MLB Baseball Betting: Baltimore Orioles at New York Yankees
The Toronto Blue Jays are off on Monday after salvaging a win in the final game of their three game set with the Oakland A’s. As the great Casey Stengel famously quipped “baseball is a game of inches” and the Oakland series is a clear indication of that for Toronto. Despite the fact that their two losses to Oakland were by one run each there’s a huge difference between dropping 2 of 3 tight games and getting swept by a 40 win bottom feeder. Baltimore also lost though this was a game that the O’s almost ‘phoned in’. Tampa Bay scored 4 of their 5 runs off of prospect Dylan Bundy who was making his first Major League start. Prior to Sunday’s loss the O’s had won six of seven so it’s doubtful that a ‘bullpen game’ with a first time starter involved will derail their momentum.
So Baltimore will head to New York to take on the Yankees. With the two teams ahead of them in good form this is not a time for Toronto to go into a slump. Even with Sunday’s loss the Jays are just 1.5 games back of the second place Boston Red Sox and 3 games back of the division leading Orioles. The New York Yankees are 6 games back so Toronto doesn’t have to worry about pressure from below for the time being. Note that the Red Sox and Yankees were in action on Sunday night and these standings are pending that result.
Baltimore starter Kevin Gausman has owned the Yankees throughout his career. His team has a record of 5-2 when he starts against the Bronx Bombers thanks in large part to a tidy 1.93 ERA and 1.048 WHIP by Gausman. He’s faced New York twice already this season allowing just a single earned run in 14 innings of work. Ivan Nova will go for the Yankees and he’s got an ERA of over 5 in all situational spots.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman made it clear that this was a ‘make or break’ series for the Yankees’ season. Apparently there’s division in the front office ranks about whether the Yankees should be ‘buyers’ or ‘sellers’ at the trade deadline. The fact that New York is scrapping to avoid the sweep makes it evident that they’re not capable of a deep playoff run. Baltimore is the better team and New York could be in a ‘letdown mode’ after their big series against the hated Red Sox.
BET BALTIMORE ORIOLES -120 OVER NEW YORK YANKEES
