The New York Yankees have hit a bit of a slump, as the Tampa Bay Rays came to town last week and swept the Pinstripes and took over first place in the American League East. The Yankees now trail the Rays by a game as they head to Atlanta to face the Braves. Atlanta leads the National League East by two games over the Miami Marlins. Atlanta has split their last ten games and has yet to name a starting pitcher for Tuesday night’s game with the Yankees.
We have your MLB betting preview for this interleague matchup between two contenders in the respective Eastern Divisions.
MLB Games: August 25
N.Y. Yankees at Atlanta Braves Preview
Game Details
When: Tuesday, August 25, 2020, 7:10 pm ET
Where: Truist Park, Atlanta
TV: YES Network / Fox Sports Southeast
Radio: WFAN 660 AM New York City / WCNN 680 AM Atlanta
Game Betting Odds
Probable pitchers (away/home):
Friday: Gerrit Cole (4-0, 2.75 ERA) (NY) vs Undecided (ATL)
Yankees vs Braves | Check the MLB Odds
Why should you Bet on the Yankees?
This argument starts with Gerrit Cole. He threw 6 ⅔ innings of two-run, six-hit ball against Tampa Bay on August 19. The two runs came on solo home runs, as Cole continues a somewhat troubling trend of allowing at least one home run in all of his 2020 starts. He did strike out ten and walked just one, but the Rays would capitalize on the Yankee bullpen, winning 4-2. Before that, Cole had wins in his first four starts of the season and remains unbeaten in a 20-decision streak of regular season games that goes back well into the 2019 campaign.
One problem for the Yankees has to do with their Injured List. Gleyber Torres joined Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton on it last week, and then starting pitcher James Paxton and reliever Zack Britton went onto the list as well. This may have to do with the shortened summer camp heading into the 2020 season, as injuries are mounting around the league. Even so, the Yankees have to go with the people they have. Luckily for them, Atlanta’s pitching has been fairly generous — a reason why, despite leading MLB in runs, the Braves are not even leading their division.
N.Y. Yankees | Bet on the Game Now!
Why should you Put your Money on the Braves?
The Braves have injury woes of their own. Ozzie Albies and Ronald Acuna Jr are on their Injured List, and those two bats could be crucial in a series against the Yankees. Even with those injuries, the team has a +22 run differential. The starting rotation now consists of Robbie Erlin, Josh Tomlin, Touki Toussaint and Max Fried — with Tuesday’s five-spot remaining up in the air for now — so the Braves need to trade for a starting pitcher. But who is willing to give up quality arms in a season with mounting injuries?
Atlanta did go 3-2 last week, keeping pace with the Marlins and remaining in good standing for one of the 16 slots in this year’s expanded postseason. I would expect both teams to find pitches to hit, even with Cole on the mound for the Yankees, as he has not shown shutdown stuff yet. It’s been his control that has kept him out of trouble, for the most part.
Atlanta Braves | Bet on the Game Now!
Final Score and Prediction
It’s hard to argue that you should pick against the Yankees, with Cole slotted against the unmanned fifth spot in the Braves’ rotation. They might roll with an opener and then a long reliever, or they could call up an arm from the minor leagues. I won’t lock in a wager on this game until the Braves name a starting pitcher. One interesting number will be the over/under on runs scored in this game; both of these teams can rake, so if the over/under slides down to 7.5 or 8, I’d be tempted to go over.
For now, I’m predicting a final of Yankees 7, Braves 4, but when the Braves name their starter I may revise it.
Yankees vs Braves
