After a relatively slow day in the MLB on Thursday, baseball is back in full swing on Friday, September 2 with 15 games, including this divisional clash, so make sure you get the best Yankees vs. Rays betting pick and odds.
New York and Tampa Bay will play the first of a three-game series at Tropicana Field, and the Rays are -125 moneyline favorites on BetMGM Sportsbook, while the total is set at 7 runs. These American League East rivals have met 13 times this season, and the Yankees lead 8-5.
Yankees lost the series to the Angels
The New York Yankees spent the previous two series in the West, where they faced the Oakland Athletics and Los Angeles Angels. After splitting the series with the A’s, the Yanks lost two of three games to the Angels. When they return home from this trip to Florida, the Yankees will take on the Twins and Rays. Despite having a big lead atop of the AL East, the Yankees are now only seven wins ahead of Tampa Bay.
New York registered just three hits and committed two errors in a 3-2 defeat to the Angels. The Yankees did take a 2-0 lead in the 5th inning, but that was all from the visitors on offense. Gerrit Cole dropped to a 10-7 record after surrendering two runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk over 7.0 innings.
Domingo German (2-2) will get his ninth start of the year when he meets the Rays on Friday. The 30-year-old right-hander has a solid 3.19 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and 31/9 K/BB ratio in 42.1 innings.
Rays beat the Marlins in a mini-series
The Tampa Bay Rays defeated the in-state rivals Miami Marlins over a two-game series on the road, and after three consecutive victories, they have the third-best record in the AL. If they continue with good displays and the Yankees continue to struggle, the Rays could leapfrog New York at the top of the division.
Tampa needed an extra inning to secure a 2-1 win over the Marlins. Manuel Margot hit an RBI single in the 10th to hand his team a tight victory. Yandi Diaz and Harold Ramirez were excellent on offense with three hits apiece. Drew Rasmussen (9-4) pitched well in a no-decision and allowed only a run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks in 6.0 innings. Jason Adam (2-2) was credited with a win, while Jalen Beeks earned his second save of the season.
At the time of writing, Tampa Bay still didn’t name its starter for Friday’s clash with the Yankees.
Trends:
New York:
5-12 in the last 17 games following a loss2-6 in the last eight vs. American League East rivals2-12 in the last 14 road games with the total set at 7.0-8.5
Tampa Bay:
7-1 in the last eight games following a win9-2 in the last 11 overall7-1 in the last eight games with the total set at 7.0-8.5
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Odds Pick
Although we still don’t know who will start on the mound for the Rays, they are in much better form than the Yankees, and I am backing them to get a W here. Tampa Bay is fantastic at home lately, winning nine of the last ten. Domingo German met the Rays once this season and posted a 5.79 ERA in 4.2 innings of work. It was his weakest display in August, and I am backing the Rays to cause him trouble again on Friday. Yandy Diaz is the player to watch in this matchup against German. Diaz has 5/14 against German with one homer and four RBIs.
Pick: Take the Rays to win (-125)
The Total
The last time German started against Tampa Bay, the rivals combined for 15 runs. I don’t think we will have such a high-scoring affair in this one, but I am pretty sure they can combine for 7+ runs. The Rays’ offense is better recently and actually in better form than the Yankees’. That improved offense was responsible for Over is 5-2-1 in the Rays’ last eight overall, while Over is 4-1-1 in Tampa Bay’s previous six games following a win.
Pick: Go Over 7 runs (-110)
