Media by Associated Press – New York Yankees’ Gleyber Torres, left, gestures as he reaches home plate after hitting a home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago Cubs, Friday, June 10, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
With wins in nine of their last ten games, the New York Yankees (42-16) have the best record in the Majors heading into action on Saturday.
They had to go 13 innings to beat the Chicago Cubs (23-34) on Friday, and the teams face off in game two of the series on national TV. Saturday’s contest between two of the sport’s most popular teams airs on FOX at 7:15 p.m. from Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees will start LHP Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 3.02) against Cubs rookie RHP Matt Swarmer (1-0, 1.50). These teams last met in 2017 when the Yankees picked up a three-game sweep in Chicago. All-time in regular-season meetings, the Yankees lead the series 13-4 with a 6-0 mark in New York.
Cubs Struggling in June
For the season, the Cubs have been better against LHP, going 8-8 with a slugging percentage 40 points higher than against righties. The Cubs are 12-14 on the road this season and 2-7 against American League teams. They have lost four games in a row and are 3-5 so far in June.
In Friday’s loss, Jason Heyward hit his first home run of the season in 96 at-bats and also added a double. But that was the lone run for the Cubs as they left 13 on base with seven singles outside of Heyward’s extra-base hits.
Rookie Christopher Morel is batting .303 with 10 RBI in 22 games since being called up and is the only Chicago player batting over .285. Willson Contreras is batting .273 with ten home runs, and Ian Happ is batting .267 with six homers. Patrick Wisdom leads the team with 12 homers and 31 RBI, while Frank Schwindel has 30 RBI to go with eight homers.
Swarmer has made two starts this season since being called up from Triple-A Iowa. In those starts, he has 11 strikeouts and three walks but has also allowed three home runs in 12 innings.
Swarmer beat St. Louis last Sunday night with six innings of two-hit, one-run pitching in which he struck out five. He lost against Milwaukee on May 30, allowing four runs on five hits over six innings while striking out six.
Yankees Finding Ways to Win
In the last two days, the Yankees have won a 10-7 game. They trailed 7-3 and won a 2-1 game in 13 innings. They are 24-7 at home this season, and they are 27-26 as the favorites this season.
New York is 30-11 against right-handed pitching, and Friday’s game was their first of the season against a National League team.
Former Cubs farmhand Gleyber Torres homered in Friday’s win, while Jose Trevino delivered a pinch-hit walk-off single in the 13th. Josh Donaldson had two of the Yankees’ six hits in the game, and New York drew eight walks. The Yankees won their 10th straight home game despite leaving 17 runners on base.
Aaron Judge is still having a monster season with 22 home runs, 45 RBI, and a .308 average. Former Cubs’ first baseman Anthony Rizzo has 14 homers and 39 RBI, while Giancarlo Stanton has 12 homers and 36 RBI with a .271 average.
Montgomery has started 11 times this season, recording 46 strikeouts and walking ten batters in 59 ⅔ innings. Last Sunday, he took a no-decision against Detroit with two runs allowed on five hits over 6 ⅓ innings. He’s gone at least five innings in four straight outings and struck out at least five in two of the last three starts.
Montgomery has one career outing against the Cubs, a win back in 2017. He’s faced five of their hitters, with Nick Madrigal and Contreras both going 0-for-3. Jonathan Villar is 3-for-10 against Montgomery, while Andrelton Simmons is 3-for-5 and Yan Gomes is 2-for-7.
Betting Analysis
- Chicago Cubs +1.5 (+105). Moneyline +200
- New York Yankees -1.5 (-125). Moneyline -250
- Total Runs: 9. Over +100. Under -120
These teams are headed in opposite directions. The Yankees win in different ways, with different heroes each time, while the Cubs have struggled to find the win column so far this month. Against a rookie starter, look for the Yankees bats to break out again and lead them to another win.
Betting Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-125)
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