Indians vs. Yankees Pick
Will the Cleveland Indians complete the three-game ALDS sweep at the New York Yankees tonight? First pitch is at 7:38PM EST.
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Indians are a -115 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Yankees are a -105 underdog and the over-under is 8.5.
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Cleveland won game two of the series 9-8 in 13 innings at home to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. The Indians are 7-2 against the Yankees this season and have won the last five meetings. The over-under is 4-4-1 in those games.
Starting for Cleveland tonight will be Carlos Carrasco (18-6, 3.29 ERA), while New York is turning to Masahiro Tanaka (13-12, 4.74). Carrasco carried a 1.10 WHIP with 226 strikeouts in 200 innings during the regular season. He was spectacular in his final regular season start as he threw 8 1/3 shutout innings with six hits allowed, 14 strikeouts and one walk in a 5-2 home win over the Twins. Carrasco holds a 2.65 ERA in 105 1/3 road innings this year. He gave up five earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks over 5 2/3 innings during a loss earlier this season to the Yankees. Tanaka had a 1.24 WHIP with 194 strikeouts in 178 1/3 regular season innings. He was also in elite form to complete the regular season as he threw seven shutout innings with three hits allowed, 15 strikeouts and no walks in a 4-0 home win over the Blue Jays. Tanaka had a 3.22 ERA in 95 home innings. He has not faced Cleveland this season. Last year, he had a 1-0 record in two starts versus the Indians with a 3.38 ERA.
Friday night saw Yan Gomes single home Austin Jackson with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 13th inning. Francisco Lindor went 1-for-5 with a grand slam, a walk and two runs scored at the top of the Cleveland order. Jason Kipnis was 2-for-6 with an RBI. Carlos Santana was 1-for-5 with a run and two RBIs. Jackson finished 2-for-5 with two runs. Gomes was 2-for-5 with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI. Josh Tomlin picked up the win with two innings of scoreless relief. Gary Sanchez went 2-for-6 with a home run, two runs and two RBIs to help lead New York. Aaron Judge walked three times and scored a run. Starlin Castro was 2-for-6 with a double, a run and an RBI. Greg Bird was 2-for-5 with a home run, a walk, two runs and two RBIs. Aaron Hicks finished 2-for-6 with a home run and three RBIs. Dellin Betances ook the loss in relief.
Cleveland might have gotten a bit lucky due to mistakes by New York manager Joe Girardi in Game 2, but regardless it got the win and now turns to the usually reliable Carrasco. While the Yankees are a much better team on their home field, the Indians are in a prime situation to slam the door shut. Tanaka has had an up-and-down season and it is hard to even trust him after coming off a brilliant outing to end the regular season. He has been much better in night games and at home this year, but is facing a juggernaut of a lineup for the first time this season. One thing to keep an eye on will be the availability of Indians slugger Edwin Encarnacion, who left Game 2 with an ankle injury. We’re siding with Cleveland here as we picked a sweek in our series predictions and are sticking to our guns.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: CLEVELAND INDIANS -115