The New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers kick off their weekend series on Friday night. Gerrit Cole (4-1, 3.12 ERA) is expected to start for the Yankees, while Detroit’s projected starter is Elvin Rodriguez (0-0, 6.17 ERA).

Cole enters Friday night pitching well, allowing two runs or less in six of his last eight starts. It’s hard to see that trend changing against the light-hitting Tigers. Detroit’s numbers against right-handed pitching through 50 games are atrocious. Entering Thursday, the Tigers were batting just .211 and averaging 2.71 runs over nine innings versus right handers in 2022.

Cole has also owned Tigers hitters in recent years. In 79 at-bats, current Detroit players are hitting only .158 against him with a slugging percentage of .196. The Yankees’ ace should continue his dominance over a Tigers squad that entered Thursday ranked 30th in runs, 27th in average, 29th in on base percentage and 30th in slugging.

Rodriguez is projected to make just his third career start on Friday. He’s coming off a strong effort against the Guardians where he allowed no runs over four innings. However, in his other two appearances this season (one relief), Rodriguez gave up eight runs in 7 2/3 innings of work. He’ll be facing a Yankees lineup that ranks top five in runs scored, slugging and home runs.

The Yankees have yet to see Rodriguez and sometimes that’s an advantage for the pitcher. Still, Cole’s dominance over Detroit and the Tigers struggles against righties should be enough for the Bombers to cover the runline.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM