Boston Red Sox vs New York Yankees.
Stadium: Fenway Park (Boston).
The American League Wild Card round will see the old rivals, the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees. Who will make the playoffs? Here are a few bets on this exciting match-up.
Boston struggled to retain their Wild Card position
Alex Cora’s team battled for a long time on a level playing field with the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East Division, but not only did they lose that fight handily, but they also nearly missed out on a Wild Card spot. The outcome of the regular season was decided for the Red Sox in the final series against the Washington Nationals. Fortunately for Boston, the trip to the capital ended well. The Sox beat Washington three times and beat Toronto in the Wild Card battle by one win.
Nathan Eovaldi was named the starting pitcher for the decisive game of the season against the Yankees. The pitcher worked against the Yankees not long ago, on September 25, and failed, allowing seven runs. That said, in all five games against New York in the previous season, Eovaldi had only allowed eight runs. Overall, the pitcher has 11 wins, nine losses, and a 3.75 slugging percentage in the regular season.
The Yankees came out after all
The 2021 season might have been a total disaster for the Yankees, but Aaron Boone’s team still managed to keep its head above water. Nine wins in their last 12 games put New York on the Wild Card. The key series was the series with Boston which the Yankees won 3-0.
The Yankees finally made it to the round before the postseason in a challenging game against Tampa, winning 1-0. The fans who filled Yankee Stadium saw a gorgeous catch by Gio Urshela and the season’s top hit by Aaron Judge.
Gerrit Cole will be the pitcher in the upcoming meeting. Who else could it be? The legendary pitcher finished the regular season with 16 wins, eight losses, and an ERA of 3.23. In the same September 25 meeting that Eovaldi failed, Cole allowed three runs with six strikeouts for three runs.
Expert Betting Tips
Boston had faith in the final series of the regular season with the Yankees. But the Red Sox failed there, losing all three games. Now, on the Wild Card, Boston have no faith in them. The Yankees have been on a great run in recent games and will surely follow through. It is unclear why the Sox can stop the New Yorkers, breaking their streak of six straight losses in a head-to-head encounter.
We predict that the Yankees will clinch a playoff spot.
Betting options:
- W2 for 1.87;
- Handicap 2 (-1.5) for 2.34.