Yankees Hope To End Road Struggles Against Marlins

The New York Yankees are just 6-6 in 12 games played against National League opponents this season. The Yankees will try to end their recent struggles with the Miami Marlins this Friday night in Miami in the first game of a three-game road series.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Yankees opened as -155 favorites in Miami and have been bet up slightly to New York -160. The Marlins are going off as +145 home underdogs in this series opener and the total is set at 7.5 runs after Sportsbook at eight runs. The UNDER is 7-3 in Miami’s last 10 games against American League East opponents.

Starting Pitchers Analysis

Jameson Taillon was rock-solid again last Saturday as he allowed only one earned run with four hits and three walks in a 4-3 Yankees win over the Boston Red Sox. Taillon has been outstanding across four July starts with a 3-0 record, a 1.42 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP. On the season he owns a 4.36 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.

Zach Thompson has pitched well through his first seven starts in the major leagues. The 27-year-old rookie has a 2.45 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP to go along with 36 strikeouts across 33 innings pitched. The right-hander has a 2.25 ERA through three home starts so far in 2021.

New York News & Notes

The Yankees pitched well to earn wins of 4-3 on Tuesday and 3-1 on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays. Thursday was a different story however as New York was on the recieving end of a 14-0 blowout loss in the series finale. This marked the sixth time this season that this Yankees offense has been shutout. 

New York used the trade deadline to acquire some help for the offense in the form of Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo. Gallo has 25 home runs and 55 RBI this season and has reached the 40-home run mark twice in his career. While his power is undeniable, Gallo’s .211 career batting average and streaky hitting seems to go with what the Yankees already have as opposed to being something likely to change things up.

Miami News & Notes

The Marlins had a three-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday in an 8-7 road loss to the Baltimore Orioles. Miami’s hot streak, which included two upsets at home over the San Diego Padres, came as a surprise as the team had gone just 3-10 over its previous 13 games. This group has shown some bite as a home underdog in 2021 though with an 8-7 record in their last 15 instances as one.

Miami enters Friday’s action in dead last in the National League East with a 44-58 record. It is somewhat surprising that as of Friday morning the Marlins had not found a trade partner for Jesus Aguilar. Aguilar leads the Marlins in home runs (18) and RBI (75) this season and would seemingly bring in a decent haul of prospects if dealt away.

Betting Pick: New York -160

Jameson Taillon is pitching extremely well this month and should be able to hold the Marlins in check long enough to give one or two of these Yankees sluggers the chance to make an impact.