CC Sabathia (6-8, 4.15 ERA) and Corey Kluber (10-8, 3.27 ERA) start in the second of a three-game series between the New York Yankees (55-54) and the Cleveland Indians (61-46) at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the last game 13-7, and New York leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Aug. 6 and can be seen on STOh and YES.
Sabathia pitched 5.2 innings in his last outing, surrendering five runs, striking out five and walking three in a 6-5 win over the Mets. Carlos Beltran (.301, 51 Rs, 23 HRs, 66 RBIs) went 1 for 4 yesterday. Kluber went 7.0 innings, surrendering zero runs, striking out seven and walking two in an 8-0 win over the Athletics in his most recent start. Mike Napoli (.253, 70 Rs, 27 HRs, 78 RBIs, 4 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Cleveland takes on New York as a -158 favorite. The Over/Under (O/U) for the matchup is sitting at eight runs. The Yankees have recorded an overall money line of -434 and have shown a weak performance as an underdog this season with a record of 17-30. New York has recorded a disappointing 1-4 record as the underdog over its last 10 games. Opposing batters know they’re in for a battle when they play New York. The Yankees are one of the top teams when it comes to pitching, allowing just 4.1 runs per home game. The Yankees are the second-best team in the AL at limiting hits during home games, allowing only 8.4 hits per game to their opponents this season.
In games where it is the favorite, Cleveland has a 47-33 record and an overall money line of +335. The Indians allow just 4.3 runs per game, ranking them third in the AL. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Indians are second in the AL with an average of 8.3 hits allowed per game.
The Yankees lead the season series, 4-1. The Yankees have a 40-35 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Kluber takes the mound. Sabathia (LHP) will be on the hill against the Indians, who have a very good 20-10 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – CLE, O/U – Over
Notes
The Yankees are coming into this matchup after a high-scoring game where they scored a whopping 13 runs. The Indians have a 0-3 record when opponents score that many runs or more.
When they are outhit, the Indians are 7-33. The Yankees have a 10-43 record when opponents outhit them.
Ranking 22nd in home runs, New York has hit 110 this season. Cleveland ranks eighth with 141 home runs.
Ranking 13th, New York is in the top half of the league in hits, notching 8.33 per game. Cleveland ranks in the top five at fourth with 9.03.
Ranking 28th, New York is near the bottom of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.707). Cleveland ranks in the top 10 at seventh with an OPS of .767.
The Indians are 37-40 when they allow at least one home run. The Yankees perform similarly when they allow one or more homers with a 34-44 record.
