The New York Yankees made several moves at the trade deadline with the goal of keeping their postseason hopes alive. The Miami Marlins, meanwhile, find themselves at the bottom of the NL East standings and don’t have any postseason hopes left in 2021. Here, the Marlins host the Yankees in the first game of a weekend series that the Yankees hope will propel them forward in the standings.
Yankees Hoping Hitting Outweighs Pitching
At the trade deadline, the New York Yankees made moves to acquire multiple big-name bats, bringing in Joey Gallo and Anthony Rizzo from the Texas Rangers and the Chicago Cubs, respectively. But their game on deadline day showcased how much the Yankees needed pitching instead, as New York lost 14-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays. In this game, the Yankees will hope that Jameson Taillon will deliver a better start than Gerrit Cole did yesterday.
But it isn’t just the pitching that has been a problem for the Yankees of late. New York has gone seven straight games without putting up five runs, with those games coming against division rivals in the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox. Now, without any familiarity with the Marlins, the Yankees will have to overcome the unknown to break that streak.
Heading into this weekend series against the lowly Marlins, the Yankees find themselves 3.5 games behind the Oakland Athletics for the second Wild Card spot in the American League. That deficit is only two games in the loss column, though, which means that a winning streak for the Yankees could tighten that gap in a hurry. This makes a three-game set of winnable games against the Marlins all the more important.
Marlins Playing Respectable Baseball
While the Miami Marlins have been basement dwellers in the NL East this season, they have been a respectable club of late. Miami has won three of its last four games, having a three-game win streak snapped in their last outing against the Baltimore Orioles. At home against the Yankees, Miami will look to start a new winning streak on Friday night in South Florida.
For the Marlins, it is expected to be a bullpen day on Friday against the Yankees, with Zach Thompson, set to start the game out of the pen. The Yankees faced a bullpen day from the Rays on Thursday and were shut out the day before this matchup with the Marlins, with Miami looking to have similar success with their relievers. It won’t be easy against the potent Yankees lineup, but the Marlins at least know that success is possible against this opponent on a bullpen day.
Yankees vs. Marlins Pick: Marlins +135 to Win
Yes, the Yankees have a demonstrably better lineup than the Marlins, which is true of most lineups that the Yankees square up against throughout the season. But the Yankees are feast or famine when their batting order that it is hard to justify laying heavy juice on New York to win. Miami should be able to take advantage of the strikeout-heavy lineup of the Yankees and use their bullpen to create problems for the struggling Yankees.
100% up to $3,000 Bonus
Bovada is our most recommended ONLINE CASINO and POKER ROOM for US players with excellent deposit options. Get your 100% signup bonus today.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.