Yanks Will Out Slug Rangers With Rodon On The Hill

Yankees vs. Rangers, 8:05 ET

One of the best things about sports is how unpredictable each season is. Obviously I spend a good portion of my day trying to figure out what is going to happen and predict it, then share it with you, but it isn't lost on me just how crazy a season or game can be. Sure, we get some "dynasties" in certain sports, and other times we don't get consecutive years of champions for quite some time. Tonight, we look at a team that hopes to start a dynasty this year, in the Yankees, and then a team that won the World Series last year and won't make the playoffs this year in the Rangers. 

The Yankees have been one of the best teams all season and they continue their warpath this season as they head into this final month, looking to try and get the #1 seed overall in the American League, and with it, lock up the AL East. It is going to be a battle as the Orioles are chasing them down and are just a half-game back of the Yankees. The Yankees still have some questions to be answered, specifically on their pitching staff, and there are some spots on offense that could certainly use a bit of attention. However, with Aaron Judge, a guy who has 51 homers, 124 RBIs, and is batting .326 for the season, he is certainly making up for any shortcomings they have. Think about the fact that they have Juan Soto on the team too -  a guy who might get a half-billion dollars in the offseason, and he isn't even the best hitter on the team. That's scary. Tonight they have one of the pitchers they added last season, Carlos Rodon. Rodon hasn't been great, but he has put together a good campaign with a 14-9 record, 4.31 ERA, and 1.25 WHIP. He even has 161 strikeouts which is good for 18th on the season. He hasn't been very efficient this season. Looking at last month, he threw 508 pitches in 26 innings. 20 pitches per inning isn't terrible, but it would be nice if he could get deeper into the game. He faced the Rangers last month and he allowed just three hits in 5.2 scoreless innings. He did walk five hitters though. 

New York Yankees C Jose Trevino celebrates a home run vs. the Boston Red Sox with slugger Juan Soto at Fenway Park. (Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports)

Texas had high hopes of putting together a winning campaign this year, but things never really worked out. Their competitive window isn't closed or anything. They really couldn't adjust the team after all of the injuries. Combine that with playing as far as they could last season, it makes for a bit of an understanding why there has been a struggle this year. The Rangers should rebound next year, and I wouldn't be surprised to see them shut down some arms. Could you imagine if this rotation next year has Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, and Nathan Eovaldi three out of every five days? Again, the team should be fine, just a tough year that has them eight games under .500. None of those three will get the ball today, as the Rangers put out Andrew Heaney on the mound. Heaney is 4-13 for the season with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. Like Rodon, he hasn't been going overly deep into games this year. He did face the Yankees last month. He was able to go 4.2 innings and allowed three rend runs on five hits. Juan Soto hit two homers in that game.

One of the teams has something left to play for and the other doesn't. Sometimes it can be that simple. Frankly, I'm a bit surprised the line on the game is this close. I am not saying that the Rangers won't try to win this game, but I don't think they have the better pitcher, and they certainly don't have the better offense. I'm going to back the Yankees to win this one through five innings at -135. I don't think that Rodon is going to go much more than five innings. I'd be open to playing the run line at +100 if you don't want to lay the juice, but you are giving up the option of a tie as a risk. 

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