Yankees vs. Reds prediction and odds for Friday, May 19 (Value on total)

The New York Yankees’ offense is starting to come around, and the team will need that to be the case on Friday with Clarke Schmidt getting yet another start.

Schmidt (1-4, 6.30 ERA) has been brutal this season for the Yanks, and now he has to take on a surprisingly solid Cincinnati Reds offense in this weekend’s series.

Ben Lively (1-1, 1.69 ERA) will get the ball as an opener for the Reds in this matchup. New York needs to handle business against lesser teams after a slow start, but are the Yanks the best bet to make in this game?

Here are the odds and my pick for Friday’s contest: 

Yankees vs. Reds odds, run line and total

Yankees vs. Reds prediction and pick

This is a huge total in this game, all the way up at 10.5.

Even at that number, it’s not high enough with this starting pitching matchup.

Schmidt has been downright awful for the Yankees, posting a 6.30 ERA this season and allowing at least three runs in seven of his nine starts this season.

While his Fielding Independent Pitching (4.70) is lower than his ERA, I still don’t trust him to hold down a Cincinnati offense that is eighth in MLB in OPS over the last 15 days. 

Speaking of teams hitting well lately, New York is No. 2 in baseball in OPS over the last 15 days, really starting to turn things around with Aaron Judge healthy. 

Lively has been used as an opener to this point, and even though he allowed just 1 run in 2.1 innings in his last outing, the game finished with a 9-8 score. 

The OVER is the play here as long as these teams stay hot at the dish. 

Pick: OVER

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.