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• New York Yankees vs. Colorado Rockies
• Friday, July 15 at 8:40 PM ET
• Coors Field in Denver, Colorado
With the MLB All-Star Game officially a thing of the past, it’s time for teams to start getting ready for the second half of the season. The New York Yankees may not have lived up to the hype during the first half of the year, but now they’re ready to get things going on the right foot. To start things off, they’ll be headed to Colorado for a key series. With that said, come Friday night, the Yankees are favored to beat the Rockies with Carlos Rodon pitching.
Rodon has missed the majority of the year due to his back injury, but the great news is that he’s close to 100 percent now. Having him on the bump for the rest of the season is going to be massive for manager Aaron Boone and his coaching staff. The Yankees signed Rodon to a massive deal. This is why his being out early on this year has been rough to see not only for the Yankees, but their fans as well.
| Yankees vs. Rockies odds |  |  |  |  |
| Yankees to win | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
| Rockies to win | +125 | +125 | +125 | +125 |
| Over to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
| Under to hit | -110 | -110 | -110 | -110 |
New York enters this game with a 49-42 record, while the Rockies are 34-57. Colorado has been one of the worst teams in the National League this year, which has been a major disappointment for their supporters. The Rockies not only have no chance to make noise in the NL West, but there’s also no way they’ll be able to make the postseason. This is a series the Yankees must take advantage of.
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 on Friday night. Despite being the home team, the Rockies are underdogs with +125 MLB betting odds. At this point, it would be a surprise if the Rockies are even able to keep things close. We’re going with the Yankees as our pick to post the victory.
Our home and away uniforms with the Starr Insurance patch. pic.twitter.com/cakDuS5Mp7
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 12, 2023
Aaron Judge could return this week for the Yankees
What will definitely help New York is that Aaron Judge could return this week for the Yankees. Judge has missed a significant amount of time due to a toe injury. Not long ago, there was plenty of fear that Judge could be out for the rest of the campaign. However, that’s no longer the case, as we might be seeing Judge suit up for the Yankees against Colorado. At the start, he’ll be at DH for the team, which makes sense.
While Judge is a standout right fielder, the last thing Boone is going to want to do is rush him back to the field too early. It could injure him even further. That’s why only having him make plays for the offense is the smart choice. When he’s healthy, Judge is 100 percent one of the best players in the game. He’s the reigning AL MVP for a reason. Boone is ready to see him back ASAP, which would be crucial.
“He’s been tight-lipped on it,” Bret Boone, Aaron Boone’s older brother, said during a recent interview. “I haven’t asked him about it, he hasn’t said anything, but I’m hearing some grumblings he’s going to be back right after the All-Star break, so we’ll see if I’m right.”
With the elder Boone dropping a hint like that, it sure feels like we could be seeing Judge sooner than later. Yankees fans will be over the moon with excitement if Judge is not only able to grab a bat, but also go yard against the Rockies. This is something that plenty of people are going to keep a close eye on moving forward. Judge is quite valuable for this team.
Aaron Boone's brother Bret says he's heard some rumors Aaron Judge could be back "right after the All-Star break," but he says those rumors didn't come from his brother pic.twitter.com/9hX04XM03p
— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) July 12, 2023
The Yankees World Series odds have dropped even further
With this team only being seven games over .500, the Yankees World Series odds have dropped even further, which has been frustrating. As things stand, NY’s World Series betting odds indeed have dropped quite a bit since the start of the year, as they’re listed at +1500. For those of you keeping track at home, that’s No. 6 for all teams in the bigs. Again, who expected this to be the case at this point in the season?
At the end of the day, there are other teams who have looked far better than the Bronx Bombers thus far. The Braves are the top club with +360 odds, while the Dodgers and Rays are right behind them. Injuries have been a nightmare for the Yankees, but not a lot of people have faith in them to turn things around to the point where they can make enough noise to be considered contenders for the Fall Classic.
Having Rodon back healthy will help and the same can most definitely be said for Judge. However, the Yankees are looking like a Wild Card team at best for this year’s postseason. After that, it will be tough for them to beat either the Rays or Astros in a series. We’d recommend staying away from betting on the Yankees to win it all this year.
