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The New York Yankees look to avoid the sweep as they play the Tampa Bay Rays. It is now time to continue our MLB odds series with a Rays-Yankees prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
The Yankees continue to struggle at the plate. After striking out 18 times on Sunday night against the Orioles, the offense has managed to score just three runs in two games with the Rays. On Monday, the Yankees had just three hits, with a solo home run by Jake Bauers in the loss. The Rays pitched around Aaron Judge in the game, as he went 0-1 with three walks. In game two, the Rays went right after Judge, as he went 1-4 at the plate, and did not drive in a run. They managed to get seven hits in the game though, but only. scored twice as they fell for the second straight night.
With the two wins, the Rays are now 66-44 on the season and are 1.5 games behind the Orioles for the division lead. Still, they have a firm grasp on a wild card spot, something that is slipping away from the Yankees. After staying pat at the trade deadline, the Yankees are now 55-52 on the season. That places them 11 games out in the division race, and also 3.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the last wild card spot.
Here are the Yankees-Rays MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Rays-Yankees Odds
Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+158)
New York Yankees +1.5 (-192)
Over: 7.5 (-114)
Under: 7.5 (-106)
How To Watch Rays vs. Yankees
TV: BSSUN/AmazonPV
Stream: MLB.TV
Time: 7:05 PM ET/ 4:05 PM PT
*Watch MLB games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread
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The Rays' pitching has been great this year and they have gotten back into a groove in their last three games. They have allowed just five runs in the last three games. On the season the Rays are second in team ERA, while also sitting second in WHIP and first in opponent batting average. It will be Shane McClanahan on the mound today for the Rays. He is 11-1 this season with a 3.00 ERA. While McClanahan has had a good year, July did not go well. He did not get a win in July as the Rays went 1-2 in his starts. He gave up ten runs in 15 innings over three starts, good for a 6.00 ERA.
On the offensive end of things, the Rays are fourth in the majors in runs scored this year, while sitting fifth in slugging, tenth in on-base percentage, and 11th in batting average. Randy Arozarena leads the team in RBIs this year with 64, while he has hit 18 home runs. Last night he hit a two-run home run against the Yankees, and hopefully, this is breaking him out of a slump. In July he hit just .153 with two home runs and five RBIs. He was on a six-game hitless streak until last night, and since the home run derby has been struggling.
Meanwhile, Brandon Lowe, Isaac Paredes, and Wander Franco come into the game swinging the bat well. Lowe has hit .364 over the last week. He has three home runs in that time with nine RBIs while also scoring four runs. Paredes is not hitting as well, but he is slugging. Paredes is hitting just .200 over the last week, but he has three home runs and a double. All four of his hits in the last week are for extra bases and all four have led to him scoring a run. He also has walked four times to give him an OBP of .360 in the last week. Franco has also walked four times in the last week, as he is hitting .304 and has a .407 OBP. He has two home runs and two RBIs while scoring six times in the last week.
Why The Yankees Could Cover The Spread
The Yankees need to figure out how to score some runs. They are 22nd on the season in runs scored while sitting 27th in on-base percentage, 19th in slugging percentage, and 29th in batting average. The Yankees need Aaron Judge to step up as well. Since returning to the lineup, he is 4-11 with a home run and two RBIs. He has also walked six times in those games. Pitchers are going around him a lot, as much of the Yankee's offense is struggling.
The struggles include the two guys who bat near him in the lineup, Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton. They are providing little protection for Judge, as pitchers rather face these two. Stanton is hitting just .136 over the last week, with a home run and eight strikeouts. Meanwhile, Rizzo is hitting just .167 with no RBIs and eight strikeouts.
Not everything is doom and gloom for the Yankees though. Jake Bauers and Harrison Bader have been hitting well. Bauers is hitting .417 over the last week with two home runs and three RBIs. He has struck out six times though, but he has scored twice. Meanwhile, Bader is hitting .368 over the last week, with a stolen base and one RBI. Bader has been scoring a lot though. In the last week, he has scored five times, leading the team.
The Yankees might not need a ton of run support to win this game, as they have Gerrit Cole going to the mound today. He is 9-2 on the season with a 2.64 ERA. He was electric in July. Last time out he went seven innings and did not give up a run to the Orioles. In July he went 32.2 innings and gave up just eight runs. That is good for a 2.20 ERA. His worst start in the last two months came in June when he gave up three runs in 4.2 innings against the Rangers, but the Yankees managed to win that game.
Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick
While the Yankee's offense has been bad, this game is all about the pitching match-up. McClanahan started the season hot, but has cooled off since then. Meanwhile, Cole has not slowed down. He will be in the race for the Cy Young this year, and the Yankees need a win in the worst way. This should be a low-scoring game, but the Yankees will be able to score a few. The Rays may not be able to do that. The best play here is the NRFI, going off at -128 currently, but the Yankees should also cover.
Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Yankees +1.5 (-192)
