The New York Yankees have their backs against the wall, down 2-0 to the Detroit Tigers, and without their captain Derek Jeter. They must now travel to Comerica Park and face one of the best pitchers in baseball in Justin Verlander.
I'm coming off of a winning parlay last night in the National
League. Let's see if we can equal the results in this must win situation for
the Yanks. The total for the game is listed at 7 runs with odds favoring Detroit.
My MLB Record - 109-77 +31.23 Units
Recap
I took San Francisco and the OVER and cashed in as the
Giants have been a steady ball club all season long and the total seemed a bit
low.
New York Yankees at
Detroit Tigers
Everything is falling apart for the Yankees at the moment. Derek Jeter went down with the ankle injury
and their ship basically sunk. Except for Ichiro Suzuki, all of the big bats
have went dead. Fan favorites such as Nick Swisher were getting mercilessly
booed out of the stadium and quite frankly, the Yankees were looking to go to
Detroit, as stated by slumping former superstar Alex Rodriguez.
No respect
Some Detroit Tigers players even mentioned that going into
Yankee Stadium was nothing, They had more pressure facing teams like Oakland at
the Coliseum and the fans were a non-factor. The bottom line is that due to
overpricing, fans weren't coming to Yankee Stadium, there were a lot of empty
seats, and a quiet stadium.
Why are the Yankees
losing?
Alex Rodriguez, Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, and Curtis
Granderson are hitting a combined 12 for 107 (.112) in the playoffs. This is
about as poor an offensive display that you're going to see from stars. Cano
was on fire coming into the playoffs but his fire has disappeared quickly
The Yankees are hoping that a change of scenery will cure
their hitting blues but there's absolutely no margain for error. New York needs
to take at least 1 out of the first two games to assure themselves a trip back
to Yankee Stadium, but do they want to play at home is the question?
Pitching Matchup
Detroit couldn't have asked for more as they start their ace
Justin Verlander in game 3 in what seems to be a mismatch as the Yankees start
Phil Hughes. Verlander's excellence and Hughes' lack of consistency are the
difference in this matchup.
On the season, Verlander was 17-8 with a 2.64 ERA. I
actually don't think that the numbers do him justice and in his 2 starts in the
playoffs he's been unstoppable. In 2 starts against Oakland, Verlander was 2-0
with a 0.56 ERA while striking out 22 batters and holding the opposition to a
.130 batting average. The Yankees need nothing short of a miracle to be
effective against Detroit’s ace or they at least need to get to the Tigers
bullpen to have a legitimate chance (if past history holds up).
Phillip Hughes came limping into the post season after
several poor starts with a 16-13 record with a 4.23 ERA. In the playoffs, he
picked up a no-decision in a 2-1 loss to Baltimore. In that game, Hughes
pitched excellent, going 6 2/3 innings and allowing just 1 run on 4 hits.
Earlier in the season on June 3rd, Hughes went into Comerica Park and picked up
a complete game win, therefore he's capable of pitching very well at times.
Anytime a team faces the Tigers, they have to be concerned
with AL Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and slugger Prince Fielder.
Cabrera is a career 9 for 20 with 4 HR and 9 RBI off of Phil
Hughes. The Yankees will look to pitch around Cabrera as he's the best player
in baseball and every time that he steps to the plate, you expect him to get a
hit.
5 Dimes Sportsbook has the Tigers as a -178 favorite.
Outcome
The only way that this game goes over the total is if the
Yankees can hit successfully off of Verlander. Verlander has been hittable
against New York in the past and look for the Yankee stars to break out of
their slumps being away from a hostile Yankee Stadium. Take the Yankees on your baseball pick and the
OVER in somewhat of a "betting upset". Most of the country is leaning
towards the Tigers and UNDER.
Baseball Parlay -
Yankees +168 and OVER 7