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Yankees vs. Red Sox Prediction and Odds for Friday, July 8 (Back OVER in Boston)

By Matt De Saro

New York Yankees star Aaron Judge.
New York Yankees star Aaron Judge. / Justin K. Aller/GettyImages
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Bitter AL East rivals clash today with the Boston Red Sox hosting the New York Yankees in Game 2 of a four-game weekend series. While the Red Sox are in second place behind the Yankees in the division, it would be wrong to say they are a close second.

Boston trailed the Yankees by 14 games entering this series and was deadlocked with the Rays at 45-37. I think the only way the Red Sox catch New York is by beating them head to head considering their lead is so vast. This series is the first meeting between the two since the first week of the season when the Yankees took two of three games.

Here are the odds for this showdown from WynnBET Sportsbook:

Yankees vs. Red Sox Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line

  • Yankees: -1.5 (+105)
  • Red Sox: +1.5 (-125)

Moneyline:

  • Yankees: -154
  • Red Sox: +130

Total:

  • Total 9.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Yankees vs. Red Sox Prediction and Pick

This game could end up being one of the best pitching matchups of the weekend with Nestor Cortes (7-3) squaring off against Michael Wacha (6-1). It is worth noting however that Wacha had his last start pushed back due to a “tired arm."

He managed to avoid a trip to the IL but arm fatigue is never good and is sometimes an indication of a larger problem. Still, Wacha has been great for Boston with a 2.69 ERA and 1.11 WHIP  in 13 starts. On top of that, he’s been lights out at Fenway with a 1.39 ERA in six starts with a minuscule OBA of just .191.

Still, I can’t get the idea of Wacha pitching fatigued out of my head. 

The Yankees have their own gunslinger starting today in Nestor Cortes. The second-year Yankee has been incredibly good since coming over from Seattle and has a 2.44 ERA so far this season over 15 starts. Cortes had a rough June and posted a 4.15 ERA in five starts, but his last start against Cleveland gives me hope that he is on an upswing.

Cortes struck out six over six innings, didn’t walk a batter, and allowed a single run of a solo shot. Now for the bad news. For whatever reason, the Red Sox seem to have Cortes’ number with a .352 career batting average against him and OPS of 1.071. 

Considering how hard the Yankees hit and how poor Cortes has been against the Red Sox, I’m going to take a chance on the OVER hitting in Game 2 of this series. 

Pick: OVER

Follow all of Matt De Saro’s betting picks HERE

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