Aaron Judge will be looking to extend his 21-game on-base streak as the New York Yankees (+100) host the Boston Red Sox (-120) at Yankee Stadium on Friday. The early total has been set at 8 with the under a -115 favorite. The Yankees (91-58) took Thursday’s series opener 5-4 in 10 innings, their 10th head-to-head victory in 16 games this season. Clay Holmes threw two scoreless innings out of the bullpen to get the win. Giancarlo Stanton went 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs in the win. Reese McGuire was 1 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs for the Red Sox (72-77).
ON THE MOUND
Rich Hill (7-7, 4.70 ERA) is in line to take the mound for Boston. The left-hander allowed four runs over 4.2 innings in his last start, a 9-0 road defeat against the Royals on Saturday. He took the loss, giving up eight hits while striking out four. Hill is making his first appearance against the Yankees this season. Over three starts against the Yankees in 2021, Hill was 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA over 17.2 innings. He had 18 strikeouts and five walks. Right-hander Gerrit Cole (12-7, 3.41 ERA) will take the mound for New York. He has made four appearances against the Red Sox this season, all starts, giving up 14 runs over 23 innings (2-0, 5.48) with 32 strikeouts and six walks. In his last start on Sunday, Cole got the win on the road against the Brewers. He threw five innings and gave up four runs on four hits, striking out eight and walking three in the 12-8 triumph. The right-hander leads MLB in strikeouts (236).
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Boston has averaged 4.6 runs a game, equal to their season average. Against right-handed pitchers like Cole this season, the Sox have a .720 OPS. Rafael Devers is the team’s best hitter against right-handers with a .927 OPS in 376 at-bats. New York is averaging 8.2 runs per game in the last five, up from 5.1 for the season, with a better slash line (.295/.371/.574). The Yanks have a .770 OPS against lefties in 2022. With a 1.006 OPS over 126 at-bats, Judge has been their best hitter against left-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Boston is 35-40 away from home in 2022, scoring 4.4 runs per game while allowing 4.5 runs. New York has won five in a row at home. The Yanks are 53-22 at home this season, averaging 5.3 runs per game while surrendering 3.3. In the last 10 games at Yankee Stadium between the bitter rivals, New York is 8-2 with an average scoreline of 6.1-2.8.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Yankees lead the AL East by seven games over the Blue Jays. Their magic number in the division is six. The Red Sox are fifth in the AL East, 19 games behind the Yankees.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
New York Yankees (-200)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
