The stage is set for Game 5 of the American League Division Series. Either the New York Yankees of the Tampa Bay Rays will move on to the ALCS to face the Houston Astros with a win Friday night.
This series has been the tightest of all of the division series. Game 1 was a 9-3 win by the Yankees, then the Rays came back and won the next two.
Facing elimination in Game 4, the Yankees limited to the Rays to only one run, winning 5-1 and sending the series to a Game 5.
The first pitch for the series finale is scheduled for 7:10 P.M. Eastern on TBS.
Yankees Lean on Cole
The Yankees don’t have as deep a pitching rotation as in years past, but their ace is one of the best in the business. Gerrit Cole will take the mound in Game 5, and there are few in baseball the Yankees would rather hand the ball to with a chance to keep their season alive.
Cole threw six innings in Game 1, allowing three earned runs. With the Yankees scoring nine runs for him, Cole had all the run support he needed for the win.
“It’s a special opportunity,” Cole said. “I think everyone’s feeling like it’s going to be a special game, a big game for us. You always want to be out there in the big moment.”
Giancarlo Stanton has been the big bat for the Yankees in this series. Not only is he hitting towering home runs, but he’s also doing so with runners on base, recording ten RBIs in this series alone. Game 4 was the first game of the series that Stanton did not hit one out, but he still has four home runs in the ALDS.
Rays Send Glasnow to the Mound
Tyler Glasnow will be pitching for the Rays, and like Cole, he is coming off of a short rest. The Rays let him know soon after the Yankees win in Game 4.
“I just found out like five minutes ago,” said Glasnow after the Yankees’ win Thursday. “I haven’t really talked about innings or anything like that, I just know that I’m starting tomorrow. But I feel good about it, I’m excited and I’m just ready to come out and pitch tomorrow.”
Glasnow got the win in Game 2 after throwing five-innings. He allowed four runs on three hits.
Prediction
Any time a series goes the full length of games, it’s a tough one to predict. Both the Rays and the Yankees have gone back-and-forth so far this series. Also, both teams are throwing a pitcher that has experienced postseason success.
The Yankees are the favorites with a moneyline of -155, while the Rays sit at +148. Since the moneyline is expensive for the Yankees, I will go with the run line, -1.5 (+110).
I believe New York will move on to the ALCS, but I think the best bet of this game will be taking the over. All series, these two teams have hit the ball well. With these two great pitchers, the over/under is set at 7.5, which seems low given the offense we’ve seen so far.
Even with Cole and Glasnow, I think the game will go over that total, especially once they reach the bullpen.