MLB matchup analysis

Red Sox vs Yankees (Game 1) Prediction, Odds and Model Pick

Saturday, August 29, 2026 at Yankee Stadium · 1:05 PM ET

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LyDia prediction: Boston Red Sox moneyline

Lab Rating
7.3/10
Model lean
Red Sox 52.9%
Market probability
45.5%
Model edge
+7.4%
Best moneyline
+118
Sportsbooks checked
7
LyDia model
52.9%
Market
45.5%

The case for Boston Red Sox

Bats are hot: +0.024 wOBA
Boston Red Sox is outhitting its own season form over the last 15 days. Recent form is context, not a model input, but it points the same way here.

The case for New York Yankees

The case is thin
The model finds little going New York Yankees's way — it trails on the pitching plan, bullpen, and recent form. The main path to a New York Yankees win is variance.

Why it is not official

Below the 61.0% official gate
Win probability is 52.9%. LyDia does not make a game official below 61.0%, no matter how good the price is. This is a value spot, not a high-confidence winner.

Why the setup score is what it is

Conviction: 0/10
LyDia's own win probability for Boston Red Sox (52.9%) is close enough to a coin flip that the rating credits little or no conviction -- credit only starts above 55%.
Pitching plan: 22/30
Jake Bennett rates 75 on LyDia's pitcher score, judged on its own merits (50-80 is the credited range). That is a strong start on its own, and it earns most or all of the available credit here.
Bullpen: 5.53/10
Boston Red Sox's bullpen carries a real edge over New York Yankees's tonight.
Offense: 45.08/50
Boston Red Sox's recent offensive form clearly outpaces New York Yankees's over the tracked windows.

Why the price is what it is

Team strength: 63.0%
Before any pitcher or bullpen adjustment, LyDia's team-strength model alone makes Boston Red Sox 63.0% to win. Everything below moves the price from this starting point.
Pitcher score gap: 4 points
The pitcher-score gap favors Boston Red Sox by 4 points. This is the biggest single mover of the price -- a large gap moves it a lot, a small gap barely moves it.
Bullpen adjustment: +0.018
The bullpen-fatigue gap between the two pens nudges the price toward Boston Red Sox. This moves the price less than the starting pitchers do, since a starter covers more of the game than the bullpen.
Net effect: 63.0% -> 52.9%
Team strength alone had Boston Red Sox at 63.0%. After the pitcher and bullpen terms, the price is 52.9% -- the same number shown as Model Lean above.
The verdict Worth monitoring, nothing more. The setup has pieces but does not add up to a bet at today's price.
Read the full model output

Boston Red Sox remains on the watchlist. Lab Rating 7.3/10: conviction 0, pitching plan 22, bullpen 5.53, offense 45.08. LyDia projects 52.9% against a 45.5% no-vig market number, a 7.4% model edge at +118. Boston Red Sox owns the starting pitcher edge by 4 points. Bullpen read: Neutral. Boston Red Sox's pen efficiency: Dominant (7.5/10). Bullpen fatigue moved this probability down 2.4 points from 55.3% (starting pitcher and team strength only) to 52.9%. Lineup check: Boston Red Sox is swinging a hot bat (+0.054 OPS); New York Yankees is a touch below its season form (-0.042 OPS). Recent form supports this side and is included in the unified run projection.

Final result

Red Sox 6, Yankees 0

How the analysis held up

Boston Red Sox won, the side LyDia's model favored.

Jake Bennett (Boston Red Sox), the starter LyDia's pitcher score favored, actually outpitched Carlos Rodón: 6.0 IP, 0 ER (0.00 ERA) against 4.2 IP, 2 ER (3.86 ERA). The edge held up.

The Boston Red Sox bullpen was not flagged pregame, but it had a night worth noting: 0 earned runs allowed over 3.0 relief innings (0.00 ERA) — quietly better than the pregame read implied.

The New York Yankees bullpen was not flagged pregame, but it had a night worth noting: 4 earned runs allowed over 4.1 relief innings (8.31 ERA) — quietly worse than the pregame read implied.

Game information

MatchupBoston Red Sox at New York Yankees
DateSaturday, August 29, 2026
First pitch1:05 PM ET
VenueYankee Stadium
Starting pitchersJake Bennett vs Carlos Rodón
WeatherGame-time forecast: 75°F, 0% precipitation chance, 3 mph wind from W.

Starting pitcher matchup

Full Pitcher Matchup Tool →
Jake BennettRed Sox · LHP
vs
Carlos RodónYankees · LHP
MetricRed SoxYankees
Pitching planTraditional starterTraditional starter
Expected innings65
ThrowsLL
LyDia pitcher score (higher is better)7568
ERA (lower is better)3.273.20
WHIP (lower is better)1.041.19
K/9 (higher is better)7.19.6
K-BB% (higher is better)15.0%13.0%
K% (higher is better)19.8%25.5%
BB% (lower is better)4.8%12.6%
BB/9 (lower is better)1.74.7
HR/9 (lower is better)0.70.8
Ground-ball rate44.7%38.4%
Fly-ball rate55.3%61.6%

Pitcher edge: LyDia gives Jake Bennett a 7-point edge over Carlos Rodón, driven mainly by BB/9 (1.7 vs 4.7) and expected innings (5.9 vs 4.9).

How to read this: the scorecards above name the starters; every number lives in this table.

Strikeout Projections Full strikeout projections →

Jake Bennett strikeouts
6.1 LyDia projected Ks
Official pick: OVER 4.5K · +1.2K difference
Market 4.5K · O -116 / U -106 · 3 books

Same data source as the Pitcher Matchup Tool, where every starter on the slate is compared side by side.

Both sides arrive in similar form. Red Sox are 7-3 in their last 10 and averaging 4.8 runs per game over the last 15 days; Yankees are 7-3 in their last 10 and averaging 4.0 runs per game over the last 15 days. Season run differential separates them by almost nothing (+0.73 against +0.75).

MetricRed SoxYankees
Last 107-37-3
Last 10 by venue (away team on the road, home team at home)5-5 on the road5-5 at home
OPS, last 15 days0.7820.675
wOBA, last 15 days (hot/cold read)0.3450.301
Runs per game, last 15 days4.84.0
K% last 15 days (lower is better)18.9%26.3%

Last 15 days only. Hot and cold streaks for all 30 teams live on the Stats page.

30-day offense

Full offense tool →
Last 30 daysRed SoxYankees
OPS0.791 (+0.064 vs szn)0.661 (-0.053 vs szn)
Runs per game5.48 (+1.012 vs szn)3.61 (-0.849 vs szn)
wOBA (model offense input)0.347 (+0.026 vs szn)0.294 (-0.021 vs szn)
K% (lower is better)18.6% (-2.7% vs szn)26.4% (+1.7% vs szn)

Over the last 30 days the Red Sox have been the better offense, 0.347 wOBA to 0.294. They are running hot against their own season line (+0.026 wOBA). Yankees are striking out at 26.4% over the window — something the opposing starter can lean on.

Season profile

Full Stats page →
MetricRed SoxYankees
Record73-6176-58
Run differential / game (team quality)+0.73+0.75
Runs scored / game (offense, season)4.474.46
Runs allowed / game (defense, season, lower better)3.743.71
Season OPS0.7280.717
K% season (lower is better)21.3%24.8%
OPS vs opposing hand (season)0.7700.725

Season-long team quality, not recent form. Run differential and run environment come from the season standings; splits for all 30 teams live on the Stats page, including the run environment table.

Every team on today's slate, on any two axes you pick. Red Sox and Yankees are highlighted.

Red Sox
Combined risk
4.6 Normal
Fatigue
5.8 Normal
Efficiency
7.5 Dominant
Yankees
Combined risk
5.2 Normal
Fatigue
5.3 Normal
Efficiency
5.3 Average

Risk is what the model actually uses: fatigue blended with how well the pen has pitched. High fatigue with high efficiency is a tired pen that is still getting outs.

MetricRed SoxYankees
Fatigue5.8/10, Normal5.3/10, Normal
Efficiency7.5/10, Dominant5.3/10, Average
Combined risk4.6/10, Normal5.2/10, Normal
Relief innings, last 7 days20.724.0
Back-to-back arms46
7-day ERA0.443.75
7-day WHIP1.161.29

Fatigue measures workload. Efficiency measures recent run prevention. Combined risk is what the moneyline and totals systems use.

Run total projection

Full Totals Projections →
LyDia projection
5.7
Market total
7.5
Projected away runs
4.6
Projected home runs
0.5
Over price
-110
Under price
-102
Boston Red Sox team total
4.6 projected
Line 3.5 · O -115 / U -110
Over research lean (+1.1)
New York Yankees team total
0.5 projected
Line 3.5 · O -135 / U +112
Under research lean (-3.0)

The model projects 1.8 runs below the market total. A research lean still requires a setup rating of at least 7.0/10. Team totals remain research-only until their graded sample is established.

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