Posted on 4/11/2008 1:07:26 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - Sox, Yanks Set For First Series

By BetUS Staff

The Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees both got off to middling starts to the regular season, but those early results won’t mean much when these two rivals meet on the field. And anyone doing any MLB betting probably already knows that the first skirmishes of the season between these two AL East clubs will take place this weekend.

Boston’s rotation is well-positioned for the three-game set, as Josh Beckett and Daisuke Matsuzaka are both scheduled to get starts. For ace Beckett it’ll only be his second start of the season, as he began the year on the disabled list with back spasms. The righthander took to the mound on April 6 against the Toronto Blue Jays, but was tagged with a loss after allowing five earned runs on three hits over 4 2-3 innings, fanning six.

Dice-K, on the other hand, has already pitched three times this season, and he’s been impressive in each of those outings. Matsuzaka opened the year with a no-decision against the A’s in Japan, but he allowed just two earned runs on two hits over five innings in that game. The righthander then went on to win his next two starts against Oakland and Detroit, surrendering a combined one earned run over his 13 1-3 innings.

Clay Buchholz will also take to the mound against the Yankees this weekend, and Boston’s fifth starter will be looking to shake off a loss to Toronto on April 5 (his only outing of the year so far). The righthander gave up three earned runs on six hits over five innings in that 10-2 Blue Jays victory, but he did manage to strike out seven batters.

The Yankees will also get a chance to use their ace in the weekend series, and Chien-Ming Wang will be gunning for this third victory of the season. The righthander had a good first start against the Blue Jays (allowing two earned runs on six hits over seven innings of work), and he tossed six scoreless innings against the Rays his next time out.

Mike Mussina has also pitched well so far this season, although he’ll only be hoping to improve on a 1-1 record when he goes against the Red Sox on the weekend. The righthander was defeated by the Blue Jays in his first outing of the year despite allowing just three earned runs, and he got his first win by shutting down Tampa Bay on Monday.

Phil Hughes is 0-1 with a 5.00 ERA over two starts this season, although that ERA was boosted considerably when he gave up three earned runs in just three innings of work in his start against the Royals on Tuesday. Hughes should get the start on Sunday night.

Friday’s Boston/New York matchup at Fenway Park will get underway at 7:05pm ET, with Saturday’s game at 3:55pm ET, and Sunday’s meeting in primetime at 8:05pm ET. Both teams have injuries to watch – Derek Jeter (quad) and Jorge Posada (shoulder) for New York, Mike Lowell (thumb) for Boston. Check the BetUS MLB Betting lines section for the latest odds and totals for this series, and for the rest of the weekend’s action as well.

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