With the All-Star Break come and gone, teams (and bettors) looking to hit the reset button have done so. It’s been a rough summer for us and we can only hope things get better after the break. I’ve got a multi-play day lined up with just that in mind.
Meanwhile, both the Red Sox and Yankees closed the season’s first half strong. The Sox swept Tampa Bay and then sent a whole bevy of guys to San Diego to represent the American League. The Yankees closed by taking three of four from Cleveland to even the record at 44-44. The rivalry continues from Yankee Stadium on Friday night.
Free Pick
Though he didn’t appear in the game, Steven Wright was one of those Boston representatives at Petco Park for the All-Star Game. After providing some nice support to the staff last year, Wright has been a revelation in 2016 and has carried Boston’s lackluster starting rotation. He can locate the knuckleball and still mixes in a sneaky fastball that Tim Wakefield never really needed to have. He’s won 10 games and has his ERA well below 3.00. He also tossed a three-hit complete game against the Yanks in his only appearance against them so far this season. 
Michael Pineda has also thrown pretty well against Boston in 2016, and even beyond that. Pineda has allowed just four earned in 11 innings vs. the Sox this season and has strung together a nice run of outings basically since June began, as I mentioned the last time we backed Pineda in his last start. He did help us cash our under, though Miguel Gonzalez did most of the work by blanking the Yankees’ offense.
That’s the other thing, New York’s offense is just so terrible these days that why should we expect them to do much of anything against Wright? Pineda only has to be decent for us to cash and under at such a high number. Though we don’t play anything for more than half a unit these days.
Free Pick: Under 9.5 -110
YTD: 17-17-1 +0.32
2015: 31-25-5 +1.09
2014: 45-28-3 +9.02
Boston Red Sox • New York Yankees • pineda • steven wright