If you’re looking for Yankees vs Red Sox predictions, you’re in the right place!
The Yankees will host the Red Sox in a Wild Card Series that brings back one of baseball’s most storied rivalries.
Gone are the Varitek vs. A-Rod brawls from the early 2000s, but in are the Garrett Crochet vs. Max Fried pitching duels, with everything on the line in October baseball.
Aaron Judge put together another phenomenal campaign, posting absolutely absurd numbers with a .451 ISO and .502 wOBA vs. left-handed pitchers.
But here’s the elephant in the room nobody wants to discuss. Judge has been a career .205 hitter in the postseason, which simply isn’t going to cut it for a superstar who’s supposed to carry this franchise when it matters most.
Check out our MLB hub for more postseason picks!
Top DFS Apps in All States
Yankees vs Red Sox Predictions: Experts Picks and Preview – Game 2
Boston grabbed Game 1 in dramatic fashion in the Bronx, and honestly, the way it unfolded felt painfully familiar for Yankees fans who’ve watched this team in October under Aaron Boone’s leadership.
Garrett Crochet was absolutely phenomenal for the Red Sox before handing it over to former Yankee Aroldis Chapman in the ninth.
Chapman made it interesting by loading the bases with zero outs, but the Yankees couldn’t push across a single run in what became a gut-wrenching loss that’s defined their postseason failures during the Boone era.
Boone kept Jazz Chisholm and Ben Rice on the bench despite both players being scorching hot and having phenomenal seasons.
I’m generally a fan of analytics-driven decision making, but at some point, you have to wonder when too much becomes too much. Boone might genuinely be coaching for his job this series, and he has his work cut out for him after burning through a ton of high-leverage arms in Game 1.
In Game 2, the Yankees will lean heavily on Carlos Rodon, who’s had an awesome campaign overall, though his strikeout rates have dipped slightly over the last 30 days.
Boston will deploy their platoon lineup again tonight, which has generally been very effective against left-handed pitching – though Max Fried dominated them in Game 1 and generated way more swing-and-misses than I envisioned.
Another questionable Boone decision, perhaps – should he have left Fried in longer?
Why The Red Sox Will Win
The Red Sox certainly hold the bullpen advantage today after Crochet’s heroics, which puts enormous pressure on Rodon to deliver at least six clean innings tonight.
If things go south for the lefty, Luis Gil represents the only other viable bullpen option, so they desperately need Rodon to continue his stellar campaign.
Why The Yankees Will Win
Brayan Bello takes the mound for Boston tonight. The right-hander operates as a ground-ball specialist who strikes out fewer than 20% of hitters, which suggests the Yankees should be able to put the barrel on the ball somewhat consistently today.
Yankees vs Red Sox Predictions: Expert Picks – Game 2
I’m particularly intrigued by the left-handed bats New York can deploy against him.
Bello leans heavily on cutters and sinkers, and guys like Trent Grisham, Rice, Chisholm, and Cody Bellinger all have pretty solid numbers against those right-handed offerings.
The Yankees should be able to manufacture a few runs together, but they’ll need to get to Bello early because Boston’s bullpen remains completely intact heading into this one.
Carlos Rodon’s outs props also catch my attention. The game situation demands he works deep into this contest, and if he’s executing early, the Yankees will ride him as long as possible given their depleted bullpen situation.
