Yankees’ Sabathia seeks rebound vs. Red Sox
Judging by last night’s anemic offensive results across baseball, the All-Star break cooled off quite a few bats. Such logic did not apply to the Red Sox.
Homers by Xander Bogaerts, Travis Shaw and Ryan Hanigan propelled Boston to a 5-3 victory over the Yankees in the Bronx. Online sports book Bovada.lv doesn’t anticipate the same outcome this afternoon, though, listing New York as a 1.5-run favorite. John Farrell’s visiting bunch, on the other hand, symbolizes a +107 underdog.
Handicappers’ reluctance to roll with the AL East’s current second-place outfit has a lot to do with the shakiness of the man on the mound. Eduardo Rodriguez’s most recent start in the majors came on June 27 at Tampa Bay. The lefty served up nine runs and 11 hits in 2 2/3 frames, prompting the Red Sox to ship him to Triple-A Pawtucket. Team brass, though, seems pleased with the manner in which he’s since refined a few mechanical flaws.
On the other side, CC Sabathia faces his own critical assignment. Following a tremendous start to the campaign, the perennial All-Star is in the throes of an exceedingly rough patch. Sabathia holds a 0-2 record with an 8.22 ERA in his past four outings, even though last week’s five-inning effort in Cleveland produced a no-decision.
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The Yanks can’t afford to fall 9 ½ games behind the Orioles in the division, so the former Cy Young Award winner must rise to the occasion here. He’s 12-12 with a 4.47 ERA in 32 lifetime meetings with Boston. Rodriguez, conversely, boasts 27 career appearances in the bigs. Buckle up for a considerable amount of offense.
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