The 2020 season continues on Monday when the New York Yankees (2-1, 2-1 away) travel to Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia Phillies (1-2, 1-2 home). The interleague matchup is the first of a four-game series that will have two contests at each ballpark. Monday night’s game is set to start at 7:05 pm EST inside Citizens Bank Park. The visiting Yankees are the favorite (-150) in the bout.
What to Know – New York Yankees
The Yankees enter the contest after defeating the defending World Series champions in a three-game series, 2-1, to open the abbreviated 2020 season. This will be the Yankees’ fourth road contest in a row to start the season.
Veteran left-hander J.A. Happ (12-8, 4.91 ERA, 1.30 WHIP last season) will be making his first start of the season against the Phillies. This will be Happ’s 14th season in the majors. The 37-year old was effective away from home last season, posting a 5-2 road record in 14 starts.
Giancarlo Stanton paced the Yankees offense through the opening series, hitting 2 home runs and driving in 4 runs. Gleyber Torres and Luke Voit added home runs in the series to lead the Yankees offense. Catcher Gary Sanchez and slugger Aaron Judge struggled through the weekend series so look for the two hitters to make adjustments and be a big part of the four-game set starting tonight.
The Yankees have been without star closer Aroldis Chapman since the start of the season due to a positive coronavirus test.
What to Know – Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies opened up the 2020 campaign dropping two of three contests at home to the Miami Marlins. Philadelphia surrendered 17 runs over the three-game set, included 11 yesterday to the Marlins.
The host will counter with righty Jake Arrieta (8-8, 4.64 ERA, 1.47 WHIP last season) who will also be logging his first start. The veteran pitched a majority of last season with bone spurs in his elbow before the Phillies shut him down for the season in mid-August. The one-time all-star has had a disappointing tenure with the Phillies, recording an 18-19 record and 4.26 ERA entering his third season in Philadelphia.
After scoring just two runs on Friday, the Philly offense came alive over the weekend scoring seven runs on Saturday and six yesterday. On Saturday, designated hitter Phil Gosselin put a pair over the fence while catcher J.T. Realmuto added a three-run blast. Sunday the scoring was led by a first-inning three-run home run from All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper.
Last season Philadelphia collected an 81-81 overall record, including 45-36 mark inside Citizens Bank Park.
The Pick is In
Philadelphia’s pitching struggled mightily against a Marlin’s squad that is not known for their offense. The lineup gets harder Monday night when they welcome the Yankees. The underdogs have had relatively good success early on in the season however, that will not be the case in this matchup. Look for the Yankees offense to pounce on Arrieta and the Phillies. We like the Yankees (-150) here.
