The Boston Red Sox entered the All-Star Break with a 4-0 record over their last four games. The Red Sox will try to extend that winning streak on the road in a three-game series against the New York Yankees starting on Friday.
Red Sox vs. Yankees odds 2016: Boston starts second half as underdogs on road at New York
Boston and New York each seek key divisional wins in a three-game betting matchup at Yankee Stadium starting on Friday night.
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Boston is a +130 underdog in Friday’s series opener at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Steven Wright will take the mound for the Red Sox against Michael Pineda and the Yankees, who are a -140 favorite at home.
With a 6-1 record over their last seven games, the Red Sox come out of the break with a 49-38 record, two games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles. Boston’s 490 runs in the first half of the season was 30 runs higher than second place Chicago’s, and the team’s .292 batting average was nearly 20 points higher than Miami and Colorado’s second place .273.
The trade for former Padres ace Drew Pomeranz over the break should help Boston’s pitching staff, making the Red Sox a more dangerous title threat down the stretch.
Over the last 10 games between these two rivals, Boston holds a 7-3 SU advantage per the OddsShark MLB Database. The Yankees have taken three of the last four games played in New York.
After taking three of four games from the Cleveland Indians before the break, the Yankees improved to 44-44 on the season. Reports indicate that the front office is torn on whether the Yankees should be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline. New York sits in fourth place in the division but is just 7.5 games behind Baltimore for the division lead and 5.5 games out of a wild card spot. The Yankees are 23-18 at home this season.
Friday’s total is set at 9.5 runs. The UNDER is 4-2-1 in the last seven games between these two teams.
The AL East divisional race looks like it will go down to the wire again this season, and both teams would love to force their rival into a slow start to the second half. Saturday’s pitching matchup pits Eduardo Rodriguez against CC Sabathia, with the series wrapping up on Sunday night with David Price vs. Masahiro Tanaka.
