The New York Yankees (25-25), having moved out of the division cellar following five straight wins, will begin a new series on Memorial Day in Baltimore against the Orioles, the newest bottom-feeder in the standings. With a win, New York can bring its record above the .500 mark. If they lose, the Yankees would again fall back into last place.
The Yankees will send RHP Darrell Rasner (3-0, 1.89 ERA) to the mound in this game while the Orioles will counter with south-paw Garrett Olson (3-1, 5.19 ERA).
Oddsmakers at online sports wagering giant Bodog (Bodoglife.com) currently have the Yankees listed as 140-moneyline favorites versus the Orioles, while the game's total is holding at 9 ½.
Olson was impeccable through his first four starts, but he ran into a wall against the Yankees in his fifth outing. The southpaw tied his career highs for most earned runs allowed (six) and shortest outing (2 2/3 innings) en route to his first defeat of the season. Olson will get the ball again on Monday, a product of the leeway his fast start earned for him.
The Orioles are plenty familiar with Rasner, who blanked them over seven innings in his most recent outing at Yankee Stadium. Pitching on 12 days of rest, Rasner retired eight straight Orioles to start the game, allowing five hits and a walk in total. He struck out six. In three starts since earning the call from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Rasner has proven to be a perfect rotation fix, winning all three starts and allowing no more than two runs in any of them. Wednesday's win was Rasner's first against the Orioles in three career tries.
The Yankees defeated Seattle 6-5 as a -230 favorite on Sunday. The 11 runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (9).
Jose Molina was 2-4 with an RBI for the Yankees, while Chien-Ming Wang was roughed up for five runs on seven hits in six 1-3 innings to earn a no-decision.
The Orioles lost to Tampa Bay 5-4 as a +145 underdog on Sunday. The nine runs scored went OVER the posted over/under total (7.5).
Aubrey Huff hit a solo home run for Baltimore and Jay Payton was 2-3 with two runs scored.
Point-Spreads.com MLB Picks: Orioles ML+127
