Both the New York Yankees and Miami Marlins sit in first place in their respective divisions, entering this matchup with identical 5-1 records. Strong pitching has led the way for both clubs, with the Yankees owning a league-best 1.01 team ERA, while the Marlins rank fourth at 2.83. Taking the mound for New York is Will Warren, who allowed one earned run on five hits in 4.1 innings pitched against the Giants in his first start of the season. For the Marlins, Eury Perez will get the nod where he gave up three earned runs on five hits in seven innings against the Rockies. 

Offensively, the Marlins have been one of the biggest surprises early on, leading the league with a .290 batting average while averaging 5.5 runs per game. The Yankees, on the other hand, rank 17th in batting average (.227) but are still putting up a solid four runs per game. However, context matters. Much of Miami’s offensive production has come against the White Sox, who own a league-worst 8.63 ERA, along with a Rockies staff that has also struggled. Meanwhile, the Yankees have faced tougher pitching against the Giants and Mariners. While the Marlins deserve credit for their hot start, this feels like a spot where regression could hit. Ben Rice has been terrific for the Yankees, hitting .412 on the year, and so has Giancarlo Stanton who is batting .500. Eventually, Aaron Judge will eventually find his groove, and that could very well happen in his first home game of the season. While Warren may not go deep into this game, I trust the Yankees bullpen enough to hold it together towards the end, making New York my best bet of the day. 

Marlins vs Yankees prediction: Yankees ML  (-170) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.