The Yankees are in Boston Tuesday night to face off against the Red Sox in the 2021 American League Wild Card Game. There's always a high level of intrigue in this game and given that it's two teams from a heated rivalry makes the stakes seem even higher.
Speaking of stakes, the beautiful world of gambling on sports has grown pretty mainstream. As such, we'll be looking at trying to cash some fun props throughout the postseason. I'll be picking games and/or over/unders on SportsLine (go subscribe now!), where I've nailed 52 of my last 77 moneyline picks, so definitely check those out as well.
As for the Yankees at Red Sox on Tuesday night, let's grab a few props from Caesars. It's all about the longball.
First home run is a solo shot -125
There's no stat here that fully justifies this pick aside from thinking that both pitchers are good. Nathan Eovaldi only walked 35 hitters in 182 1/3 innings this season while Gerrit Cole had a 1.06 WHIP. I suspect the offenses wake up at some point, but the pitching should be good to maybe even dominant in the early going. As such, with limited baserunners, if someone pops one early, the best bet would be that it's a solo shot.
Over two home runs +100
The Yankees hit 222 homers this season, which is obviously well over one per game. The Red Sox weren't far behind at 219. Even with the Red Sox having J.D. Martinez injured, there are power hitters up and down both batting orders. Fenway Park is slightly favorable to hitters when it comes to home runs, but it's especially friendly down the lines. We know all about the short porch to the Green Monster in left field at 310, but it's also only 302 with a tiny wall down the right-field line. Cole and Eovaldi are both excellent, but can be gotten to and the bullpens have been a bit leaky. I like at least three homers in this one.
Giancarlo Stanton hits a home run +225
And if there's one guy I'm gonna ride with to come through with a longball, it's Giancarlo. He's homered 20 times in 70 games since the All-Star break. He hit 10 in 28 games in September. From Sept. 24-26, the Yankees visited Fenway for the last time in the regular season. In that series, Stanton went 7 for 12 with three homers and 10 RBI. One of those homers was a three-run blast off Eovaldi. Let's play it again.