Boston Red Sox welcome the New York Yankees to Fenway for the second of a three-game set. Both teams have been hit by injuries early in the season. On the Yankees’ side, 1B Greg Bird, 3B Brandon Drury, and CF Aaron Hicks are all on the DL, while the Bo-Sox are down SS Xander Bogaerts.
The matchup on the mound is All-Star caliber with a so-far-spotless David Price facing a resurgent Masahiro Tanaka. That said, the opening game of the series also featured an All Star-level duel on the mound — Luis Severino vs Chris Sale — and ended in a 14-1 Red Sox rout.
Will tonight be another massacre? The early odds, team stats, betting trends, weather forecast, and score prediction are below.
Opening Odds
| MONEYLINE | RUNLINE | O/U RUNS |
|---|---|---|
| YANKEES (-105) | YANKEES +1.5 (-210) | OVER 7.5 (-130) |
| RED SOX (-105) | RED SOX -1.5 (+180) | UNDER 7.5 (+110) |
Price has been near-perfect so far this season. In two starts (both against the Rays), he has yet to surrender a run, scattering seven hits over 14.0 innings. The offense has been dreadful when Price has been on the mound, scoring four runs combined, but the team has still picked up two Ws (1-0, 3-2) in his first two outings.
Tanaka hasn’t been quite as good as Price, but his early numbers (12.1 IP, 2.92 ERA, 15 SO, 0.73 WHIP) are encouraging after posting a 4.74 ERA — by far the worst of his career — last season. The Yankees split his first two starts, beating the Blue Jays (4-2) and falling to the Orioles (5-2).
Team Stats
| 9-1 (4-0 Home) | RECORD | 5-6 (2-3 Away) |
| David Price: 1-0, 0.00 ERA | PROBABLE STARTER | Masahiro Tanaka: 1-1, 2.92 ERA |
| .239 BA, .669 OPS (in 251 at-bats) | LINEUP VS OPPONENT STARTER | .326 BA, .871 OPS (in 242 at-bats) |
| 4.24 (20th in MLB)* | BULLPEN ERA | 4.89 (24th in MLB)* |
| .733 (12th in MLB)* | TEAM OPS | .747 (7th in MLB)* |
| 8-11 (4-5 Home) | 2017 HEAD-TO-HEAD | 11-8 (5-4 Away) |
*As of April 9, 2018.
Betting Results & Trends
| RED SOX | TREND | YANKEES |
|---|---|---|
| Won 9 | WIN/LOSS STREAK | Lost 2 |
| 5-0 | LAST 5 | 1-4 |
| 4-6 | RUNLINE RECORD | 5-6 |
| 5-5 | OVER/UNDER SPLIT | 6-4 |
| Over 3 | OVER/UNDER STREAK | Over 4 |
As mentioned off the hop, the outcome of last night’s game was never in doubt. The Red Sox jumped on Severino early and, like an attentive wedding DJ, kept the hits coming all night long. Mookie Betts had the piece de resistance, belting a grand slam in the sixth to cap off a nine-run inning.
Meanwhile, the Yankees managed eight hits against Sale, but just one run via Aaron Judge’s third homer of the season.
Weather Forecast at Opening Pitch
| TEMPERATURE | 41° |
| HUMIDITY | 67% |
| WIND SPEED | SE 11MPH (out to left field) |
| P.O.P. | 2% |
Score Prediction
| YANKEES | 3 |
| RED SOX | 5 |
Price has been awful against the Yankees in a Red Sox uniform (and generally throughout his career). In seven starts against New York over the last two years, he’s given up 34 runs and 62 hits (8.85/game).
But 2018 David Price looks like the Cy Young version we saw back in 2012, and the Yankee sluggers have not exactly been mashing out of the gate. The only records Giancarlo Stanton is on pace to break are for strikeouts, with a league-leading 20 Ks in his first 48 plate appearances. Boston’s second ace should be able to out-duel Tanaka, who’s given up two homers to JD Martinez in just nine at bats.
Managing Editor
Sascha has been working in the sports-betting industry since 2014, and quickly paired his strong writing skills with a burgeoning knowledge of probability and statistics. He holds an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia.
