Subscribe
Follow Us
The blistering hot New York Yankees will put their dominating ways to the test as they aim for a fifth consecutive victory against the Tampa Bay Rays. Join us for our MLB odds series, where our Yankees-Rays prediction and pick will be unveiled.
Apparently, the Yankees are human after all! After New York let an 8-3 lead over the Blue Jays slip away on Sunday, New York quickly shook it off and reminded the baseball world that they are a well-oiled machine with another win over Tampa Bay. In game two of this series, New York will send out one of their best pitchers of the season in southpaw Nestor Cortes. In his twelve starts, Cortes is 6-2 with a 1.94 ERA, which is the fourth-lowest mark in the sport.
The Rays lost two of three to the Orioles over the weekend, so a win on Tuesday against New York would do wonders for this club. Countering with Cortes on the mound will be another lefty in Jalen Beeks, who made his last start against the Yanks in which he fired only two innings but didn't allow any hits or runs in the outing.
Here are the Yankees-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Rays Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (-111)
Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-108)
Over: 7 (-122)
Under: 7 (+100)
*Watch College Football Games LIVE with fuboTV (click for free trial)
Why The Yankees Could Cover the Spread
In the illustrious history of the New York Yankees franchise, few Yankee teams have gotten off to such a dominating start like this 2022 squad. Already with 50 wins on the campaign, the next closest team in the division is the Blue Jays, who are 12 games behind New York with a very impressive 38-29 record. The Yankees are 17-2 in their previous 19 games and they keep finding unique ways to win ballgames as the season progresses.
On Monday, Yankees ace Gerrit Cole carried a no-hit bid into the eighth inning before the Rays stampeded back by tacking on two runs against reliever Clay Holmes, who surrendered his first run since Opening Day. In typical Yankees fashion, New York showed its resiliency by winning the game thanks to a tie-breaking triple by OF Aaron Hicks that eventually gave them a 4-2 victory.
Article Continues Below
Looking ahead to tonight's matchup, the Yankees will definitely be hoping for a similarly dominant outing from Cortes, and while a no-hitter through seven by Cole will be tough to beat, the 27-year-old Florida native surely has what it takes to leave Rays' hitters dazed and confused. In fact, Cortez couldn't have been much more efficient in his last appearance six days ago also versus Tampa Bay, as he tossed 5 1/3 innings while only giving up one earned run on three hits.
The Yankees boast one of the top offensive attacks as well, as they have compiled the second-most runs in baseball with 344 total. Look for the judge to be in session on Tuesday, as Aaron Judge has tormented opposing pitching this year with a .301 average, 25 home runs, and 50 RBIs.
Why The Rays Could Cover the Spread
While every team during a 162-game season is bound to hit a rut, there is no question that the Rays are going through that as we speak. Tampa Bay is 2-8 over their past 10, as a good handful of those has come against the Yankees. New York seems to have the Rays' number right now, as Tampa Bay would love nothing more to get the monkey off their backs and hand the Bronx bombers a rare loss.
In order to do such a thing, the Rays must get off to a quicker start at the plate. The pitching staff certainly did all they could against a ferocious Yankees lineup, as the arms limited them to only seven hits on the day. In return, the Rays only mustered up three hits offensively, which proved to be too little to come out triumphant.
The troubling pattern of mediocre play at the plate is concerning, to say the least, as this once feared lineup is now among the bottom-five of teams statistically in almost every hitting statistic. With the 25th ranking in batting average at .231 and runs scored at 269, something needs to change drastically if Tampa wants to return to postseason play.
Fortunately for the Rays, the pitching staff has been among some of the best that the MLB has to offer. This unit will clearly be responsible for covering the spread, as the Rays are only letting teams hit .222 off of them and currently sport a lowly 3.15 ERA. While Beeks will most likely not pitch deep into this one after tossing only two innings against the Yanks in his previous start, the bullpen is more than up to the task of silencing New York's bats.
Final Yankees-Rays Prediction & Pick
After a low-scoring affair that kept fans from both sides on the edge of their seats, expect this one to be a nail-biter as well. Even though the Rays enter play scuffling, this is a squad that is still not to be scoffed at. The Rays may not win, but they usually play well at home and should cover against the mighty Yankees.
Final Yankees-Rays Prediction & Pick: Rays +1.5 (-108)
