The Weekly Showstopper: Wimbledon, Yankees vs. Red Sox and Giants vs. Padres

Interest around Wimbledon is starting to pick up as it nears championship matches this weekend with premier players in contention.

On top of that, there are a few intriguing MLB matchups as well. Here are online sports betting insights about Wimbledon, the New York Yankees playing the Boston Red Sox, and the San Francisco Giants taking on the San Diego Padres.

Tennis

Wimbledon

June 27-July 10 | TV: ESPN

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal seemed to be on track to add yet another chapter to their epic rivalry in the Wimbledon men’s singles final. But it wasn’t meant to be.

Djokovic, a Serbian who’s seeded No. 1, was to take on No. 9-seeded Cameron Norrie on Friday morning. Then, second-seeded Nadal, who’s from Spain, was to face unseeded Nick Kyrgios.

Nadal would have had a chance to even the score with Djokovic, who leads the series between the two 30-29. However, an abdominal tear derailed the potential of that as Nadal was forced to withdraw from the event on Thursday.

As of Thursday, Djokovic’s Wimbledon odds were -400, while Kyrgios was second at +300 and Norrie was third at +2200.

"If I keep going the injury will get worse and worse – I feel very sad to say that"

Come back stronger, @RafaelNadal 💪#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/5yeQ3myiux

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2022

On the women’s side, Ons Jabeur of Tunisia and Elena Rybakina of Russia are set to face each other in Saturday’s singles final.

Jabeur, who’s the No. 3 seed, defeated unseeded Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinals. Rybakina, the 17th seed, beat former Wimbledon champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 to reach the title match.

Neither Jabeur nor Rybakina have won a Grand Slam title before. In fact, it’s the first Wimbledon final appearance for either. Jabeur’s odds were -150 while Rybakina’s were +125.

MLB

New York Yankees vs. Boston Red Sox

Saturday, July 9 | TV: FOX | Time: 7:15 p.m. ET

The Yankees have continued to dominate the American League.

As of Thursday, they were 59-23, 5.5 games ahead of anyone else in the AL. They were 14 games ahead of both the Tampa Bay Rays and the Red Sox in the AL East and had the leading World Series odds at +375.

Boston, meanwhile, has been fighting to stay in the playoff picture. At 45-37, it was in a tie for fourth in the AL and just a half-game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays. 

The Red Sox had won just four of their last six games. Their baseball odds were +3000 to win the World Series and +1200 to take the AL.

Aaron's 30th Bash 👨‍⚖️ pic.twitter.com/EjZb48jmKl

— New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 7, 2022

Saturday’s game won’t just be a divisional rivalry. It will be a showdown between two high-powered lineups. The Red Sox were leading MLB with a .261 batting average while the Yankees led in home runs (139) and RBIs (399).

Aaron Judge was pacing the Yankees in several areas. He was leading the team in homers (30), batting average (.287) and RBIs (64). 

Rafael Devers was continuing to lead Boston from the plate. He had 17 home runs and a .327 batting average. Trevor Story was first on the team with 54 RBIs.

San Francisco Giants vs. San Diego Padres

Saturday, July 9 | TV: FOX | Time: 7:15 p.m. ET

This is a National League battle between two teams jockeying for playoff positioning. However, both haven’t been successful as of late.

The Padres, as of Thursday, were 47-36 following a 2-8 skid in their last 10 outings. That was good for fourth in the NL, six games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. Their MLB odds to secure a World Series victory were +1300, while their NL odds were +600.

The Giants, while eighth in the NL, were only a game out of the playoff picture at 41-39. And that was after losing seven of their last 10. Their MLB World Series odds were +3000 and their NL odds were +1400.

Mile High Manny 🚀

Vote Machado ⭐️ https://t.co/gyd80CVeWT pic.twitter.com/sU3bUZDSVP

— San Diego Padres (@Padres) June 19, 2022

San Francisco’s Carlos Rodon and San Diego’s Yu Darvish are scheduled to pitch. 

Rodon is 7-5 with a 2.87 ERA after allowing 71 hits, 30 walks and four homers with 112 strikeouts in 91 innings. Darvish is 7-4 with a 3.53 ERA as he has allowed 77 hits, 18 walks and nine home runs with 85 strikeouts in 94 1/3 innings.

Manny Machado was leading the Padres with 12 homers, 46 RBIs and a .316 batting average. Joc Pederson (17 homers), Thairo Estrada (.256 batting average) and Wilmer Flores (41 RBIs) are among the Giants’ leaders at the plate.