New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Guardians July 3 Betting Preview

After dropping the first two games of the series, the Cleveland Guardians (39-36) will be hoping to salvage the finale of their three-game series with the New York Yankees (58-21) on Sunday. The Guardians will host this one at Progressive Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:40 pm ET.

After Friday’s opener was postponed due to weather, the two teams played a doubleheader on Saturday. It was all New York as they won both games, 13-4 and 6-1.

In the first game, the Yankees hit four home runs, including two by Matt Carpenter, to help get Gerrit Cole his seventh win of the season. In the loss, Josh Naylor and Franmil Reyes went deep, but it wasn’t enough for the Guardians.

In the nightcap, Nestor Cortes also picked up his seventh win as he went six innings, allowing just a single run. Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton went deep in the Yankees’ victory.

Betting Odds

The Yankees are the favorites on Sunday despite playing on the road. They are -164 to win while the Guardians’ moneyline sits at +138. The runline features Cleveland +1.5 (-122), and the over/under for total runs is eight.

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Pitching Matchup

Manager Aaron Boone will send lefty Jordan Montgomery to the mound looking for a sweep. In 15 games, Montgomery is 3-1 with a 3.27 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, and has 64 strikeouts in 85.1 innings.

The Guardians will counter with 24-year-old righty Triston McKenzie. In 14 games, he is 4-6 with a 4.03 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and has 73 strikeouts in 80.1 innings. McKenzie has been roughed up in back-to-back games giving up a combined 13 earned runs on 17 hits in just 10.1 innings of work in that span.

Yankees Look To Improve MLB’s Best Record

In the Guardians’ defense on Saturday, the Yankees have beaten up on a lot of teams like they did Cleveland on Sunday. At 58-21, they have been dominant regardless of whether at home (34-9) or on the road (24-12).

Already 14 games up in the AL East, the Yankees will try to add another tally to their win column. Given that they have won seven of their last 10, it is understandable why they are the favorites in many of their games.

With the home runs on Saturday, the Yankees now have three sluggers who have eclipsed the 20 home run mark. Aaron Judge (29), Anthony Rizzo (22), and Giancarlo Stanton (20) have all put up gaudy numbers.

Guardians Trying To Take Down The Best

With their two losses Saturday, Cleveland has fallen to just 19-17 at Progressive Field and stand three games back of the Twins for first place in the AL Central. Trying to get to 40 wins on Sunday, they will have to take down MLB’s best team to do so.

Albeit in small sample size, there are a few hitters that have put up good numbers against the Yankees’ Jordan Montgomery. In fact, as a team, the Guardians are 7 for 22 against him.

Against lefties in general, Jose Ramirez has been the team’s best producer. In 84 at bats against southpaws, he is hitting .250/.315/.452 with three home runs and 13 runs batted in.

Cleveland Needs Great Outing From McKenzie

The Yankees have one of the best offenses in baseball this season, and Saturday reaffirmed that. With 19 runs and six home runs, the Yankees can get production anywhere in their lineup.

With Cleveland’s offense ranking just 15th in scoring (4.44), they really need a great outing from Triston McKenzie Sunday to get them back into the win column.

While Jordan Montgomery is no slouch, he is a better matchup than either Gerrit Cole or Nestor Cortes. If McKenzie can cool the Yankees’ bats, the Guardians should have a chance of stealing the finale.

If not, it will feel like a long flight as they head to Detroit for their next series.