Baltimore Orioles
New York Yankees
(-110/-110)-130
As the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles gear up for their American League East clash at Yankee Stadium on September 25, 2024, both teams have playoff aspirations on the line. The Yankees, sitting pretty with a 92-65 record, have already secured a great season and are eyeing postseason action. Meanwhile, the Orioles, at 87-70, are putting up a good fight as they try to keep their playoff hopes alive.
In yesterday’s game, the Yankees took an early lead to secure a win, setting the tone for what promises to be a competitive series. Today, Marcus Stroman (10-8, 4.04 ERA) will take the mound for New York. Despite his average numbers this season, his high-groundball rate could be pivotal against the Orioles’ powerful lineup, which ranks 2nd in home runs. However, Stroman’s peripheral stats suggest he might regress, which adds an element of unpredictability to his start.
On the other side, the Orioles will counter with Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.53 ERA), who has been a solid performer this year. His control (2.9 BB%) could be crucial against the Yankees, who lead the league in drawing walks. Eflin’s ability to limit free passes might neutralize one of New York’s offensive strengths.
Offensively, the Yankees boast the 3rd best lineup, ranking 1st in home runs—a testament to their power-packed lineup. Aaron Judge has been the standout performer over the past week, sporting a robust 1.409 OPS. The Orioles, ranked as the 6th best offense, have seen Ryan O’Hearn shine lately with a .429 batting average over his last five games.
THE BAT X, the leading MLB projection system, gives a slight edge to the Yankees with a 54% win probability for today’s game. While betting markets see this as a close affair—with New York at -125 and Baltimore at +105—the Yankees’ strong offensive capabilities and slight pitching advantage may tip the scales in their favor. Expect a tightly contested battle as these division rivals continue their pursuit of postseason glory.
Baltimore Orioles Insights
- Zach Eflin – Over/Under 5.5 Strikeouts (+135/-175)Zach Eflin’s fastball spin rate over his last 3 games started (2019 rpm) has been considerably worse than than his seasonal rate (2097 rpm).Explain: Spin rate is a key component to fastball success in generating strikeouts and preventing runs, so a pitcher who improves his spin rate will likely see improved results.
- Colton Cowser – Over/Under 0.5 Total Bases (-165/+125)Colton Cowser has seen a sizeable gain in his exit velocity of late; just compare his 98-mph average in the past week’s worth of games to his seasonal 90.4-mph average.Explain: Hitting the ball hard increases the chances of either a home run or the ball landing in fair territory for a hit before a fielder can get to it.
- Anthony Santander – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (+130/-170)Anthony Santander pulls a high percentage of his flyballs (39.8% — 98th percentile) and sets up very well considering he’ll be hitting them towards the league’s 7th-shallowest RF fences in today’s matchup.Explain: This player’s skill set matches up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to better-than-usual performance.
New York Yankees Insights
- New York Yankees – 1st Five Innings (F5) Moneyline (-120)Marcus Stroman is an extreme groundball pitcher (50.1% GB% per the leading projection system, THE BAT), which should make him somewhat immune to the dangers of pitching in Yankee Stadium — the #5 HR venue in the majors — in today’s game.Explain: This pitcher’s skill set matches up particularly well with the park he’s in today, which may lead to better-than-expected performance.
- Aaron Judge – Over/Under 1.5 Total Bases (-110/-120)Despite posting a .472 wOBA this year, the leading projection system (THE BAT X) believes Aaron Judge has been lucky given the .044 discrepancy between that mark and his estimated true talent wOBA of .428.Explain: Players that are overperforming should be expected to play worse going forward, which can create value on prop Unders if the lines are too heavily weighing the lucky, to-date overperformance.
- New York Yankees – Moneyline (-130)The New York Yankees projected batting order profiles as the 2nd-strongest on the slate today in terms of overall hitting ability.Explain: A pitcher who faces a strong opposing offense will be more likely to underperform his usual performance, particularly in terms of hits and runs, in that game.
Betting Trends
- Over/Under 8.5 Game Total (-110/-110)The New York Yankees have hit the Game Total Over in 61 of their last 107 games (+14.15 Units / 12% ROI)
- Baltimore Orioles – Over/Under 3.5 Team Total (-135/+105)The Baltimore Orioles have hit the Team Total Under in 55 of their last 90 games (+16.60 Units / 16% ROI)
- Anthony Santander – Over/Under 0.5 Singles (+120/-155)Anthony Santander has hit the Singles Under in 33 of his last 47 games (+12.60 Units / 18% ROI)