Yankees vs. Red Sox prediction: Garrett Crochet cant handle bombers on Friday

Yankees-Red Sox at Fenway Park will always have a mystique about it, even when Boston isn’t playing its best.The Red Sox (34-36) are fourth in the American League East, a whopping 9.5 games behind the first-place Yankees, who are among the World Series favorites this season.The Alex Cora-led Sox did take two of three from their bitter rivals last week in a series in the Bronx, so there is some reason for positivity, as their lineup is among the best in the league.Things have been extremely rough on the starting rotation, with seemingly none of their perceived upgrades from the offseason performing up to standard in 2025.Starters Lucas Giolito and Walker Buehler have been borderline disasters up until this point, and tonight’s starter, Garrett Crochet (6-4, 2.35 ERA), can only do so much.

In a rematch of last week’s matchup, it’s Ryan Yarbrough matching up with Crochet, but there’s a bit of a different wrinkle to the lineup.Boston is sitting star outfielder Jarren Duran on Friday night, and rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer, who is coming off a two-homer performance, is also riding the pine.It’s a strange move to have all of those guys sitting even against the left-pitching Yarbrough.

All things being considered, I disagree with the lineup card for Friday’s AL East tilt and would prefer to back the Yankees as underdogs.The Yankees are currently sitting at +123 on the moneyline, which would be the third-longest price on the Pinstripes this season.They closed +160 against the Dodgers on June 1, and +155 against the Tigers back on April 8.I don’t view the Red Sox in the same ballpark (pun intended) as either of those teams, and I’ll happily take the underdog price on the better team.PICK: Yankees +123 (BetRivers)Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting.

During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons.While constantly betting long shot...