Categories
MLB

Free Baseball Predictions: N.Y. Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox April 20

Yankees vs Red Sox MLB Betting + Handicapping Picks

If you opened up the newspaper today you may have noticed that the Boston Red Sox were in last place in the AL East. Tthe same position they were in at this time last season.

NYY: Ivan Nova (2-0, 4.15) vs. BOS: Clay Buchholz (1-0, 9.82)
Date/Time: Friday, April 20 – 3:05 PM EST
Venue: Fenway Park in Boston, MA.
Broadcast: MLB (National) YES (New York) NESN (Boston)
LINE:-Red Sox -107
TOTAL: 10

Matchup | Preview

Losers of three straight and four of their first eight of the 2012 campaign, the Red Sox will get one day off to regroup and prepare to host bitter rival the New York Yankees in game one of a three-game set on Friday.

The Yankees have also hit a rough patch, and are in 4th place in the division just two games ahead of Boston after starting the season 6-6 thus far.

New York has done everything right–hit the ball and pitch the ball well–but have just not gotten the lucky bounce or two that is sometimes the extra boost needed to pull off the win.

The Yanks have had a few key injuries, but did get back 2B Robinson Cano who went 2-for-4 Wednesday against the Twins, hitting his first home run of the season and driving in two runs, as well as 1B Mark Teixeira went 2-for-5 as he returned to the lineup Wednesday after being scratched the night before with flu-like symptoms.

Nevertheless the Yanks lost to the Twins 6-5.

Shortstop Derek Jeter is having a better than average season, batting .389 (21 for 54) with four home runs and 10 RBIs thus far, after hitting six homers in 2011.

Manager Joe Girardi will look to add some solid pitching into the mix against the BoSox in game one, going with right-hander Ivan Nova saw more than enough run support in his outing against the Angels last Sunday night in an 11-5 win. He allowed four runs on eight hits, including a solo homer in the second and a two-run homer in the fifth, over six innings of work. [dfads params=’groups=10&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]

In two starts against Boston a year ago, Nova posted a 6.75 ERA while taking the no-decision in both outings.

Meanwhile, the Red Sox season was punctuated during their recent series with the Texas Rangers, as they were outscored 24-6 through both outings, including 18 runs in game one on Tuesday.

The Boston bullpen continues to struggle as well as a lineup plagued by injuries.
Lefty Clay Buchholz will see if he can survive another outing like he did versus the Rays his last time out, after giving up four runs in the first inning, and five total during his time on the mound before the Sox rallied to beat Tampa Bay, 13-5.

Although Buchholz allowed five earned runs off six hits over seven innings, he did strike out five and issued just three walks after settling down.

In his two starts versus New York in 2011, Buchholz was 1-1 with a 5.06 ERA.

Matt’s Free Prediction: Yankees- The Red Sox just have too many issues both on the mound and in their lineup. Mix in the recent off field issues and the pressure of Fenway. And you just can’t expect this team to start winning games at this point in the season. Nova will outduel Buchholz who got lucky his last time out.

**CLICK HERE TO GRAB OUR BEST Picks Packages for 2012 MLB Betting!**

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"