Thursday night viewing has never been this good as the MLB has served up a pair of blockbuster games that will definitely be worth all your attention. Kicking things off tonight is the mouth-watering clash between AL East rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees.
Following shortly thereafter is the pivotal National League showdown between the Chicago Cubs and the San Francisco Giants. Read on below for a quick breakdown of these two critical games and while you’re at it, you can check out our complete preview of the Yankees-Red Sox series finale here.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees (7:05 PM ET)
Line: Boston Red Sox (+135) at New York Yankees (-150); total: 9.0 – view all MLB lines
The New York Yankees had their two-game unbeaten run snapped on Wednesday with a gut-wrenching 2-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox. They will look to return to the win column later tonight when they take on the Red Sox in the final game of their three-game set.
[sc:MLB240banner ]Starting for New York this evening is left-hander CC Sabathia (7-4, 3.80 ERA). The Yankees have won three of their last four games with Sabathia as their starter. He struggled, however, in his last start, allowing five runs on nine hits in just five innings of action in New York’s 7-6 loss to Texas. He has now surrendered five earned runs in each of his last two starts.
The Red Sox, on the other hand, will counter with left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (6-3, 4.34 ERA). Boston is 5-1 in Rodriguez’s last six starts. Rodriguez has been solid for the Red Sox this season, allowing three runs or fewer in nine out of his 12 starts this year.
The total has gone over in the Yankees’ last four home games against the Red Sox.
Writer’s Prediction
New York wins, 6-3.
San Francisco Giants vs. Chicago Cubs (8:05 PM ET)
Line: San Francisco Giants (+115) at Chicago Cubs (-125) – view all MLB lines
The Chicago Cubs had their six-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday with a disappointing 7-5 defeat against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the loss, the Cubs fell to 58-48 in the team standings, half a game behind the San Francisco Giants in the race for the National League’s final postseason spot.
The Cubs will look to get their season back on track when they take on the aforementioned Giants in the opening game of their crucial four-game set. Starting for the Cubs tonight is Jason Hammel (6-5, 3.13 ERA). He was superb in his last start, allowing just one run on six hits in 5.2 innings of action in Chicago’s 4-1 win against the Milwaukee Brewers.
San Francisco, on the other hand, will have right-hander Chris Heston (11-5, 3.24 ERA) on the mound tonight. The Giants are 4-0 in Heston’s last four starts. This will be Heston’s first career appearance against the Cubs. He is 6-1 on the road this season with a 3.98 ERA.
Writer’s Prediction
Chicago wins, 5-2. Create a betting account now and bet on the best games for tonight.
[sc:MLB490banner ]1,928 total views, 1 views today
