The Rays make the trip to New York City to face the Yankees! These two teams are playing differently with the Yankees being one of the best teams in the MLB, while the Rays have struggled to find consistency this season. However, both teams are playing well leading into this series after the break. Our MLB odds series has our Rays-Yankees prediction, odds, and pick for Saturday.

Rays-Yankees Projected Starters 

Taj Bradley vs. Nestor Cortes

Taj Bradley (4-4) with a 2.90 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched seven innings and gave up zero runs on five hits with two walks and eight strikeouts in a Rays win.

2024 Road Splits: (1-1) 6.20 ERA

Nestor Cortes (4-8) with a 3.67 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched 4.1 innings and gave up five runs on seven hits with two walks and four strikeouts in a Yankees loss.

2024 Home Splits: (4-3) 1.81 ERA

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Rays-Yankees Odds

Tampa Bay Rays: +1.5 (-170)

Moneyline: +116

New York Yankees: -1.5 (+140)

Moneyline: -136

Over: 8.5 (-114)

Under: 8.5 (-106)

How to Watch Rays vs. Yankees

Time: 1:05 pm ET

TV: Bally Sports Sun / YES Network

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Rays Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Rays have been inconsistent this season, and currently sit with a 48-48 record. They have won three out of their last four games. The Rays are below average on offense and in pitching as well. This play on both sides of the ball is why they have struggled to find consistency as a team. Isaac Paredes, Amed Rosario, Yandy Diaz, Harold Ramirez, Jose Caballero, and Randy Arozarena have been solid for the Rays offense. On the mound, Zach Eflin, Ryan Pepiot, and Taj Bradley have been solid for a unit that has not been great this season.

The Rays are starting Taj Bradley on the mound where he has a 4-4 record, a 2.90 ERA, and a 1.11 WHIP. He has allowed 25 runs on 52 hits with 24 walks and 85 strikeouts through 68.1 innings. The Rays are also 7-5 in the 12 games has started, so far this season. Bradley has been playing solid baseball this season in a more limited capacity. He will get a massive challenge in this game against the Yankees offense.

The offense for the Rays has struggled behind the plate. They are 21st in team-batting average at .236 after finishing with a .260 last season. Isaac Paredes and Yandy Diaz lead the way in most batting categories. Paredes leads in home runs at 15, in RBI at 50, and in OBP at .364. Diaz leads in .273 batting average and total hits at 104. This is an interesting matchup against Nestor Cortes on the mound because he has been solid for the Yankees, but also has had his fair share of inconsistent play, just like the Tampa Bay offense.

Why The Yankees Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Yankees have been one of the best teams in the MLB and they have a 58-40 record. Their bats and pitching have been great this whole season. Their bats have fallen just outside the top 10 in the MLB, while their pitching is still strong and ranks in the top five. Juan Soto is a huge difference maker and an MVP-caliber player who was added to go with Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Anthony Rizzo, and Anthony Volpe behind the plate. Nestor Cortes, Marcus Stroman, Clarke Schmidt, and Luis Gil have all been at varying levels of at least good if not great on the mound in New York.

The Yankees are starting Nestor Cortes on the mound where he has a 4-8 record, a 3.67 ERA, and a 1.12 WHIP. Cortes has allowed 48 runs on 107 hits with 22 walks and 110 strikeouts through 115.1 innings. He has started in 20 games and the Yankees have gone 7-13 in those games. Cortes has been inconsistent on the mound this season, switching between solid games and bad games on the mound.

The biggest key to the Yankees and their success is their offense. They are ranked 12th in the MLB currently in team batting average at .247 which is a massive improvement after struggling to .227 last season. Aaron Judge leads in almost every batting category. Judge leads in batting average at .306, in home runs at 34, in RBI at 85, in OBP at .433, and in total hits at 105. This offense has cooled off a bit, and they get a difficult matchup against Taj Bradley on the mound for the Rays. This offense has been great, but Bradley has been having a great year in his own right.

Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick

The Yankees are the better team, but the Rays should keep this game close. Bradley is a solid pitcher and has an advantage over Cortes on the mound. The Yankees have a much better offense than the Rays, but the pitching duel is the X-factor. Expect the Rays to cover on the road because of Bradley, even if the Yankees still win outright.

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Final Rays-Yankees Prediction & Pick: Rays +1.5 (-170)