The Boston Red Sox keep on winning as they’ve picked up victories in nine of their last 12 games and look to extend their two-game winning streak when they meet their longtime rivals the New York Yankees. Although Boston leads the season series 8-5, it opens as a +115 underdog in this game with New York coming back at -135. On the hill, J.A. Happ faces Nathan Eovaldi with the total Sportsbook at 9 runs.
- Nathan Eovaldi’s clubs are 2-9 SU in his 11 night starts (avg. losing margin: 3).
- The Yankees are 7-1 SU behind J.A. Happ (avg. winning margin: 4.86).
- The Yankees are 8-2 SU and ATS in their last 10 games vs divisional opponents.
Red Sox vs Yankees Game Center
Eovaldi is struggling on the road this season
Nathan Eovaldi (5-7, 4.22 ERA) was brilliant through his first two starts after being traded from Tampa Bay to Boston just ahead of MLB’s trade deadline. However, following those first two outings the wheels completely fell off for the Texas native. The Red Sox went 1-4 SU over his next five starts while he compiled a startling 8.05 ERA. Four of those five starts came on the road, where he has a 5.68 ERA on the season over 12 appearances with batters holding a .288 average against him.
The 28-year-old makes his third appearance against New York this season. Eovaldi dazzled in his August start vs the Yankees, tossing eight scoreless innings in a 4-1 victory, but he was tagged for five earned runs over 7.1 innings in a 5-0 road loss when he was with the Rays. The righty will have to tread lightly in today’s game, though, as the Bronx Bombers have slugged the most home runs and scored the second-most runs vs RHP this season.
Yankees eye third straight win behind Happ
J.A. Happ (16-6, 3.75 ERA) has been impressive in his eight trips to the mound for New York since being traded from Toronto ahead of MLB’s trade deadline. The Pinstripes are 7-1 SU over his eight starts while he holds a respectable 2.70 ERA, including winning his last two appearances. New York’s lone loss behind Happ did come at Yankee Stadium at the end of August when he was blitzed by Detroit for five earned runs on 10 hits, lasting just 4.1 innings in an 8-7 loss.
The lefty has stifled the Boston bats over two appearances this season and would like to continue that success in today’s game. Both of Happ’s starts vs the Red Sox came when he was a member of the Blue Jays, and the Birds went 1-1 over those outings while he fashioned an impressive 0.84 ERA. Boston ranks in the middle of the pack in the majors for runs scored vs LHP this season, sitting in 13th with 186 runs.
OVER trending between Yankees and Red Sox
New York and Boston have had an average combined score of 10.17 at Yankee Stadium this year and Sportsbook has today’s total Sportsbook at 9 runs. Of the six meetings between the clubs at Yankee Stadium, only one game has gone UNDER 9 runs. Meanwhile, the Red Sox and Yankees are both in the top three in the majors for runs scored in night games this season with Boston leading the way with 582 and New York sitting in third with 513. Lastly, the BoSox rank 22nd in the majors for team ERA in night games over the last 30 days and have surrendered the eighth-most home runs over that span.
My take on New York vs Boston
I like New York on the -1.5 runline. The Yankees are 6-2 SU at home vs the Red Sox over their last eight meetings, winning by two or more runs in five of the six wins. Meanwhile, Eovaldi’s clubs are 2-9 SU in night games this season, losing by two or more runs in eight of those games, and he has a 5.93 ERA over his 11 starts. Lastly, the Yankees are 7-1 SU behind J.A. Happ and have an average winning margin of 4.86, earning the victory by three or more in each of those starts.
