Rays vs. Yankees Pick
Should the New York Yankees have any trouble this afternoon when they host the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, New York is the favorite today, as the Yankees are getting odds of -150 to win, while the Rays are listed with odds of +130 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup for this game has Blake Snell (0-6, 4.86 ERA) on the mound for the Rays to face Caleb Smith (0-1, 8.10) of the Yankees. Snell has given up three runs in each of his last two starts. He has 55 strikeouts and 38 walks on the season with a 1.56 WHIP. Smith has appeared in two games this year, allowing six earned runs over 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks.
The Yankees have taken the first two games in the series, picking up a 6-5 win on Thursday and a 6-1 win on Friday. New York is now 55-46 overall and 30-17 at home while the Rays are 53-51 overall and 24-28 on the road.
New York got some great pitching on Friday as the Rays were held to just two hits. Masahiro Tanaka went eight innings and allowed just one run and two hits with 14 strikeouts and no walks. Austin Pruitt went just five innings and gave up five runs to take the loss. Aaron Judge hit his 33rd home run in the win while Clint Frazier also homered and drove in three. Lucas Duda drove in the lone Tampa run on a solo home run.
I don’t see the Yankees taking a step back today. I know Smith doesn’t have much experience, but the bullpen got a rest on Friday, so their arms should all be ready. Snell has been okay lately, but he is facing a powerful lineup on their short porch. I expect the Yankees to rack up some more home runs and cruise to another win.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: NEW YORK YANKEES -150