by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Aug 17, 2021
Game time: 7:05 p.m. ET
Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Where to watch: NESN, YES, ESPN
Season-to-date
Red Sox: 69-53 (3rd place, AL East)
Yankees: 68-52 (2nd place, AL East)
Recent form
Red Sox: 4-3 in last seven
Yankees: Won five straight
Projected lineup
Red Sox:
Enrique Hernandez (R) 2B
Hunter Renfroe (R) CF
Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
Rafael Devers (L) 3B
J.D. Martinez (R) RF
Kyle Schwarber (L) DH
Christian Vazquez (R) C
Alex Verdugo (L) LF
Bobby Dalbec (R) 1B
Yankees:
DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B
Brett Gardner (L) CF
Aaron Judge (R) RF
Joey Gallo (L) DH
Luke Voit (R) 1B
Rougned Odor (L) 3B
Gary Sanchez (R) C
Tyler Wade (L) LF
Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Yankees -110, Red Sox -110
BetMGM: Yankees -115, Red Sox -105
FanDuel: Yankees -118, Red Sox +100
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Red Sox - Yankees preview
The New York Yankees will try to sweep the three-game series against the Boston Red Sox when the finale takes place Wednesday at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees swept the doubleheader on Tuesday, winning 5-3 in Game 1 and a 2-0 victory in Game 2. The wins pulled the Yankees ahead of the Red Sox for second place in the American League East. Both teams trail the Tampa Bay Rays by five games for first place.
New York is on its fourth five-game winning streak of the season, and second in the month of August alone. That recent tear has been due to the play of first baseman Luke Voit, who homered for the second time in three days in the second half of the doubleheader. He had a two-run home run Sunday against the Chicago White Sox to clinch that series from the AL Central leaders.
Last season’s home run king, Voit has only six homers this season and is batting .232, but has made the most of his playing time in place of Anthony Rizzo (COVID).
The Yankees had a quick makeup game Monday against the Los Angeles Angels, and got 5.2 strong innings from Gerrit Cole on his return from COVID to win 2-1. They will turn to left-hander Andrew Heaney on the mound in hopes of obtaining the sweep; the 30-year-old has a 7-8 mark with a 5.78 ERA in 21 starts this season.
Boston’s offense went cold in the doubleheader. In Game 2, the Red Sox were held to five combined hits and were 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Nathan Eovaldi pitched five solid innings on any other night, but allowed both earned runs in the seven-inning game.
The 2-3-4 part of the lineup -- Alex Verdugo, Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers -- combined to go 0-for-8 at the plate. Yankees starter Luis Gil had four strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
Just when it seemed like the Red Sox were to find their groove again, it was all a lie all because they faced the Baltimore Orioles. Instead, the Red Sox combined for only three runs after scoring 30 over the weekend against the lowly Orioles.
Right-hander Nick Pivetta is expected to start for Boston.
The AL East standings remain a four-team race, but with the Toronto Blue Jays’ shocking loss to the Washington Nationals in the first of their two-game set, the top half of the division has become much more compelling in recent days. If the playoffs were to start today, the Yankees would be in, and the Red Sox would be out.
August baseball. Can you feel the excitement?
Betting trends
The Yankees have cleaned up well in Game 3 of a series, winning the last five. They’ve also won 17 of their last 22 games when listed as a favorite.
Boston is now 17-39 in its last 56 games at Yankee Stadium and fell to 11-6 in the last 17 meetings against the Yankees overall.
The under has cashed in six of the last eight games, but take into account the low-scoring games in the 14 total innings that were played Tuesday.
Prediction
The Yankees are rolling right now, and that White Sox series has a lot to do with it. We think they keep this up and get the sweep. Yankees win 6-2.
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
