The rivalry between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees has been about as even as can be in recent seasons with the two teams splitting their last 20 meetings 10-10 apiece.
Yankees vs. Red Sox 2018 odds: Rivals meet starting Thursday with Boston the favorite
The Boston Red Sox host the New York Yankees in a critical series starting on Thursday night, with the sportsbooks siding with the home side for the opener.
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
With the Yankees currently trailing the Red Sox by 5.5 games for the lead in the AL East, Boston hosts its hated rival on Thursday night in the first game of an important four-game series.
Boston is a -130 home favorite in the series opener at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. Brian Johnson gets the start for the Red Sox squaring off against CC Sabathia and the Yankees as +120 underdogs.
New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox
When: Thursday, August 2, 7:10 p.m. ET
Where: Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts
Betting Line / Total: Boston -130 / 10 Runs
Boston Red Sox
Chris Sale was originally slated to start this game before hitting the 10-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation. Fortunately for the Red Sox, their ace pitcher isn’t expected to miss much time with this mild injury and could be back as soon as his next scheduled start.
Boston missed out on the opportunity to bolster its bullpen during the trade deadline, but did add some offensive depth with the acquisition of Ian Kinsler and an extra arm for the starting rotation in Nathan Eovaldi.
Brian Johnson has been excellent as a spot starter in four starts this month with a 1.80 ERA over that stretch. Despite not surrendering an earned run in each of his two starts since the all-star break, though, Johnson has led the Red Sox to two straight losses.
New York Yankees
The Yankees were in dire need of starting pitching depth behind Luis Severino, and they went out and got some by adding JA Happ and Lance Lynn to the rotation. New York also picked up an experienced arm for the bullpen in left-hander Zach Britton.
Already boasting the best power-hitting offense in the majors, the Yankees now look a lot more dangerous after these improvements. New York is just 4-9 in its last 13 games as a betting underdog.
Thursday night’s total is set at 10 runs. The UNDER is 10-3 in Boston’s last 13 games according to the OddsShark MLB Database.
After these four games, Boston and New York have two series remaining against each other in September. Luis Severino faces off against Rick Porcello on Friday, JA Happ takes on Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday and Masahiro Tanaka meets David Price in the series finale on Sunday.
For more odds information, betting picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes or listen to it at OddsShark.libsyn.com.
