New York Yankees vs Texas Rangers 05/17/2021 MLB Odds, Preview, and Pick

The New York Yankees are gunning to win their sixth consecutive series when they take on the Texas Rangers in Game 1 of a four-game set on Monday night.

Both teams are going off a loss. The Yankees were beaten 10-6 by the Baltimore Orioles in Game 3 of their series but New York won the first two games to win the set 2-1. Meanwhile, the Rangers lost 6-2 to the Houston Astros in their last game and were swept in that series 4-0.

The Yankees are 5-4-1 in the last 10 head-to-head meetings between these two teams but the Rangers won their most recent meeting 6-1 at home last September 29, 2019.

New York Yankees

The Yankees had a slow start but have picked it up in recent weeks. New York has won six out of their last eight games to improve to 22-18 on the season and have cut the Red Sox’s lead in the AL East down to just two games. In their last series, the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 but lost the final game of that set, 10-6.

Giancarlo Stanton leads New York with 24 RBIs while Aaron Judge is the team leader with a total of 11 home runs. Meanwhile, Gio Urshela leads the Yankees with a .303 batting average. The Yankees average four runs per game and are batting .223 this season while also having a slugging percentage of .380 and an on-base percentage of .318.

Gerritt Cole will open on top of the mound for New York. The 30-year old right-hander has started a total of 8 games this season with a record of 5-1 and an ERA of 1.37. Cole is ranked 2nd in the league with a WHIP of 0.68 and 3rd in strikeouts with 78 in a total of 52.2 innings pitched.

What are the Moneyline Odds?

Yankees

-265

Rangers

+237

Odds from BetOnline as of 05/17/2021

Texas Rangers

The Rangers head to this game with a 2-7 record in their last nine games. Texas has lost its last six assignments and is 18-24 on the season, which is dead-last in the AL West, seven games behind the division leaders Oakland Athletics. They were swept by the Giants and Astros in their last two series, going 0-6 in that road trip.

Adolis Garcia leads Texas with a total of 27 RBIs and 10 home runs this season while Isiah Kiner-Falefa leads the Rangers with a .294 batting average. They are scoring 4.22 runs per game and are ranked 10th in the league in batting at .241 while also having a .311 on base percentage and .392 slugging percentage.

Right-hander Jordan Lyles will start for the Rangers in Game 1 of this series. The 30-year old has a 1-3 record with an ERA of 6.63 and a WHIP of 1.61 in a total of 8 starts. In 38 innings pitched, Lyles has conceded a total of 28 runs on 46 hits with 36 strikeouts and 15 walks.

Who Wins?

The Yankees are 11-4 in their last 15 games played and 6-1 in their last seven games against a right-hander. They are 4-1 in their last five games as road favorites, 4-1 in their last five games on grass, and 4-1 in their last five games after a loss. New York is 17-7 in their last 24 Monday games, 8-3 in their last 11 games when scoring more than five runs in their previous game, and 11-3 in their last 14 games when their opponent allows five or more runs in their previous game.

The Rangers are 0-6 in their last six games played and 4-12 in their last 16 home games after a road trip of seven or more games. Texas is 2-8 in their last 10 games against a right-handers, 15-39 in their last 54 games during Game 1s of a series, and 1-7 in their last eight Monday games. They are also 0-5 in their last five games after a loss, 0-6 in their last six games as underdogs, and 0-6 in their last six games on grass.

The pitching matchup doesn’t help Texas either with Gerritt Cole having an impressive 26:1 K: BB ratio this season. Cole will face a Texas squad that is averaging 9.71 strikeouts per game who will be starting Jordan Lyes who has a record of 0-1 in three starts with an ERA of 12.27 and a WHIP of 2.64 at home. With Cole on the mound, you have to give it to the Yankees here, despite their COVID-19 issues.

Prediction: New York Yankees

What are the Spread Odds?

Yankees

-1.5 (-160)

Rangers

+1.5 (+140)

Odds from BetOnline as of 05/17/2021

If you want better odds, go with New York at -160 via the spread line at -1.5. The Yankees have scored 14 runs in their last three games played while the Rangers struggle at home, averaging fewer than four runs scored per game. Texas’ pitching staff has conceded 27 runs in their last five games while Cole has given up only three runs in his last five starts with opposing hitter batting only .177 against him. Give me the Yankees to win by at least two runs.

Prediction: Yankees -1.5

Over/Under Betting

The total has gone over in four out of the last five games played by the Yankees. The over is 4-0 in their last four games as betting favorites, 4-0 in their last four games, and 6-2-1 in their last nine games played on grass. New York has seen the total go over in three out of their last four games against the American League West. The over is 6-2-1 in their last nine games played on grass.

The total has gone over in six out of the last nine games played by the Rangers. The over is 4-1 in their last five home games and 6-1 in their last seven games played against the American League. The over is also 6-2 in their last eight games after a loss, 5-2 in their last seven games against a right-handed starter, and 5-0 in their last five games when allowing five or more runs in their previous game.

Head to head, the over is 9-4-1 in the last 14 meetings between these two teams. The over is also 6-1 in their last seven meetings in Texas.

As stated above, the Rangers have been worse at home than away from it this season. They are scoring an average of 4.22 runs per game but only 3.84 runs per contest when playing in front of their home town fans. New York is allowing just 2.25 runs per game when Cole is on the mound. Cole is going to shut down the Rangers but with Lyles pitching terribly this season, these teams should hit the over.

Prediction: Over 8

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