Yankees-Red Sox: Them's fightin' (and bettin') words

Red Sox vs. Yankees. The best rivalry in sports? Maybe.  

There are so many historic moments between these two teams, I don't even know where to start. OK, I do. It's Boston selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees back in 1920, but it goes way beyond that. Aaron Boone's Game 7 walk-off home run vs. Boston in 2003; Jason Varitek fighting Alex Rodriguez at Fenway; the Red Sox coming back from down 3-0 to beat the Yankees in the 2004 ALCS en route to their first World Series championship in 86 years; Pedro Martinez grabbing old man Don Zimmer by his head and throwing him to the ground. You get the point. So many iconic moments that define America's pastime.

It's the greatest rivalry in baseball — sorry, Cardinals and Cubs fans — and maybe in all of sports. I know the Yankees are 14 games ahead of Boston for first in the American League East standings, but there's a strong possibility these teams see each other in the postseason. Boston currently holds the third-best record in the AL and the top spot in the wild card, while New York has the best record in baseball at 59-23. 

I've heard some say this rivalry isn't what it once was, or they play each other too many times in the regular season — 16 times to be exact — for it to be a great rivalry. You know what I say to that? Bull. 

It's still the best rivalry in baseball, and they've only played each other three times this season, none so far at Fenway Park. Thursday's game is going to have a different feel to it, and that's why I'm going to help you bet the moneyline, spread and over/under for the series opener.

Moneyline: Sorry, Red Sox Nation, your boys might be at home, but they're still 'dogs in this one. And rightfully so. 

New York (-166) opens as favorites behind AL Cy Young candidate Gerrit Cole, while Boston (+140) is a home underdog for just the seventh time this year, per teamrankings.com. So far, the Red Sox are 2-4 as home dawgs, and I don't see that record improving on Thursday. Cole lasted just four innings in the season-opener against Boston back in April and finished with an ERA north of five in four starts against the Red Sox last year, but I'm not betting against the league-best Yankees. Sorry. Not going to happen.

The Yankees destroyed the Pirates, 16-0, on Wednesday, have won 11 of their last 12 series openers, and have yet to lose a conventional three-game series in over a month. Plus, Cole has recorded a quality start in his last four outings. Meanwhile, rookie Josh Winckowski is making just his sixth career start on Thursday. Facing New York in your sixth career start is no small task. Take New York to win on Thursday.

Spread: Deciding whether this game will be close is a lot easier than picking whether it will a high-scoring or low-scoring game. Boston always plays New York hard, and the Sox should have a little pep in their step after Chris Sale said he's ready to return to Boston following his fourth rehab start on Wednesday. That's why I'm taking the Red Sox +1.5 (-120) on the runline. I know the Red Sox have lost three straight series, but they're starting to get a little healthier, are hosting New York for the first time, and have the sixth-best runline cover percentage (54.9%), per teamrankings.com, in baseball. With -120 odds at +1.5, jump on Boston to cover.

Over/under: This is far and away the hardest of the three — moneyline, spread, over/under — for me to pick. Cole has been so dominant as of late but has struggled in the past against Boston. The Red Sox are sending a rookie to the mound and have been inconsistent so far in July. I'm on the fence for this one, but I'm going to take the under of 8.5 runs (-122). New York put up 16 runs on Wednesday, and it's hard to follow up that kind of offensive performance the next day. I know the Yankees' bullpen has had its problems as of late, but so has Boston's offense, having failed to score more than five runs in any game so far this month. I see both these teams hitting some home runs, but I don't envision either team scoring any other way. I'll take my chances and bet on the home runs in this one to be of the solo kind. It's a coin flip for me, but I'm going with the under in this one.

In other news ...

Nadal advances to Wimbledon semis in 5-set rally: No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal not once, but twice overcame one-set deficits against Taylor Fritz on Wednesday to advance to the Wimbledon semifinals. However, Nadal has an abdominal injury and isn't sure he'll be healthy enough to play in Friday's semifinal matchup against Nick Kyrgios. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic (-380) remains the consensus favorite to win Wimbledon, followed by Nadal (+650).

Browns send Mayfield to Carolina Panthers: The Cleveland Browns traded former No.1 overall pick Baker Mayfield to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a conditional 2024 draft choice. Following the trade, Carolina is now +13000 to win the Super Bowl, while Mayfield is +1200 to win Comeback Player of the Year. 

Scottish Open begins Thursday: The 50th Genesis Scottish Open starts on Thursday and features one of its strongest fields in years, including 14 of the 15 top golfers in the world. Jon Rahm (+1100) remains the consensus favorite, followed by Justin Thomas (+1200) and Scottie Scheffler (+1200).

NHL Draft starts Thursday: The first round of the NHL Draft takes places on Thursday from Montreal, Quebec at 7 p.m. ET. The Montreal Canadiens hold the No. 1 pick and are expected to select Shane Wright with the top choice. Wright (-225) is the consensus favorite to go No.1 overall, followed by Juraj Slafkovsky (+1100) and Logan Cooley (+2000).

Today's Bark Bets is written by Jared Shlensky