Red Sox vs. Yankees prediction and odds for Saturday, Aug. 19 (Cole bolsters Cy Young case)

The Yankees season is heading for a disappointing end, losers of six straight and now seven out of the final AL Wild Card spot,, but the team's ace will continue to hunt for some hardware.

Gerrit Cole is the overwhelming favorite to win AL Cy Young (-400 at consensus sportsbooks, meaning you would need to risk $400 to win $100 on Cole to win Cy Young). He will look to continue his march towards the hardware against a vaunted Red Sox lineup that still has plenty to play for, just three games out of the final Wild Card spot.

Can Cole outduel the Red Sox offense? We'll break that down and assess the Yankees failing offense as it matches up against Kutter Crawford.

Red Sox vs. Yankees odds, run line and total

Red Sox vs. Yankees prediction and pick

Cole's numbers are as impressive as anyone in baseball, and I expect him to keep a lid on the Red Sox offense. While his strikeout numbers aren't as dominate as years past, less than 10 per nine, Cole has been generating far more soft contact and limiting home runs to opponents. After allowing a home run to fly ball rate above 10% every season since 2016, Cole is sitting at 9.8% in 2023.

That's paramount against a Red Sox team that has plenty of pop, top 10 in slugging percentage, and just tagged the Yankees for eight runs in the series opener.

Cole should shove, but Crawford should also limit the Yankees offense that has been out of sorts for much of this season. The right hander has been in good form since the All-Star break, pitching to a 3.14 ERA in nearly 29 innings of action. On the season, he has been a sub-4.00 ERA pitcher with an xERA of 3.59.

He'll face a Yankees offense that can't find a rhythm at the plate, striking out on more than 25% of at bats in August and is 24th in runs scored.

Both pitchers should have a handle on this game, I'll take the under as my favorite play on Saturday afternoon.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.