Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Betting Preview
Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
When: Thursday, September 29, 2016, 7:05 PM ET
Line: Boston Red Sox at New York Yankees – view all MLB lines
TV Broadcast: YES, NESN
Writer’s Pick: New York Yankees
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Betting on the Boston Red Sox
Despite the 5-3 loss to the Yankees on Wednesday, the Boston Red Sox (92-66) still had reason to celebrate that evening. They clinched the AL East pennant 30 minutes before blowing a three-run lead to the Yanks in the ninth inning when the Toronto Blue Jays lost to the Baltimore Orioles in another crucial divisional showdown.
The Red Sox have now lost three-straight in Yankee Stadium and are 3-5 there for the season. And with the division crown in the bag, it seems as though they won’t make a serious move to improve on that record this Thursday as they prepare and rest some players for the playoffs.
Case in point: Henry Owens (0-1, 7.79 ERA), who was just called up from Triple-A and is making his first start for Boston since August 21, will start Thursday’s three-game series finale in place of the injured Drew Pomeranz. There’s too much at risk for the Sox to start a solid starting pitcher with basically nothing left on the line, so New York might have a field day against Owens at that.
Still, even without a dependable starter, Boston has enough firepower to possibly get them by on Thursday. They lead the majors in virtually every major statistical category such as runs scored (865), team batting average (.285) and on-base percentage (.350). Count on AL MVP candidate Mookie Betts, who’s hitting .382 with 14 RBIs and 12 walks drawn in September, to keep his hot bat going if his services are desperately called upon versus the Yanks.
Betting on the New York Yankees
The New York Yankees (82-76) are not ending their 2016 season without putting up a fight, and a good fight they did put up on Wednesday against their long-time division rivals.
Mark Teixeira blasted a walk-off grand slam to seal the game for the Yanks, and he now has back-to-back games with dingers against the Red Sox. Teixeira’s late-game heroics also ensured the Bronx Bombers that they’ll finish their campaign with a 24th-straight winning season – the longest active streak in MLB.
But why settle for a mere winning season when you can still make the playoffs, right? The Yanks are still four games behind the final wild card spot, and still has a realistic albeit slim shot of making the postseason if they win all their remaining games and get some help, ironically, from the likes of the Red Sox. After their final bout in New York, the Sox will take on the Blue Jays and the Yankees will take on the Orioles, with Toronto and Baltimore both holding the two spots in the AL Wild Card race.
Fortunately, the Yanks will conclude their season at home, where they’ve gone 11-3 in their last 14. And for even more playoff-bound optimism, they’ll have C.C. Sabathia (8-12, 4.02 ERA) take the mound on Thursday. Sabathia is fresh off a solid start, allowing no runs and only four hits in seven innings of work against the hard-hitting Blue Jays last Saturday.
Writer’s Prediction
The Yankees sweep the three-game set against the Red Sox and keep their postseason dreams alive, 4-2.
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