Sunday Night Baseball: Red Sox vs. Yankees
The MLB schedule can be pretty random. This Red Sox vs. Yankees series is the first one of the season between the two teams and the three-game set will conclude with ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, as the rubber match between the two historic franchises draws the standalone spotlight. The teams play again next weekend, but do not get the ESPN game on Sunday night, as the Red Sox have to go to Seattle following the conclusion of that series.
The Yankees opened a big favorite and have been bet into a bigger favorite based on the action that we’ve seen on this game thus far.
Top MLB Resources:
See how others are wagering on the game with our VSiN MLB Betting Splits.
How to Watch Red Sox vs. Yankees
Where: ESPN
When: Sunday June 8, 7:10 p.m. ET
Red Sox vs. Yankees MLB Odds
Boston Red Sox +193 // New York Yankees -240
Total: 7.5 (-118/-102)
Red Sox vs. Yankees Game Preview
The teams have traded high-scoring wins so far in this series, as the Yankees won 9-6 on Friday night and the Red Sox returned the favor with a 10-7 decision on Saturday. A win on Sunday would be a huge deal for Boston. Alex Cora’s team has not won consecutive games since May 23-24 and had a five-game losing streak right after those back-to-back dubs.
Boston enters this game at 31-35, despite a +13 run differential. The Yankees have a +99 run differential and a 39-24 record, as they have a comfortable AL East lead to this point in the season.
Carlos Rodon gets the call today, as he has a 2.49 ERA with a 2.72 xERA and a 2.93 FIP in his 79.2 innings of work across 13 starts. Rodon has been terrific this season and, while I have some concerns about the sustainability of his .220 BABIP, he’s cut down his home run rate and increased his GB% to help his numbers along. He had a decent season last year with a 3.96 ERA and a 4.39 FIP, but he has already surpassed last season’s fWAR total in nearly 100 fewer innings.
Boston counters with rookie right-hander Hunter Dobbins. Dobbins has a 4.06 ERA with a 3.96 xERA and a 3.38 FIP in his 44.1 innings of work. He’s made seven starts and a couple of relief appearances and returns to the rotation for his first start since May 24. Dobbins doesn’t finish off hitters with 37 strikeouts in 44.1 innings of work, but he does have a 10.8% SwStr%, so he’s had more swing-and-miss in his profile than his K% would suggest.
In his two relief appearances, Dobbins threw 52 and 60 pitches, so I would presume he’s somewhere in the 70-75 range in this start. Even though we’ve seen high-scoring games in this series, the Red Sox bullpen is actually in pretty good shape to follow Dobbins, all things considered. None of the bullpen arms for the Yankees have worked back-to-back days, so all hands are on deck there as well.
Given that the Red Sox are second in MLB against LHP with a .348 wOBA and .277/.359/.433 slash line, I feel like they have a decent chance tonight at such a big underdog price. Dobbins is a decent pitcher and he’s held righties to a .286 wOBA in 101 plate appearances. Rodon is clearly better and the Yankees are the better team, but this price has gotten a little high at this point. The +1.5 at -108 is a viable option as well.
Pick: Red Sox +193
Red Sox vs. Yankees Player Props
Jazz Chisholm Over 0.5 Stolen Bases (+330); Over 0.5 Runs (+115)
Dobbins has had a lot of issues with lefties this season, as they are batting .313/.352/.542 with a .382 wOBA. Chisholm has been swinging a good bat since his return and has also been pretty aggressive on the basepaths. Collectively, Red Sox catchers have only thrown out 16 of 76 would-be base stealers. Chisholm had three hits and swiped two bags on Friday night, but didn’t get the start against lefty Garrett Crochet yesterday.
