MLB Odds and Picks
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews
LAS VEGAS -- The historic Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is so heated that it will always have fans of each team feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys regardless of the standings. Tonight's matchup at Yankee Stadium will really test that theory as fourth-place Boston sits eight games out in AL East, while the third-place Yankees are three games out.
Things have changed in the AL East with Toronto and Baltimore in first and second, respectively, ahead of the perennial division bullies. The Yankees and Red Sox have combined to win eight World Series in the past 19 seasons, with New York making the playoffs 17 times and Boston 10 times in that span.
Both have been two of baseball’s elite teams the past two decades, and each time they hook up it’s a battle. But in the first of this three-game set, we get Boston's Brandon Workman against New York's Vidal Nuno. Neither starting pitcher inspires much confidence.
Nuno (1-4, 5.88 ERA) has been awful at Yankee Stadium this season and that may be putting it mildly. No starting pitcher has a worse home ERA than Nuno’s 7.09 mark. He’s gone 0-3 in seven starts and in his last two starts -- one at home and one on the road -- he’s achieved new levels of awful. In 9.1 innings against Baltimore and Oakland, he gave up 13 runs (12 earned) and served up five homers. The silver lining, if there is one, is that he only gave up 14 hits and three walks.
On the other side we have Workman (1-0, 2.88), who is making his first appearance since June 15 after serving a six-game suspension for throwing at Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria. He’s actually been serviceable in his five starts since joining the rotation on May 25. The Red Sox have only won two of those starts, but he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of them. His best performance came on June 10 when he went 6.2 innings, allowing no runs and one hit at Baltimore in a 1-0 win, his only victory of the season.
Boston won, 5-4, on Wednesday at Seattle to improve to 2-5 on its current 10-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Yankees ended a four-game slide -- after winning four straight -- with a 5-3 win on Wednesday at Toronto. Neither of tonight’s starters have been a part of this long rivalry, and the Yankees have taken five of the first seven games against Boston this season.
Despite the Yankees losing four of Nuno’s past five starts and seven of his last 10, he still comes in as a -108 favorite because of Boston’s recent struggles. The total is set at 9, which may be the best angle to look at tonight. Even though only three of their hook-ups this season have gone OVER, Nuno wasn't involved in any of them. Take the OVER tonight.
Friday’s picks:
Red Sox (Workman) -102 at Yankees (Nuno)
Red Sox/Yankees OVER 9 (EV)
Angels (Matt Shoemaker) -103 at Royals
Mariners (Chris Young) -102 vs. Indians
Twins (Kevin Correia) +125 at Rangers
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews
LAS VEGAS -- The historic Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is so heated that it will always have fans of each team feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys regardless of the standings. Tonight's matchup at Yankee Stadium will really test that theory as fourth-place Boston sits eight games out in AL East, while the third-place Yankees are three games out.
Things have changed in the AL East with Toronto and Baltimore in first and second, respectively, ahead of the perennial division bullies. The Yankees and Red Sox have combined to win eight World Series in the past 19 seasons, with New York making the playoffs 17 times and Boston 10 times in that span.
Both have been two of baseball’s elite teams the past two decades, and each time they hook up it’s a battle. But in the first of this three-game set, we get Boston's Brandon Workman against New York's Vidal Nuno. Neither starting pitcher inspires much confidence.
Nuno (1-4, 5.88 ERA) has been awful at Yankee Stadium this season and that may be putting it mildly. No starting pitcher has a worse home ERA than Nuno’s 7.09 mark. He’s gone 0-3 in seven starts and in his last two starts -- one at home and one on the road -- he’s achieved new levels of awful. In 9.1 innings against Baltimore and Oakland, he gave up 13 runs (12 earned) and served up five homers. The silver lining, if there is one, is that he only gave up 14 hits and three walks.
On the other side we have Workman (1-0, 2.88), who is making his first appearance since June 15 after serving a six-game suspension for throwing at Tampa Bay’s Evan Longoria. He’s actually been serviceable in his five starts since joining the rotation on May 25. The Red Sox have only won two of those starts, but he hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any of them. His best performance came on June 10 when he went 6.2 innings, allowing no runs and one hit at Baltimore in a 1-0 win, his only victory of the season.
Boston won, 5-4, on Wednesday at Seattle to improve to 2-5 on its current 10-game road trip. Meanwhile, the Yankees ended a four-game slide -- after winning four straight -- with a 5-3 win on Wednesday at Toronto. Neither of tonight’s starters have been a part of this long rivalry, and the Yankees have taken five of the first seven games against Boston this season.
Despite the Yankees losing four of Nuno’s past five starts and seven of his last 10, he still comes in as a -108 favorite because of Boston’s recent struggles. The total is set at 9, which may be the best angle to look at tonight. Even though only three of their hook-ups this season have gone OVER, Nuno wasn't involved in any of them. Take the OVER tonight.
Friday’s picks:
Red Sox (Workman) -102 at Yankees (Nuno)
Red Sox/Yankees OVER 9 (EV)
Angels (Matt Shoemaker) -103 at Royals
Mariners (Chris Young) -102 vs. Indians
Twins (Kevin Correia) +125 at Rangers
