The New York Yankees (99-63), one of the best offenses in baseball, are set to host the Cleveland Guardians (94-70) at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday for the opening game of their American League Divisional Playoffs series. The Guardians are coming off a two-game sweep of the Rays, taking the finale 1-0 on Saturday at Progressive Field for their fourth straight win. Oscar Gonzalez was 2 for 5 with a solo home run. The Yankees split their last series against the Rangers, dropping the finale 4-2 on Wednesday at Globe Life Field. Jose Trevino went 2 for 4 with a solo home run.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
The Yankees won five of six in the regular season series between the teams, although they dropped a close one 2-0 in their last meeting on July 3 at Progressive Field. Starter Triston McKenzie threw seven scoreless innings – striking out seven – for the win, and Emmanuel Clase picked up his 19th save with a scoreless ninth.
ON THE MOUND
Right-hander Gerrit Cole (13-8, 3.50 ERA) gets the ball for New York. He has made two appearances against the Guardians this season, both starts, giving up two runs over 12.2 innings (2-0, 1.42) with 15 strikeouts and four walks. In his last start on October 4, Cole took the loss on the road against the Rangers. He threw six innings and gave up three runs (2 ER) on six hits, striking out nine, in the 3-2 defeat. The right-hander leads the league in strikeouts (257).
AT THE PLATE
The Cleveland offense is averaging 4.3 runs per game for the season, with a slash line of .254/.316/.383. Jose Ramirez leads the team in OPS at .869. The third baseman is slashing .280/.355/.514 with 30 home runs, 128 RBIs, and 91 runs over 159 games. Against righties like Cole this season, the Guardians have a .717 OPS. Ramirez also is the team’s strongest hitter against right-handers with a .918 OPS in 444 at-bats. New York is slashing .241/.325/.426 for the season and averaging 5.0 runs per game, second best in MLB. Aaron Judge leads the team with a 1.111 OPS. The right fielder has 62 home runs, 131 RBIs, and 133 runs scored with a slash line of .311/.425/.686. New York is averaging only 2.6 runs per game in the last five with their slash line slipping across the board (.195/.295/.357).
HOME AND AWAY
Cleveland is on a nine-game winning streak on the road, bringing their record to 46-35 in 2022. The Guardians have scored 4.6 runs per game away from home, while allowing 3.9 runs. New York has gone 57-24 at Yankee Stadium this season, averaging 5.2 runs per game while surrendering 3.3. New York is 6-4 in the last 10 games at Yankee Stadium between the teams despite an average scoreline favoring Cleveland (6.3-4.9).
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Guardians won the AL Central. The Yankees finished first in the AL East.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
Cleveland Guardians (+180)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
