It's the start of a new series in the Bronx as the Baltimore Orioles travel north to take on the New York Yankees.
These two teams are in a dogfight for first place in the AL East and, at the moment, the Yankees have a 1.5 game lead over the O’s.
However, with this three-game set in New York, we could have a new division leader by the end of the work week.
On the mound for the series opener are Albert Suarez for the Orioles and Nestor Cortes for the Yankees.
Suarez is a reliever turned starter about to get a lot more opportunities in the starting rotation with Tyler Wells, John Means, and Kyle Bradish all sidelined.
In 14 appearances, Suarez started in just seven of them, but in those seven starts he has posted a 2-1 record with a 1.82 ERA.
It was a disappointing trip to Fenway Park for the Yankees this past weekend as they dropped two out of three to their rivals, the Boston Red Sox.
Besides some disappointing starting pitcher performances, Anthony Rizzo fractured his arm and Gleyber Torres extended his massive slump.
The New York offense has struggled to support Juan Soto and Aaron Judge at the top of the order and that led to losing the series against Boston.
For this game, the Yankees will need to provide run support for Cortes, who has struggled in the last few weeks.
The southpaw owns a 4.86 ERA and has allowed four home runs in just three outings in June. In his only start against the O’s this season, Cortes was shelled for four runs and 8 hits.
Take the value with the visitors in the series opener.
The main reason for taking the Under is the pitching. Suarez has been fantastic in the starting role this season and has allowed more than two runs just once in seven starts.
Plus, in 20.2 innings on the road, Suarez has a 1.31 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP.
The big right-hander will take on a top-heavy Yankees lineup that hasn’t seen much of Suarez in their careers. In fact, only DJ LeMahieu, Anthony Rizzo, and Giancarlo Stanton have faced Suarez and the three sluggers are a combined 1/11.
After Suarez, the Baltimore bullpen will take over and the O’s arm barn is well rested since they had the day off on Monday. That means you should expect to see Jacob Webb, Yennier Cano, and Keegan Akin in relief.
It’s going to be a very hot day in New York as a heatwave slams the East Coast. As for Yankee Stadium, the wind will be blowing in from right field at around 10 MPH.
That should help minimize the chance of a short porch home run to right. It’s also important to note that Cortes has pitched much better at home than on the road this season.
The lefty owns a 5.57 ERA on the road, but a stunning 1.77 ERA at Yankee Stadium. Between the southpaw who loves to pitch at home and the veteran reliever-turned-starter, expect a low scoring affair in the Bronx.
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Baltimore Orioles | +125 ML |
New York Yankees | -150 ML |
Run Line | NY Yankees -1.5 |
Total Runs | O/U 9.0 |
Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Orioles) | +520 |
Gunnar Henderson (Baltimore Orioles) | +390 |
Anthony Santander (Baltimore Orioles) | +340 |
Aaron Judge (New York Yankees) | +200 |
Juan Soto (New York Yankees) | +320 |
Giancarlo Stanton (New York Yankees) | +300 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.