Yankees vs. Guardians prediction and odds for Wednesday, April 12 (Bet the First Inning)

Woof. This matchup of starting pitchers isn’t exactly the most intriguing between a pair of playoff contending teams. 

Clarke Schmidt wouldn’t have made the starting rotation for New York if not for a litany of injuries to the team’s starting pitchers, and a recent oblique injury to Aaron Civale has thrown Cleveland’s plans out of whack, too. 

While we know you can’t count on the pitching (on either side), let’s examine whether the bats will provide any value today. 

Yankees vs. Guardians odds

Yankees vs. Guardians prediction and pick

As of this writing, Cleveland’s starting pitcher is to be determined, but it’s likely to be either Peyton Battenfield or Xzavion Curry. 

Either way the Guardians go, it won’t be their first option against a loaded Yankees lineup that could jump on the board early. 

New York is scoring in the first at a 60% rate this year in a small sample size a season after leading the league with a 35.9% season-long rate. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Cleveland is allowing runs in the first inning at the second-highest rate in MLB (54.55%) a year after posting a 23.8% rate. 

When you consider that the Yankees top hitters (DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton) are among the best in baseball, this is a spot where I’m comfortable taking the YRFI (Yes Run First Inning). 

Even if the Yankees don’t score right away, Cleveland has scored in the first inning at a 27.27% rate after posting a season-long number of 28.99%. 

Bank on hot hitting and a poor pitching matchup to show itself early in this game. 

Pick: YRFI 

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.