ATS’ FREE Baseball Selection for Tuesday, June 9th:
Boston (-135) over NY Yankees
The Matchup:
New York Yankees (34-23) at Boston Red Sox (33-24), 7:10 p.m.
Probable Starting Pitchers:
New York - A.J. Burnett (4-2, 4.69) Boston - Josh Beckett (6-2, 4.09)
(ATS Consultants) - First place in the American League East will be on the line this evening at Fenway Park, as the Boston Red Sox welcome the New York Yankees to town for the start of a three-game series.
New York comes into tonight's opener holding a one-game lead on the Red Sox in the division, but has lost all five of its matchups with Boston this season.
Boston will hand the ball to Josh Beckett, who has won his last two starts and previous four decisions, as he tries to follow up a brilliant effort his last time out. Beckett carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning against Detroit on Wednesday, before giving up two hits and three unearned runs in his team's 10-5 win. He also struck out nine batters to improve to 6-2, while lowering his ERA to 4.09.
Over his last three starts Beckett has given up just one earned run in 22 2/3 innings.
Beckett started his impressive run with a win over the Yankees back on May 5 when he allowed three runs and 10 hits in six innings. He is 8-4 in 14 starts against them with a 5.80 ERA.
Boston, which hasn't won six in a row against New York in a single season since a seven-game run in 1974, dropped its second straight series at home after losing two of three to Texas over the weekend, including a 6-3 loss on Sunday. The setback was just Boston's second in the last seven tries.
The Yankees, meanwhile, won for the eighth time in their last 11 games on Monday, as Andy Pettitte pitched six solid innings and New York used the longball to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays, 5-3, in the rubber match of a rain- shortened three-game series at Yankee Stadium.
After setting a major league record by going 18 straight games without an error, the Yankees have committed an error in six straight.
Hoping to keep the Yankees rolling tonight will be righty A.J. Burnett, who has won his last two starts, but was tattooed by the Red Sox earlier in the year. Burnett could not hold an early six-run lead against Boston on April 25 at Fenway, surrendering eight runs and eight hits in five innings. However, he did not factor in the decision of his team's 16-11 setback.
The Red Sox will continue their domination of the Yankees tonight as Beckett will keep the Bronx bombers bats quiet.
Boston (-135) over NY Yankees 6-2!