Peter Lewis
• New York Yankees vs. Los Angeles Angels
• Thursday, April 20 at 7:05 PM ET
• Yankee Stadium in Bronx, New York
It’s been an interesting start to the 2023 campaign for the New York Yankees, as the Bronx Bombers have been pretty darn hot both pitching and while at the plate. This week, New York has a great test at home going up against the Los Angeles Angels. In the series finale on Thursday, the Yankees are favored to beat the Angels with Nestor Cortez pitching. Will NY be able to send a statement in this one?
That’s surely what the fans are hoping for, as the Yankees and Angels could end up meeting in the playoffs later this year. Both of these squads are loaded with talent. With the Angels, everyone loves talking about Shohei Ohtani and rightfully so. He’s arguably the best player in the game, and he holds the best odds to win AL MVP. It’d be a surprise if Ohtani didn’t capture that honor.
| Yankees vs. Angels odds |  |  |  |  |
| Yankees to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Angels to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
With the Yankees, Cortes is a steady left-handed pitcher and he has been quite steady through his early starts this year. Aaron Boone has spoken highly of him for a while now. Fans love seeing him in action. When he takes the bump on Thursday, he’ll have to worry not only about Ohtani, but also trying to contain Mike Trout. Plenty of people think he’ll be able to silence both those sluggers.
According to the best-rated sportsbooks, which includes the reliable Bovada review, the Yankees hold -115 MLB betting odds to come away with a victory. The Angels have been set at +125. From our chair, we think Cortes will be on top of his game, while the Yankees hitters will be ready to put on a show as well. With all of that said, we’re going with the Yankees as our pick to record a victory.
Counting down the top 5 highlights from our week 🙌
(@FDSportsbook x Yankees) pic.twitter.com/5Dt8Gq9LOU
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 17, 2023
The under should hit in this matchup between New York and LA
One thing to keep in mind here is that the under should hit in this matchup between New York and LA. Normally, the over would be in contention for these two teams, as they have so much power. However, the Yankees are starting Cortez, while the Angels will be sending out Patrick Sandoval to start. Sandoval has also been impressive this year, with a lot of LA supporters showing him plenty of love.
Thus far in 2023, Sandoval, also a lefty, has a 1-0 record and a 1.23 ERA. On top of that, he has 10 strikeouts to his name. He’s been a nightmare for opposing hitters to try and deal with. The Yankees have Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and more in their lineup, so obviously things won’t be easy for Sandoval. With Cortes, he features several great pitches. The Angels will be tough to hang with those pitches.
“People think I’m not for real,” Cortes said in a recent interview. “People think this could end soon, and it can. I’m not saying it’s going to be forever. I accepted the fact that my first three years weren’t any good and I turned a corner from that. I expect people to do the same. That’s what I meant from that. Every time I go out there, I try to pitch my best. I do what I can do. Hopefully, people start giving me more credit for it.”
Nestor Cortes, Mechanics (side view). 🤣 pic.twitter.com/SNHSUjuCcj
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 9, 2023
Per the oddsmakers, the over/under for this game has been set at seven runs. Again, with these two lineups, the over would usually seem like the smart choice. However, we think that Cortes and Sandoval will be stellar in the Thursday action. As good as the lineups are for both of these teams, the two starters should take care of business. Because of this, we’re going with the under in this case.
The Yankees are no longer the favorites to win the AL East
In some troubling news, the Yankees are no longer the favorites to win the AL East, which is a bit of a surprise. The reason? The Tampa Bay Rays have been sensational thus far this season. As of this writing, they are 14-2 on the year. Where did this team come from? As things stand, the Rays hold +120 odds to win the division, with the Yankees now behind them at +180. This is not what we expected to happen.
When it comes to World Series betting odds, the Yankees and Rays both are set at +900. As we’ve said multiple times, the Yankees are going to need to stay healthy moving forward. Unfortunately, Stanton has already been placed on the Injured List, which is a concern for Aaron Boone. He is simply too valuable for this team.
Fans all over New York are hoping that this team can win the World Series this year. It has been far too long for this historic club to not lift the trophy. Not a lot of experts are high on this team to win it all, but the Bronx Bombers could end up surprising a lot of people.
