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The Tampa Bay Rays take on the New York Yankees. Check out our MLB odds series for our Rays Yankees prediction and pick.
Shane McClanahan gets the ball for the Rays, while Nestor Cortes takes the bump for the Yankees in a battle of aces.
Shane McClanahan has a 1.87 ERA. He is a legitimate American League Cy Young contender. He has had only two mediocre starts this season, and no truly awful starts. He gave up three runs in 4 2/3 innings against the Athletics on April 13, and three runs in five innings against the Twins on April 30. In every other start, he has allowed fewer than three runs. In his last six starts, going back to May 11 against the Angels, he has pitched 40 innings and allowed a total of only four earned runs. That's ridiculous. That's an ERA of under one run over six starts. Yes, he has feasted on bad teams such as the Tigers and Marlins in that stretch, but his last three appearances — all Rays victories — have come against the Yankees, White Sox, and Cardinals, three very talented teams with lots of imposing hitters. McClanahan is the real deal, and no one should think otherwise.
Nestor Cortes has a 1.96 ERA. Cortes has been so good that when he allowed four runs against the Twins last week, it marked the first time all year he had allowed more than three runs in a game. In his five previous starts before his Minnesota mishap last week, Cortes pitched 35 1/3 innings and allowed a total of five earned runs. He has been pitching like an ace, and he has legitimately been the best pitcher on the New York staff through two months of play. Gerrit Cole was superb on Tuesday night against the Rays, but Cortes has outpitched him by a considerable margin through two months. Cortes might be the American League Cy Young favorite, though McClanahan, Justin Verlander, and American League East competitor Alek Manoah of the Blue Jays are also in the conversation.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the Rays-Yankees MLB odds.
MLB Odds: Rays-Yankees Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-182)
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+150)
Over: 7 (-105)
Under: 7 (-115)
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Why The Rays Could Cover the Spread
The Rays were upset about what they perceived to be a bad call in Tuesday night's loss to the Yankees. They are going to be fired up for this game. They also know they have their best starting pitcher, Shane McClanahan, on the mound. Ji-Man Choi has a 12-game hitting streak and a .945 OPS in that 12-game span. There are lots of reasons to pick Tampa Bay, but the biggest one is that the Rays really need this win if they are going to prevent the Yankees from running away with the division. The Yankees can't continue to endlessly win if anyone else in the American League East, the Rays included, are going to put up a fight.
Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread
After getting a great outing from Gerrit Cole on Tuesday against the Rays, the Yankees send Nestor Cortes to the hill. Cole is paid a lot more, but Cortes has been the Yanks' best starter so far in 2022. Moreover, he is coming off a very rare bad outing, so one should expect Cortes to be sharp in this game, which is bad news for Tampa Bay. Also, Gleyber Torres is 6 for 11 with a homer and two doubles in his career against Shane McClanahan. If he is up in a big spot, he has to like his chances.
Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick
If it's hard to predict which team will win — the Yankees are due for a loss, but the Rays looked overmatched against Cole on Tuesday — go with the starting pitchers here and trust that they will both perform well. The total is small, but these guys are good enough to go under the number.
Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Under 7
