Major League Baseball closes out its workweek with another loaded slate of games around the country Friday night.
The New York Yankees got their revenge on Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and the Toronto Blue Jays. They scored their second shutout victory of the four-game series, while the San Diego Padres walloped the Atlanta Braves 12-1 for the biggest blowout of the day.
Here are the best games to bet on Friday’s day of action.
New York Yankees -1.5 vs Baltimore Orioles
The Yankees will continue their trip through the American League East with a game against the Baltimore Orioles Friday night. The pinstripers beat the Blue Jays 3-0 on Thursday, which will have tremendous positive effects on their confidence heading into a road matchup.
The Orioles, meanwhile, are just 1-5 in the 2022 MLB campaign and look like the same team that finished at the bottom of the division last year.
Jordan Montgomery will face Jordan Lyles on the mound, giving the advantage to the Yanks; Montgomery, though inconsistent, is in a different echelon than his matchup, and this should help spur New York to victory. Watch for at least a couple of shots out of the park as the visitors come into Camden Yards and easily take the first in a three-game series.
Chicago Cubs vs Colorado Rockies
This matchup is fairly close on paper; both squads are 4-2, and the visiting Chicago Cubs actually came into Coors Field and took the first meeting yesterday 5-2.
Colorado has all-star German Marquez going for them on the mound, but the Cubbies have newly-signed (and already impressing) Marcus Stroman to counter.
Both teams have been fairly consistent at the plate, and in a hitter-friendly ballpark like Coors, whichever team can get its power bats going will be at a decided advantage. That team looks like it will be the Cubs, who won yesterday’s matchup thanks to a couple of deep balls, including Frank Schwindel’s sixth-inning game-decider.
Minnesota Twins vs Boston Red Sox
The Minnesota Twins looked like an enjoyable early-season surprise until they were completely shut down by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who outscored them 14-2 in the last two games of their series.
However, Minnesota fans will rejoice at the chance to go against a Boston team that will be starting Nick Pivetta and has an overall much weaker bullpen. The Twins were near the top of the league in homers during their opening few games and could easily hit a couple out of Fenway tonight.
Boston is showing the same inconsistencies they did at the start of 2021, which has led them to rank near the bottom in batting average and home runs hit. For a team that is devoid of guaranteed solid starters in the pitching rotation, this is a major issue.
Their return after some brief time off will likely be spoiled by a Twins team eager to get back to lighting up the scoreboard and secure another win on the road.
