The start of the season wasn’t exactly what the New York Yankees wanted. It didn’t help that reigning AL MVP Aaron Judge spent some time on the injured list with a hip issue.
Judge is back, and so are the Yankees.
The Yankees won their fourth in a row on Tuesday and once again, Judge homered. Judge has four homers in New York’s last three games. He’s up to 18 this season, which is remarkable considering his time on the IL.
Despite all of that, the Yankees are +115 underdogs at BetMGM against the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday. The Mariners had been playing well too, before the Yankees came to town.
The big question with Judge is if he can challenge for another MVP. Shohei Ohtani took a big lead in the MVP race but Judge is gaining ground. Judge’s odds are down to +600 after his latest hot streak. Ohtani is still the big favorite at -130, but Judge is gaining ground.
The Yankees are gaining on the rest of the AL, as well. The Tampa Bay Rays are still five games up on the Yankees in the AL East, but New York is just two games behind the surprising Baltimore Orioles for second place. And there’s a long time for the Yankees to chase down the Rays in the division. New York is +425 to win the division, if you believe in them long term.
The Yankees had dealt with some injuries early in the season and generally hadn’t played that well the first few weeks of the season. That’s turning around. It helps that nobody can get Judge out.
Here’s the first look at the sports betting slate for Wednesday:
MLB rolls on
As we impatiently wait for the NBA and NHL championship rounds to start, MLB fills the void.
There are 14 games in MLB on Wednesday, including seven in the afternoon. Among the early games, the most interesting one includes … the Oakland A’s? Somehow, the A’s have won two in a row against the Atlanta Braves. They had a walk-off winner on Tuesday. The A’s are off to a truly horrible start, the Braves are one of the best teams in baseball, and Atlanta dropped two to start the series. The A’s are +200 to complete the sweep, if you’re feeling lucky.
Among the late games, the Philadelphia Phillies need a win after getting nothing going against Kodai Senga of the New York Mets on Tuesday, and they send Aaron Nola to the mound. Nola, like the Phillies as a whole, is off to a disappointing start. But the Phillies are -120 to win on Wednesday.
What’s the best bet?
The Tampa Bay Rays have dropped the first two games of a series against the Chicago Cubs, but I don’t think that will continue. The Rays are too good to get swept in Chicago, so give me Tampa Bay at -135 for the series finale.