Can The Yankees Hold On To The Best Record?
Rays vs Yankees Betting Odds Favor the Bronx Bombers
The New York Yankees are tied for the best record in the MLB with a 13-6 record. However, the Yankees are just 6-4 in their last ten MLB games and have shown signs of slowing down over the previous week. They’ll look to maintain their success against the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game series at home in the Bronx. The Rays vs Yankees betting odds have the home team favored for Game 1 at -180 on the moneyline.
Ultimately, this is an American East battle between two teams above .500. In the last couple of seasons, it’s never been easy in this division. It’s been super competitive, with every team expecting to make it into the MLB playoff schedule. Even this year, just about 20 games into the season, every team in the AL East has at least ten wins and sits at or above .500.
Which team can you count on over the weekend?
Take a look at the Rays vs Yankees betting odds for this rivalry series.
Rays vs Yankees 
Records: Tampa Bay Rays (11-9), New York Yankees (13-6)
Day/Time:
Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
Streaming: Bally Sports Sun, YES
New York Escaped Tampa Bay’s Ryan Pepiot
The Rays have always been known for their pitching. However, one guy has excelled over the others.
That’s Ryan Pepiot, who just helped the Rays earn a victory over the Angels yesterday. Pepiot struck out seven batters and earned a quality start after allowing three hits, three walks, and one run. While his WHIP could improve, Pepiot has become one of the more dominant pitchers on the Rays despite his 4.37 ERA.
But because he pitched in the series finale against the Angels, he won’t be in line to face the Yankees in this series.
Yankees Claimed Taylor Trammell
The New York Yankees have claimed former Dodgers outfielder Taylor Trammell off Waivers. Trammell played in just five games with the Dodgers this MLB season and went 0-for-6 with three strikeouts before being designated for assignment on Tuesday.
Trammell is only 26 years old but has already been in the MLB since 2021.
To add Trammell, the Yankees designated infielder Kevin Smith for assignment.
Rays vs Yankees Betting Odds For Game 1:
- RL: Yankees -1.5 (+110) ML: Yankees -180, O/U 8.5 -110/-110.
âš¾ Game 1 âš¾
Friday, 7:05 pm ET
Tyler Alexander vs Clarke Schmidt
The Rays will give the ball to Tyler Alexander for the first game. Alexander is a left-handed pitcher with a 6.46 ERA against 70 batters this season.
The lefty has watched those 70 batters hit a .308 ISO and wOBA of .417. However, that wOBA has been much worse against righties. He’s allowed a .472 wOBA to 50 righties and has given up a .298 ISO with only 16% of strikeouts against righties. As a lefty, he figures to see a lot of righties in the New York lineup.
Meanwhile, the Yankees have some very reliable bats against left-handed pitchers. Aaron Judge, for example, has hit a .367 ISO and wOBA of .415 against his last 97 lefties faced since last year.
Since last year, Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto, Giancarlo Stanton, and Gleybar Torres have had solid success against lefties. Of those MLB players, only Soto is a lefty. The rest are righties and match up very well against Alexander.
Alexander will look to go toe-to-toe with Clarke Schmidt of the Yankees. Schmidt is a righty with a respectable 3.68 ERA to begin the season. He’s been tremendous against lefties despite the walks. But to righties, he’s allowed an ISO of .259 with a wOBA of .442. He’s also struck out only 12.9% of right-handed batters as a rightie himself.
The Rays have plenty of potential against Schmidt. Since last season, Yandy Diaz, Randy Arozarena, Richie Palacios, Isaac Paredes, and Jose Siri have all hit a high ISO and wOBA against righties. The projected lineup has also struck out just 21.2% of the time against righties, which is not bad.
Consider the over 9 at +100 in one of the many Major League Baseball games today.
âš¾ Game 2 âš¾
Saturday, 1:05 pm ET
Zach Eflin vs Nestor Cortes
Last season, Zach Eflin impressed for the Rays. The veteran pitcher added 26% of strikeouts and only walked 3.3% of batters. He just hasn’t been the same this season.
Eflin has kept his walks down, but he’s struck out only 20.4% of batters and has allowed a .210 ISO and wOBA of .380 to 64 righties this season. His line drive rate has elevated to 28% to righties too.
Since last season, only Juan Soto and Aaron Judge have stood out against righties. With Eflin struggling more against righties, only Judge has massive potential in this lineup.
With Eflin expected to pitch well, it’ll be up to Nestor Cortes to hold it down for the Yankees until the later innings. Cortes has a 4.50 ERA to begin the season. He’s not adding a high rate of strikeouts and has allowed more fly balls than ground balls.
He added more strikeouts last season, but he’s always been known for higher fly balls and fewer ground balls. He’s held opponents to a .140 ISO and wOBA of .291 after walking just 5.4% of batters this season.
While the Rays have a good chunk of power bats against righties, they’re typically better against lefties. The Rays will likely have more than six batters hitting an ISO of at least .162 against lefties against Cortes. However, Cortes’ numbers make us believe he can hold it down against the Rays.
The under would be our favorite play in this one between the two Major League Baseball teams.
âš¾ Game 3 âš¾
Sunday, 1:35 pm ET
Aaron Civale vs Luis Gil
Tampa Bay’s best starter in this three-game series will pitch on Sunday. Aaron Civale has already struck out 29.2% of batters and limited walks to 4.5%. He’s also held teams to a.273 wOBA but has allowed more fly balls than ground balls this year.
We wouldn’t worry too much about his high flyball rate if Civale keeps up his high strikeouts.
He’ll dual Luis Gil in the series finale. Gil has struck out 32.8% of batters and has held opponents to a .067 ISO and wOBA of .276. While his strikeouts are high, his walks are, too. He’s walked 23% of batters to begin the season.
That has ultimately hurt him the most. Gil has excellent stuff, but if he can’t get his control down, he’ll only pitch five or fewer innings and probably leave after giving up multiple runs due to these extra base runners.
We’d trust the Rays’ approach more in this game if you want to get in on the Rays vs Yankees betting action.
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