1st Sept - Red Sox vs Yankees

The Boston Red Sox have quietly put together an impressive run of form over the last couple of weeks. They are 10 game under .500 and all but mathematically out of the running for the Wildcard, but they are coming off from winning two of three on the road against one of the National League’s best in the New York Mets and they’ve also enjoyed a run of winning 9 of 14 at home.

David Ortiz returns to the lineup after hitting his 494th career home run in his last outing. There will be no return for Hanley Ramirez though, he remains sidelined. Rookie Eduardo Rodriguez (7-5, 4.39 ERA) will be on the mound tonight. He’s 1-1 against the Yankees and has done pretty well overall, though former Boston star Jacoby Ellsbury and Alex Rodriguez have both hit well against him in those two games.

38 runs in a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves all but banished memories of the Yankees’ offensive slump. They did it without the presence of Rodriguez or fellow slugger Mark Teixeira. Didi Gregorius, Carlos Beltran and Chase Headley both made good contact and swung the bat well throughout the series against the Braves.

Ivan Nova is one New York player who didn’t get to enjoy the feel-good factor from Atlanta. He’s 1-3 with a 7.17 ERA in his last four outings and was victimised in a 15-1 loss to the Houston Astros in his last outing. Nova will look to get back on track against the Red Sox – he’s 3-3 with a 5.11 ERA against Boston in his career.

Three Reasons for Betting Tips

1. Yankees hitting

Both in terms of driving the scoreboard up and in terms of winning this game, the hitting form of the Yankees is a key factor. Starting pitching, bullpen issues and defensive concerns might hold New York back from being a serious threat in the World Series stakes, but winning games and getting into the playoffs can be driven by a batting line-up that has the second most runs in the MLB and is as good as any other.

2. Nova bounces back

Nova hasn’t pitched well over the course of his last four or five outings, but he’s got a capable arm and we’ll anticipate a little bit of a push back in this contest.

3. Red Sox have some good hitting form too

Boston’s hitters have been playing well, they did a good job at cooling off the red hot Mets at the weekend and we’ll back Ortiz and co. to pick up their fair share of runs in this match-up.

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