The Boston Red Sox continue their quest to lock up the AL East Division title this Thursday night in the first of a four-game series against their bitter rival, the New York Yankees, at Yankee Stadium. The first pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. (ET), and the game will be broadcast nationally on the MLB Network.

The Red Sox maintained their 5.5-game lead over Tampa Bay with a tight 2-1 victory over Detroit this past Tuesday night as -109 home favorites. The two will play the rubber match on Wednesday night to wrap up that three-game series. Boston is now 8-2 in its last 10 games.

New York will go for the three-game sweep over Chicago on Wednesday after pounding the White Sox by a combined 15-5 in the first two games. It is 6-4 in its last 10 games and currently 2.5 games out of the final wildcard spot in the AL.

Red Sox at Yankees Betting Storylines

The next 10 games will go a long way towards sealing Boston’s fate this season with seven games against the Yankees wrapped around a three-game road trip to Tampa Bay. If the Red Sox can continue to play the way they have since the last time the faced New York in mid-August, the AL East title should be theirs. They have managed only a total of two runs in the last two games against the Tigers but remain one of the most prolific scoring team in the majors with an average of five runs a game.

Pitching also remains strong with a team ERA of 3.74. Boston will go with Jake Peavy as its starter for Thursday’s series opener. Since coming over from the White Sox earlier this season, he has been rock-solid with a 3-1 record and 3.18 ERA in six starts. Overall, the right-hander is 11-5 with an ERA of 3.91. He is 0-4 against the Yankees in his career with a 3.96 ERA.

New York continues to grind its way towards a postseason spot and is well aware just how crucial this series is to its chances. The bats have remained active down the stretch, but the Yankees are still having some issues with scoring runs on a consistent basis. In their last 10 games they have hammered an average of 5.8 runs in six wins, but they managed only a grand total of nine runs in four losses. They cannot afford this hit-or-miss approach against their rivals.

Although it has yet to be officially announced by the team, look for Ivan Nova to take his normal spot in the starting rotation for Thursday night’s game. The right-hander is 8-4 on the year with a 2.88 ERA in 15 previous starts. He is coming off a gem in which he scattered three hits while holding Baltimore scoreless over a full nine innings of work. He has not faced Boston this year but has only allowed a total of seven earned runs in his last three starts against this team.

Red Sox at Yankees MLB Betting Odds and Trends

BetOnline has opened the Red Sox as +102 road underdogs for Thursday night’s series opener with New York listed as a -108 home favorite. The total for this contest has been set at 8.

The Red Sox are 4-2 in their last six road games but 3-5 in their last eight games against their division. The total has stayed “under” in five of their last seven games.

The Yankees are 9-5 in their last 14 games against the AL East and 8-1 in their last nine games at home. The total has gone “over” in five of their last six games.

Head-to-head in this matchup, Boston is 4-2 this season at Yankee Stadium and holds a slight 7-5 edge in the season series overall. The total has been evenly split at 6-6 in the 12 games, including a 3-3 split in New York.

Baseball Picks: Red Sox at Yankees Predictions

With two quality starters on the mound that have both shown the ability to pitch into the late innings, runs may be a little harder to come by on Thursday night. I would have to give the slight edge to the Yankees at home in this matchup, but my top play in this game is the under on the total line.

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