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The New York Yankees hit the road to take on the Tampa Bay Rays Thursday night. Below we will continue our MLB odds series with a Yankees-Rays prediction and pick. We will also let you know how to watch the game.
Yankees-Rays Projected Starters
Nestor Cortes vs. Shane Baz
Nestor Cortes (4-7) with a 3.41 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 111 innings pitched, 106K/20BB, .238 oBA
Last Start: vs. Boston Red Sox: No Decision, 6 innings, 3 hits, 1 runs, 1 walk, 8 strikeouts
2024 Road Splits: 9 starts, 5.63 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 46.1 innings pitched, 41K./13BB, .295 oBA
Shane Baz (0-1) with a 4.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 6 innings pitched, 6K/1BB, .292 oBA
Last Start: at Texas Rangers: Loss, 6 innings, 7 hits, 3 runs, 1 walks, 6 strikeouts
2024 Home Splits: No home starts
Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
MLB Odds: Yankees-Rays Odds
New York Yankees: -1.5 (+132_
Moneyline: -126
Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-160)
Moneyline: +108
Over: 8 (-106)
Under: 8 (-114)
How to Watch Yankees vs. Rays
Time: 6:50 PM ET/3:50 PM PT
TV: YES Network, Bally Sports Sun
Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)
Why The Yankees Will Cover The Spread/Win
Shane Baz will give up some hits, and the Yankees offense will take advantage of that. The Yankees are 11th in batting average, fourth in slugging percentage, second in home runs, and they lead the league in walks. The Yankees will take their walks, and hit any ball in the zone hard. They need their offense to come alive if they want to win this game, and they have a good chance to do so. If the Yankees hit the ball well, they will win this game.
Nestor Cortes does have one good start against the Rays this season. He went seven shutout innings in that game, but it was at Yankee Stadium. He is much better at home, but he has been able to shut down the Rays before. Cortes has to give the Yankees a good start if they want any chance at winning, though. As long as Cortes pitches a good game, the Yankees will win.
Why The Rays Will Cover The Spread/Win
The other start Cortes had against the Rays was in Tampa Bay. In that start, the Rays were able to knock him out after 5.1 innings and hand him the loss. They had five hits and four runs in that game, and they launched two home runs. Tampa Bay has a good offense, and they are much better against left-handed pitching. If the Rays can continue to hit the ball well against lefties, they will win this game.
Shane Baz had a pretty good start against the Rangers in his first one of the season. Baz got the loss, but he pitched well enough to keep the Rays in the game. The Yankees have really struggled with their bats lately. Since the beginning of July, the Yankees are batting under .210, and their OPS is under .670. Baz should be able to dominate against a struggling offense in this game.
Final Yankees-Rays Prediction & Pick
The Yankees are really struggling since the beginning of June. They are under .500 since June 1st, 2024. The Yankees seem like the pick here, but I am going to go the other way. I will take the Rays to win this game straight up. I think they will get to Cortes, and Baz should be able to play well against a struggling offense.
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Final Yankees-Rays Prediction & Pick: Rays ML (+108)
