Sunday Night MLB: Dodgers vs. Yankees
The first weekend of baseball after the All-Star Break has featured some drama, blowouts, lots of offense, and some really good pitching matchups. We were supposed to get Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Cam Schlittler here in the NBC/Peacock window on Sunday night, but Mother Nature had other ideas and washed out Saturday’s game, leaving us with two TBD starters on Sunday night, as those two aforementioned studs started Game 1 for their respective teams.
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How to Watch Dodgers vs. Yankees
Where: NBC/Peacock
When: Sunday July 19, 7:20 p.m. ET
Dodgers vs. Yankees MLB Odds
Los Angeles Dodgers -131 // New York Yankees +109
Total: 9 (-110/-110)
Dodgers vs. Yankees Prediction
Pick: Yankees +109
That sure does make handicapping this game a challenge, as bullpen usage in Game 1 will be the key. Emmet Sheehan was supposed to start on Saturday, but he was pushed back to Monday against the Phillies, and so was Ryan Weathers, who draws the Pirates. Pittsburgh pummels righties and has some issues with lefties, so Weathers and the Yankees might not be a bad play tomorrow.
In any event, we’re flying blind here with tonight’s game, as the sportsbooks have a number up, but no listed starters. Elmer Rodriguez might get the start for the Yankees, as he’s on the taxi squad for today. He’s the top pitching prospect in the organization, but he debuted earlier this season and posted a 4.76 ERA with a 5.86 xERA and a 5.16 FIP over 17 innings of work. He walked 11 of the 83 batters he faced and made a lot of his own issues as a result. His starts have been really spread out – April 29, May 5, May 17, June 21 – but he has allowed five runs (four earned) on 14 hits in 15.1 innings over his three minor league efforts since getting sent down.
Landon Knack should get some innings in some capacity tonight for the Dodgers, whether he starts or serves as the bulk reliever. His only appearance at the MLB level this season came on July 11 when he allowed three runs on four hits in three innings to the Diamondbacks, including a couple of homers. Knack came back from injury to work just three times at Triple-A before his call-up, allowing three runs on nine hits in seven innings with 10 punchies.
Aaron Judge is not ready to resume baseball activities yet dealing with a fractured rib and we all know how important he is to this ballclub. The Yankees are 36-23 in his starts and 18-20 without him heading into today’s double dip. Judge last played on May 31. Inclusive of June 1, the Yankees are 27th in BA at .227, 30th in OBP at .290, 20th in SLG at .403, 26th in wOBA and 25th in wRC+ at 92, meaning they’ve been 8% below league average offensively in that span adjusted for park factor and the league-wide run environment.
The Dodgers have been an above average lineup across the board in all of those areas in that span and rank second in wOBA against RHP for the season. The Yankees are 11th, but drop to 21st in the time spent without Judge in the lineup.
It can be tough to pick Game 2 of a doubleheader before Game 1 is in the books because you don’t know if anybody got hurt or what the bullpen usage looked like in the first game. Add in the wrinkles of TBD starters and it’s even tougher. However, starting with a plus-money position on the Yankees makes some sense. The Dodgers can pick and choose when they want to show up with a big lead and an eye towards October and I don’t know that a night game before taking on the Phillies and arriving to town late will be a spot where they are super enthusiastic. After all, the game against the Phillies might be a NLCS preview.
If nothing else, you might be able to trade out of the plus-money number if the Yankees can score a run or two early and put the Dodgers behind.microcosm of the team as a whole right now, having played at such a high level all season while the rest of the AL has not. Boston finally has something to feel good about right now with a chance to finish the series strong.
