Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/7/2022

Game time: 1:05 p.m. ET

Venue: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Where to watch: YES, MLB Network

DraftKings: Yankees -155, Red Sox +135

BetMGM: Yankees -160, Red Sox +130

Caesars: Yankees -161, Red Sox +140

Red Sox: 92-70 (2nd place, AL East -- lost ALCS vs. Astros)

Yankees: 92-70 (2nd place, AL East -- lost AL Wild Card vs. Red Sox)

Baseball is back, and what type of season-opener weekend would it be if the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox didn’t get together and hash out some old rivalry hoopla?

And given how last seasons ended for both teams, who’s to say things won’t get exciting right off the bat in Yankee Stadium starting Thursday? Both the Yankees and Red Sox made big moves in the offseason to shore their lineups in hopes of making a deep postseason run.

The Red Sox ended the Yankees’ season in the AL Wild Card game in 2021 and followed that with a stunning four-game series victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in the ALDS. Boston’s luck ran out against the Houston Astros in the Championship Series because of timely bats running out of juice at a bad time.

So the Red Sox went out and signed Trevor Story to be their second baseman of the future. Story, who spent his entire career with the Colorado Rockies up until this point, signed a six-year, $140 million contract with Boston on March 24 and creating an incredible infield with Story, Rafael Devers at third, Xander Bogaerts at short, and Travis Shaw at first.

“I was telling [Xander Bogaerts], I looked at the board and I was like, ‘Man, we have a sick lineup, a deep lineup,’” Story said after playing in his first Grapefruit League game for his new team on March 30.

This roster is so stacked that Story is likely to be batting sixth on Opening Day, which is an incredible luxury. If Devers can continue the trajectory he was on last season as a near-40-homer guy, that’s another edge of pop that group can have. Story, who spent his career playing in a hitter’s friendly park that is Coors Field, is now getting to launch balls from the right side of the plate over the Green Monster.

“Trevor, he is just a ballplayer,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He’s going to help us -- put it that way. It doesn’t matter whether you hit him sixth, leadoff, second, whatever. He brings it. You can see the intensity.”

The Red Sox are hoping the pitching can carry them late. Unfortunately, once again, the Boston rotation will not feature Chris Sale for at least the first two months of the season due to a broken rib. That means Nathan Eovaldi, who became a true ace in the hole when Boston needed him most, will get the call in this opener.

Opposite Eovaldi will likely be Gerrit Cole after a strong campaign from the ace. But the lasting image of Cole was him walking off the Fenway mound in the wild card game after only two innings. If the Yankees are going to rebound after what turned out to be a disappointing season on all counts, it starts with Cole.

But much like their bitter rival, the Yankees went out and anchored their lineup in the infield, adding youth and understandable power. They acquired Isiah Kiner-Falefa and Josh Donaldson to anchor a talented infield. Donaldson showed that spurt of power last season in Minnesota, while Kiner-Falefa was thought to be a staple in the future for the Texas Rangers. Then, the latter went out and got Corey Seager and Marcus Semien to make him expendable. The Rangers turned IKF into Mitch Garver, a needed upgrade at catcher.

“I think we’re capable of whatever it is that we want, and obviously that’s to win a lot of games,” Donaldson said Sunday after going 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and walk in a 7-5 Yankees loss to the Blue Jays. “First, you’ve got to get to the postseason and then go from there.”

This group is capable of getting there, but trying to handle the details with Boston and Tampa Bay is already an uphill climb. And of course there’s the Toronto Blue Jays making moves to make this division a damn-near gauntlet. It’s going to be so fun to watch.

I expect Cole to come out firing and get the bats going. The unholy trio of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Joey Gallo have the capability of hitting homers every time they get to the plate. Gallo is going to need to be better at contact if the Yankees want to make the most of that trio, but the home crowd is already going to be great and will carry the home team to victory. Yankees win 5-3

The Red Sox are 422-485 (+66.9 units on the money line) since 1997 as a road dog of +100 or higher.

The Red Sox are 59-62 (-5.9 units on ML) against division opponents the past three seasons.

The Yankees are 366-262 (+26.3 units on ML) since 1997 as a home favorite with the money line between -100 and -150.

Teams are 5-10 the last three seasons when Cole starts in day games.

Red Sox:
Enrique Hernandez (R) CF
Rafael Devers (L) 3B
Xander Bogaerts (R) SS
J.D. Martinez (R) DH
Alex Verdugo (L) LF
Trevor Story (R) 2B
Travis Shaw (L) 1B
Jackie Bradley Jr. (L) RF
Kevin Plawecki (R) C

Yankees:
Josh Donaldson (R) 3B
Aaron Judge (R) RF
Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
DJ LeMahieu (R) 2B
Joey Gallo (L) LF
Aaron Hicks (S) CF
Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) SS
Kyle Higashioka (R) C

Batting average: Xander Bogaerts -- .295

Hits: Rafael Devers -- 165

Home runs: Rafael Devers -- 38

RBI: Rafael Devers -- 113

Wins: Eduardo Rodriguez -- 13

Saves: Matt Barnes -- 24

ERA: Nathan Eovaldi -- 3.75

Batting average: Aaron Judge -- .287

Hits: DJ LeMahieu -- 160

Home runs: Aaron Judge -- 39

RBI: Aaron Judge -- 98

Wins: Gerrit Cole -- 16

Saves: Aroldis Chapman -- 30

ERA: Gerrit Cole -- 3.23