Aaron Judge will be looking to extend his 23-game on-base streak as the New York Yankees (93-58) host the Boston Red Sox (72-79) at Yankee Stadium on Sunday with the home team eyeing a sweep of the four-game series. The Yankees lead the series 3-0 after winning 7-5 on Saturday, their fifth straight head-to-head victory and 12th in 18 games this season. Reliever Lucas Luetge was credited with the win after throwing 0.2 scoreless innings, and Scott Effross earned his third save with a scoreless ninth. Gleyber Torres’ on-base streak is up to 17 as he went 2 for 4 with a solo home run in the win. Anthony Rizzo added a home run and two RBIs. Triston Casas was 1 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs, walking three times, for the Red Sox.
ON THE MOUND
Brayan Bello (2-6, 4.75 ERA) is in line to take the mound for Boston. The righty allowed one run over five innings in his last start, a 5-3 home win over the Reds on Tuesday. He was credited with the win, yielding eight hits while striking out five and walking two. Bello has made one previous start against the Yankees this season, a 5-3 home loss on September 14. He surrendered three runs on six hits over five innings, striking out six and walking one. For New York, southpaw Nestor Cortes (10-4, 2.67 ERA) will toe the rubber. He has made two appearances against the Red Sox this season, both starts, giving up five runs over 8.2 innings (1-0, 5.19) with 11 strikeouts and four walks. In his last start on Tuesday, Cortes took a no-decision at home against the Pirates. He threw five innings and gave up one run on five hits, striking out four and walking two in the 9-8 victory.
AT THE PLATE
Over the last five games, Boston has averaged 3.8 runs a game, a small drop compared to their season average of 4.5. Against lefties like Cortes this season, the Sox have a .766 OPS. Xander Bogaerts is the team’s strongest performer against left-handers with a 1.028 OPS in 111 at-bats. New York is averaging 8.0 runs per game in the last five, up from 5.1 for the season, with an improved slash line (.282/.381/.528). The Yanks have a .746 OPS against right-handers in 2022. With a .384 OBP over 410 at-bats, Andrew Benintendi has their highest on-base percentage against right-handers.
HOME AND AWAY
Boston is on a four-game losing streak away from Fenway Park, bringing their record to 35-42 in 2022. The Sox have scored 4.4 runs per game away from home, while allowing 4.5 runs. New York has won seven in a row at home. The Yanks are 55-22 at home this season, averaging 5.3 runs per game while surrendering 3.4. New York is 8-2 in the last 10 meetings at Yankee Stadium with an average scoreline of 6.6-3.4.
STANDINGS UPDATE
The Yankees lead the AL East by eight games over the Rays. Their magic number in the division is four. The Red Sox are fifth in the AL East, 20 games behind the Yankees.
SportsTips’ MLB Pick:
New York Yankees (-185)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.