After splitting a two-games at home-series with the Red Sox, the New York Yankees will hit the road once again to take on another AL East Division foe. But they won’t have to travel very far to do so. On Friday April 18th at 7:05 pm EDT, the Baltimore Orioles welcome (first time this season) the New York Yankees to the opener of a three-game-weekend-series. Due to the dense population of NYY fans in the tri-state area, Camden Yards has become more prominently known as "Yankee Stadium South" whenever the Bombers are in town. Sportsbetting.com has the New York Yankees -138 favorite against Baltimore Orlioles +128 in MLB Betting with the Over/Under set at 10.5 total runs.
The O’s come into Friday’s match up with a record of 9-7, which is good enough for 2nd place in their division. The birds are coming off an exciting victory over the Chicago White Sox (6-5 in the 10th inning), as they rallied late Thursday night. On the series opener with NY they will send to the mound an over imposing figure.
Starting for the O’s will be 6’ 9” 270 lbs hard-throwing RHP, Daniel Cabrera. The Dominican Cabrera is yet to register a decision so far this season. In 3 starts, he is 0-0 (with 11 strikeouts and a 5.94 ERA). Cabrera has good stuff (no doubt about it), but he’s more of a thrower than a pitcher. Last season he led the American League in: losses (18), earned runs allowed (126), and walks (108). But he is also very durable, as he was also atop in AL starts with 34.
Toeing the rubber Friday night for NY will be Phil Hughes, who will not turn 22 years old until June 24th, 2008. Even though he’s not off to the start everyone envisioned coming out of spring training, Hughes must remain patient. So far, the young righty is 0-2 in 3 starts with an ERA of 9.0 along with 9 Ks. Expect Hughes to win his first decision Friday night, as he will pitch with the lead, and will receive some much needed run support from this Yankee offense.
Side Note: The Yankees placed Joba Chamberlain on the Major League bereavement list on Monday. Allowing him to skip a minimum of three games and a maximum of seven. As it looks now, Chamberlain will miss his 5th game, in the opener against the Orioles Friday night.
MLB Prediction: NYY -138
