Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commi sion if you sign up through our links. Read our for more information. The best rivalry in will be renewed Thursday as the Yankees and Red Sox begin their final head-to-head series of 2024 in The Bronx. With no off day this week for the Yankees, Nestor Cortes (9-10,3.97 ERA) will receive another opportunity as a starter after last time out versus the Cubs. Cortes will be opposed by right-hander Cooper Criswell (6-4,4.11 ERA), who has quietly put together a solid stretch of play with a 2.12 ERA acro s his last four outings. Lets break down Thursday nights matchup and offer a prediction and pick. Red Sox vs. Yankees odds Team Moneyline Run Line Total Red Sox +154 +1.5 (-134) o8.5 (-122) Yankees -184 -1.5 (+112) u8.5 (+100) Odds via Explore More Red Sox vs. Yankees prediction While Criswell is in a strong run in terms of runs allowed, his underlying results havent been hardly as impre sive. Over his last five starts, he has pitched to a 5.38 xFIP and has been hard hit 43 percent of the time. He has also allowed an xBA of .323 in that span and an actual batting average of .308. Despite only allowing two earned runs in five innings of work, overall Criswell was shaky in his last outing versus the White Sox, giving up five hits while not striking out a batter. He was also hard hit 50 percent of the time. Cooper Criswell is coming off a shaky outing in which he was hard hit 50 percent of the time. Getty Images Chances are the Yankees wont let Criswell off the hook as easily as the White Sox did. While some of the Yankees top hitters are scuffling right now ( ), Ronald Bolanos Jersey their season-long body of work suggests a couple of cold-hitting series should not draw too much concern. Since the start of August, the Yankees are slugging .440 against right-handed pitching with a 118 wRC+. They also have the fourth-best BB/K ratio in baseball in that sample and the third-best hard-hit rate. If Criswell is to struggle early, it could lead to a crooked total for the Yankees, as the Red Sox bullpen owns the leagues worst ERA (5.91) and FIP (4.97) over the last 30 days. Justin Slatens return from the injured list could help that i sue to some extent, though he did allow a game-tying home run Wednesday night to Baltimores Anthony Santander. Cortes, meanwhile, will look to back up his talk after making some regarding his usage out of the bullpen over the weekend. Cortes has stabilized after an ugly stretch to end July. Over his last 33 innings, he holds an ERA of 3.21 with an xFIP of 4.39. He has allowed a batting average of .228 in that span with a .250 xBA. Cortes has always loved pitching at Yankee Stadium, and it wouldnt be surprising to see The Bronx firmly behind him Thursday. In each of his four seasons in New York, the left-hander has pitched to a better ERA at home. That includes a 3.19 ERA this year with a 0.99 WHIP at home, compared to a 4.81/1.32 on the road. Over the last month, the Red Sox have hit to a wRC+ of just 68 versus left-handed pitching and have struck out 29.3% of the time. Learn all you need to know about MLB Betting Read about the Learn all about Red Sox vs. Yankees pick The Yankees could easily do damage off of Criswell early, and they will have a good chance to tack on versus some softer Red Sox relievers. With Cortes in solid form of late and getting a great matchup, this looks like a good spot to target the Yankees covering the run line at plus money. Pick: Yankees -1.5 (+112, ) Paul Dejong Jersey