Red Sox vs Yankees Picks and Predictions: Pitchers Duel Under-whelms

The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox open their season with the greatest rivalry in sports, as the two clash at Yankee Stadium on Friday. The Yankees will be sending their ace, Gerrit Cole, to the mound in this one, so it should make for a fun game. 

Will New York open the season with a big victory over Boston? Continue reading our Red Sox vs. Yankees MLB picks and predictions for Friday, April 8 to find out

Editor's note: Ontario! Welcome to the world of regulated sports betting. Visit our Ontario sports betting page for the best legal betting sites available to you and all the information you need about this emerging industry.

Red Sox vs Yankees odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

The Yankees opened as -167 favorites in this game, and that number is as high as -175 in some places. However, you can find it for as low as -169 at some sportsbooks right now. 

The total, which opened at 7.5, is up at either 8 or 8.5, depending on where you look. You have to pay juice on the Under of 8.5, so it could end up settling at around 8. 

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until kickoff and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.

Red Sox vs Yankees predictions

• Prediction: Yankees ML (-169)
• Prediction: Under 8.5 (-111)
• Best bet: Cole Over 1.5 earned runs (-130)

Picks made on 4/7/2022 at 9:45 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.

Red Sox vs Yankees game info

• Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
• Date: Friday, April 8, 2022
• First pitch: 1:05 p.m. ET
• TV: NESN, YES

Red Sox vs Yankees betting preview

Starting pitchers

Nathan Eovaldi (2021: 11-9, 3.75 ERA): Eovaldi has been excellent since arriving in Boston, where he has arguably turned into the team’s most reliable starter. Last year, the righty struck out a career-high 195 batters in a year in which he threw the most innings since his 2014 season with the Miami Marlins. The Red Sox will be hoping that he can go out there and hold his own against Cole. 

Gerrit Cole (2021: 16-8, 3.23 ERA): Cole is one of the only pitchers in baseball that can put up the type of numbers he did last season and still have it be looked at as a disappointing year. Still, the righty is held to a higher standard and will be hoping to get back to being the truly dominant ace he was with the Astros. The 31-year-old did, however, give up four earned runs over 5.1 innings in two Spring Training appearances. 

Weather

Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.

Key injuries

Red Sox: Josh Taylor RP (Out).
Yankees: Zack Britton RP (Out), Jimmy Cordero RP (Out), Matt Bowman RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Red Sox are 6-15 in their last 21 games as road underdogs. Find more MLB betting trends for Red Sox vs. Yankees.

Red Sox vs Yankees picks and predictions

Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.

Moneyline analysis

Eovaldi might be a right-handed pitcher, but he has generally had a tougher time against righties than lefties in his career. For a Yankees team that’s at its best from the right side of the plate, that’s going to be a welcome sign. Last year, Eovaldi was 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA in 34.0 innings of work against New York. The team did, however, add Josh Donaldson in the offseason, and the veteran slugger is 3 for 12 with a double, two homers and four RBIs against Eovaldi in his career. 

Aaron Judge is one player that has given Eovaldi trouble in the past, as he is 8-for-20 with two doubles, a homer and two RBIs against the righty. Judge also happens to be coming off of a blistering Spring Training, where he batted .406 with three doubles, four homers and seven RBIs. With Judge looking to prove his worth for a contract extension, it wouldn’t be surprising if he was hot out of the gates this year. New York will be counting on him in this game. 

As for Cole, the righty should be pretty fresh after only having thrown 5.1 innings in Spring Training. Look for him to come out with a live arm in this one, and don’t be surprised if he turns in a great performance here. Cole was just 2-2 with a 4.91 ERA over four starts against the Red Sox last season, but he struck out 11 batters in six innings of one-run ball in his only start against Boston at Yankee Stadium. Another shorter start with a lot of strikeouts is what to expect in this one, with Aaron Boone having already said that he doesn’t want to push his star too much in the first game. 

Overall, Eovaldi just isn’t as reliable as Cole is in a game like this, especially given his troubles against members of this Yankees lineup. Also, it’s hard to pass on Cole at these odds, as you’ll likely see New York as a -200 favorite or worse in most of his starts. 

Prediction: Yankees ML (-169 at Caesars)

Over/Under analysis

Last year, six of Eovaldi’s seven appearances against the Yankees would have gone Under this game’s total of 8.5, and the same goes for three out of the five starts that Cole made against the Red Sox. Both of these pitchers are certainly capable of taking their licks, but there’s a reason the total on this game was set so low. Both of these starters have the ability to miss a lot of bats, and both of these lineups have their fair share of players that strike out quite a bit. 

Don’t be surprised if the winning team in this one ends up scoring four or five runs, and a big part of that could be because of the reliable bullpens that both squads possess. The Yankees were fourth in the MLB in bullpen ERA last season, while the Red Sox were 13th. 

Also, while it is a new season, the Under is also 8-3-1 in the last 12 home games that the Yankees have played with a total between 7 and 8.5. 

Prediction: Under 8.5 (-111 at TwinSpires)

Best bet

While we like the Yankees to ultimately win this game, it’s a little surprising to see that Cole’s total is so low here. The righty should have plenty of games in which he allows one or fewer earned runs, but it’s a tough ask to have him go out there after an abbreviated Spring Training and go and dominate a very good Red Sox lineup. 

Cole gave up at least two earned runs in four of his five appearances against the Red Sox last year, so this isn’t exactly a team that he has flustered all that often. Also, the Under can still hit even if Cole ends up giving up two or more earned runs, so don’t feel like it’s a conflict of interest to root for both of these. Even if Boston gets three on Cole, the Yankees bullpen can get Under bettors home from there. 

Pick: Gerrit Cole Over 1.5 Earned Runs Allowed (-130 at BetMGM)

Pages related to this topic