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MLB odds: Red Sox-Yankees
By Jordan WaltersWagerWeb.com Contributing Writer
| Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook |
The Tampa Bay Rays have upstaged a Red Sox-Yankees series. Let me repeat that: The Tampa Bay Rays have upstaged a Red Sox-Yankees series.
Unbelievable but true, the surging first-place Rays just swept Boston at Tropicana Field and are distancing themselves from their two high-priced AL East rivals. In fact, the last time the Red Sox and Yankees played each other with neither team in first place this far into a season, it was 1997 and the Rays didn't even exist. Boston is currently 3.5 games back in second, while the Yanks are 7.5 behind Tampa Bay in third.
"The series against Boston is definitely huge, but I think every series that we're in is huge because it's not a two-team division," says outfielder Johnny Damon. "We have to play better or this could be a long summer."
Yet Boston’s David Ortiz, who remains out with his wrist injury, still believes that baseball’s best two teams reside in this rivalry.
“The two best teams in baseball playing against each other, it don’t matter,” said Ortiz. “There’s time. There’s a lot of games left. One way or another, (the Yankees) know how to figure it out. Time will tell, it’s a long season. These kids down the street (the Rays) have been playing well, you can’t take that way from them. But things happen. Sometimes experience shows up and takes over.”
At least the Yankees are coming in off a win. After dropping two games in a row to the Rangers, prompting Hank Steinbrenner to say "We've got to start hitting. It's getting ridiculous,” the Bombers exploded for 18 runs in Wednesday’s victory over Texas.
"We're going to get the best of them," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona of the Yankees. "Hopefully, they'll get the best of us. Tampa Bay's made this a little more difficult on a lot of teams."
It is a good pitching matchup for the opener, with two of the best left-handers in the AL in Jon Lester (6-3, 3.48) vs. Andy Pettitte (9-5, 3.98), with the Yanks -140 money line betting favorites on WagerWeb.com.
Pettitte tries for a fifth straight win after going 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in his last four outings. He hasn't lost since May 23 and is 15-6 career with a 3.53 ERA against the Sox.
Lester is 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA in his last six starts. But on Saturday at Houston he allowed a season-high six runs over five innings in an 11-10 loss.
