New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview
Two A.L. East rivals will battle it out on Wednesday as the New York Yankees (19-16) square off with the Tampa Bay Rays (19-18). The Rays will host this one at Tropicana Field, with first pitch scheduled for 7:10 pm ET.
This will be the second of a three-game series between the two teams. On Tuesday, the Yankees won the opener 3-1.
In the win, Aaron Judge hit his eighth home run of the season while Gary Sanchez hit his fourth. Jordan Montgomery pitched well, giving up just a single run over six innings while striking out nine.
Luis Patino took the loss for the Rays Tuesday after giving up two runs (one earned) over four innings. Mike Zunino supplied the only offense with a solo home run in the third inning.
Pitching Matchup
New York will send ace Gerrit Cole (4-1, 1.61 ERA) to the mound. In his last outing, a 7-4 loss to the Astros, Cole went seven innings, allowing two runs and striking out four. On Wednesday, he will be trying to avenge his lone loss of the season, which came at the hands of the Rays.
Tampa Bay will counter with righty Collin McHugh (0-1, 7.36 ERA). McHugh will serve the role of opener in this one and will likely be piggybacked by Ryan Yarbrough. The last time McHugh served as opener, the Rays won 8-3 over the Angels, and McHugh picked up five strikeouts in two innings.
By The Numbers
Offensively, the Rays have held a slight advantage for much of the season. They rank 17th overall in runs per game at 4.25. The Yankees fall to 22nd overall averaging 4.06 runs.
Defensively, it is the Yankees that hold the edge. They rank sixth in runs allowed per game at 3.68. The Rays rank 14th, allowing opponents an average of 4.22 runs per game.
Yankees Look To Stay Hot
After getting off to a rough start to the season, the Yankees have been surging as of late. They are 8-2 in their last ten games and have moved within two games of the A.L. East lead with their win on Tuesday.
Leading the way offensively for the Yankees has been outfielder, Giancarlo Stanton. He leads the team in both home runs (nine) and runs batted in (24). He is also hitting .293/.360/.561.
Over the last week, infielder DJ LeMahieu has stepped it up. In that span, he is hitting .292/.393/.542 with a couple of home runs, and a couple of runs batted in.
On paper, the Yankees have an offense that should be able to put up a lot of runs; however, they are still trying to find consistency from top to bottom.
Rays Need To Turn It Around At Tropicana
At 19-18, the Rays are fourth in a loaded A.L. East, but they still find themselves just three games out of first place. To improve their standings, they are going to have to improve at home. Coming into Wednesday’s game, they are just 7-11 at home (versus 12-7 on the road).
One of the biggest concerns for the Rays has been their offense. For instance, Austin Meadows leads the team in home runs with seven and is tied for team lead in runs batted in with 17, but he is also hitting a paltry .189/.308/.418 on the year.
It also won’t help going up against an ace like Gerrit Cole, but the Rays have a couple of players who have had success against the righty. Yandy Diaz is hitting .400 with a home run in 15 at bats, and Joey Wendle is hitting .308 in 13 at bats. In addition to Diaz, Mike Zunino has also homered off of Cole.
Taking Yankees To Win
Frankly, this comes down to the trust factor. It is a lot easier to trust that Gerrit Cole will go out and dominate as opposed to McHugh and whatever line of pitchers follow throughout the game.
Throw on top of that the surge the Yankees have been on and the dismal record of the Rays when playing at home, and the Yankees seem like a strong bet in this one.
