The Boston Red Sox headed south to Yankee Stadium to take on their AL East rivals for the first time in 2021 this past weekend, and for the first time in ten years, the Sox delivered a sweep in the Bronx, ending in a crazy 6-5 win in ten innings on Sunday night. Boston had dropped 11 in a row at Yankee Stadium, as the Yankees won nine of the ten meetings in the shortened 2020 campaign, so Boston came out of this series with all sorts of confidence. We learned that Boston is still better than many observers had thought, while the Yankees are, once again, overrated. In a week with seven games against Tampa Bay and Boston, the other two teams in the AL East’s top three, the Yankees went 2-5. The Yankees’ major problem this season is run production, as they rank 27th in MLB in runs per game, with only the Mets, Tigers and Pirates behind them. Interestingly, they are 14th in on-base percentage, suggesting that baserunning mistakes are a problem, and they also lead MLB in double plays grounded into. In their last 13 games, the Yanks are 3-10, with a team batting average of .215, averaging 2.6 runs per contest. So if the latest iteration of the Yankees is actually going to contend, the offense needs to get rolling.
Let’s take a look at some other MLB news that might influence your sports betting this week.
MLB News: The Rumor Mill
Blue Jays to stay in Buffalo until at least July 21
While the NBA’s Toronto Raptors had to play their 2020-21 season in Tampa Bay, all the way across the country, the Blue Jays are playing their second season in Buffalo, using the stadium of their AAA affiliate, the Bison. The team had already planned to stay there until July 4, having moved there after playing the first two months in their spring training stadium in Dunedin, Florida. Now, they have extended their time in Buffalo to July 21. Canadian border restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic have ended nonessential travel back and forth to the United States, and people who do enter have to isolate for 14 days. The NHL received an exemption for the Stanley Cup playoffs, but those players must remain in a “bubble” and undergo COVID-19 testing each day. However, the Blue Jays will be able to open their stadium to 80 percent capacity, giving their players more of a home feel.
Angels’ Trout still has no timetable to return
Mike Trout, the Los Angeles Angels phenom, went on the IL on May 18 with a right calf strain from a game the night before against the Indians. At the time, the Angels indicated that he would miss between six and eight weeks, coming back after the All-Star break. On Monday, Trout told the press that he still doesn’t have much progress, as he has not been able to start jogging, let alone take up baseball activities again. So far, his rehab has consisted of light walking on a treadmill. When he went down, he was leading MLB with a 1.090 OPS and a .466 on-base percentage. He had a .425 batting average for April, the best in that month of his 11 seasons in MLB. He also had eight home runs and 18 RBI. Juan Lagares and Taylor Ward have started in center field during his absence, combining to go 13 of 70 at the plate, without any home runs and just seven RBI.
Should the Cubs buy or sell at the trade deadline?
Quite a few prognosticators (including this one) thought that the Chicago Cubs would struggle to contend in 2021. However, they have hung with Milwaukee and St. Louis at the top of the National League Central standings, and we are well past the one-third mark of the regular season. Kris Bryant, Craig Kimbrel, Anthony Rizzo and Javier Baez are in their contract years. Why did the Cubs trade Yu Darvish? Because GM Jed Hoyer said that they were in transition. Are the Cubs likely to fade? Maybe. Can they get by the likes of the Dodgers, the Padres and the Braves to a World Series. Let’s see how the next few weeks go.
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