Red Sox Odds: How Many Yankees Will Nate Eovaldi Strike Out In Opener?

The Boston Red Sox regular season opener is finally here.

Nate Eovaldi gets the ball Friday afternoon in the Bronx against the New York Yankees and righty Gerrit Cole. Oddsmakers opened New York as a -170 home favorite with a total of eight, and while the initial betting support showed for Boston, the market is now Yankees -175 with the Sox coming back +155 at most American sportsbooks.

Cole has a slightly higher strikeout prop (O/U 6.5 at FanDuel), but I’m pretty intrigued by Eovaldi’s number (O/U 5.5). Eovaldi averaged just over six punchies a game in 32 starts last season and he’s got to be licking his chops against a Yankee lineup that struck out almost 1,500 times a year ago.

The Eovaldi “Over” seems like a solid play, especially at even money.

“Eovaldi has so many weapons with five pitches, not to mention a high-90s fastball,” NESN Red Sox analyst Lenny DiNardo told me. “With that type of arsenal, he can attack hitters in multiple ways. And he can pitch backwards after establishing his fastball early. This allows him to go deep into games, which will be a rarity for most starters at the beginning of the season.

“I like Eovaldi to strike out seven guys (Friday).”

Red Sox home run odds at FanDuel
Rafael Devers +320 ($100 wins $320)
J.D. Martinez +360
Kiké Hernandez +430
Xander Bogaerts +440
Bobby Dalbec +490
Trevor Story +500
Alex Verdugo +650
Jackie Bradley Jr. +700 ($100 wins $700)

Meanwhile, Cole faces a loaded Boston lineup that was bolstered by the offseason addition of two-time All-Star Trevor Story. Cole will certainly have his work cut out for him against a mostly-patient group of hitters that can mash the baseball to all fields. He learned that lesson far too well when he was knocked out of last year’s American League Wild Card game in the third inning.

“The entire Red Sox squad is built around offense,” DiNardo said. “The last thing Cole did was lose the Wild Card game, so you know he’s going to be fired up. It’s a revenge game for him. If he’s going to be successful, he’ll need to hit his spots. You’ve got to move hitters off the plate, move their feet and change eye levels. Get guys to expand out of the strike zone.”

There’s no way I’m laying -175 in the season opener with any starting pitcher. None of these aces are anywhere near 100 percent and with a very limited Spring Training, it’s just not worth laying premium prices on premium pitchers right out of the gate.

Boston is a live underdog Friday, but I’m rolling with Eovaldi to strike out at least six Yankees.

Nate Eovaldi Over 5.5 strikeouts (+100)

RECORD: (109-103, +33.1)