Guardians vs. Yankees prediction and odds for Monday, May 1 (Hope Judge is Healthy)

I’m not sure if you know this or not, but the New York Yankees are in last place in the AL East entering May. Last year, they faced the Cleveland Guardians in the postseason after winning their division, but they are currently eight games back of Tampa Bay at 15-14. The Guardians are 13-15 which in their division is good enough for second, just 3.5 games back of first.

For Game 1 of this three-game series, the Yankees will hand the ball to Domingo German who is 2-2 with a 5.54 ERA against Cal Quantrill who is 1-2 with a 5.40 ERA for the Guardians. The Yankees lead the season series, 2-1.

Let’s get into the odds for this playoff rematch in New York, Game 1 of a three-game midweek series. 

Guardians vs. Yankees odds, run line and total

Guardians vs. Yankees prediction and pick

The Yankees fell to last place by losing three of four games in Texas, most recently, 15-2 yesterday and over the last three games, all losses, they only managed four total runs. Outside of a 12-run outburst against the Twins on April 26, they have scored 16 runs across their last nine games. That’s less than two runs a night and is a very real cause for concern about their lineup. 

Over the last seven days, the Yankees offense has a .589 OPS and Aaron Judge has only played four of those seven games. Judge isn’t going on the IL just yet, but is dealing with a hip strain and I wouldn’t expect them to have their slugger in the middle of the lineup tonight. That means more at-bats for Aaron Hicks who has a .438 OPS over the last seven days which is an improvement on his .388 OPS for the season. 

The Yankees should be worried, but the Cleveland offense isn’t exactly a juggernaut either. The Guardians have scored two or less in six of their last seven losses and have lost six of their last nine games. This feels like a pretty easy under for me. 

Follow all Josh Yourish’s bets HERE

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change