New York Yankees vs Boston: A third straight win for the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium?

This week's Sunday Night Baseball series features a legendary showdown between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. This is the third game of the season series. The first 2 games, which also took place at Yankee Stadium, ended in victories for Boston. Will the Red Sox outplay their perennial opponent for the third time in a row? Let's pick a few bets at once.

Surprisingly enough, the Yankees are at the bottom of the offensive efficiency rankings, as low as third from the bottom. Aron Boone's team, despite having a huge number of top-notch performers at bat, is only averaging 3.69 runs per game. Only the New York Mets and Pittsburgh are worse.

It's because of poor action at bat that the Yankees are only 4th in the AL East Division standings with a 31-28 balance. There's still more than half the season ahead, time to improve the situation, but the trend is unsettling. Among the sluggers, only Aron Judge - a respectable 28.9% and 14 home runs - can be singled out. The rest, including Giancarlo Stanton andD.J. Lemahieu, have been disappointing so far.

Dominican Domingo Herman will be the starter on the hill in the upcoming game. The pitcher is 4-3 in nine starts with a 3.72 ERA.

Alex Cora's team has been at the top of the American League standings since the start of the season and doesn't seem to be about to give it up. For their next game against the New York Yankees, Boston is in third place in the conference standings, behind only the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay, and with an impressive 35-23 balance.

Unlike the Yankees, Boston's offense is just fine, ranking fourth in efficiency with a 4.97 earned run average per game. Among hitters, J.D. Martinez stands out with 32.1 percent, 12 home runs and 38 RBI; Rafael Devers has 15 home runs and 48 RBI. Xander Bogaerts has 37.1 percent of his batting average.

Garrett Richards is the starting pitcher for the upcoming meeting. The experienced 33-year-old pitcher is 4-4 in 11 starts this season with a 3.75 ERA.

The Yankees, quite frankly, are falling apart. If the team continues to play as unsightly as they have been, the franchise is in for a big change as the season progresses. Boston, on the other hand, is surprising, firmly holding on to its title of the main sensation of the first half of the season. There's every reason to believe that the Red Sox will win their third game in a row at Yankee Stadium, making it their signature doubleheader. The prediction is a win for Boston in a productive game.

• A win for Boston at odds of about 2.30;
• Total over 9.5 with an index around 1.909;
• Boston's individual total is over 1.5 for about 1.69.