New York vs Tampa Bay MLB Betting Analysis

The AL East was one of the divisions that looked to be the toughest to predict in online sports betting heading into the season. The Orioles and Jays were pegged as the favorites by most, while the Boston Red Sox were picked as a dark horse. The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays were almost an afterthought, yet it is those two who are leading the way in the division right now. They will meet in the Big Apple for the third of a 3-game series on Wednesday.

New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays MLB Betting Analysis

Date: Wednesday, April 29, 2015Time: 1:05PMVenue: Yankee StadiumOpening Line: New York -157 

Goodnight. pic.twitter.com/kpcW0yr8Nf— New York Yankees (@Yankees) April 28, 2015

 It is to everyone’s great surprise that the Yankees (12-8) are sitting atop the AL East as the month of April draws to a close. It was assumed that they would struggle, and that the most likely finish would be at the bottom of the division. While that may still end up happening, there is no denying that this is an intriguing story. At the heart of that tale is the performance of Alex Rodriguez, who is hitting .254 with 5 HR and 13 RBI. That’s a lot more production than most believed he would be able to offer after 2 years out of the game. The Yankees have won 6 of their last 7 games, including the first game in this series versus the Rays. Masahiro Tanaka (2-1, 3.22 ERA) will get the start for the Yankees on Wednesday, and he will be looking to build on his last outing versus the Tigers, where he gave up just 3 hits and 1 run in 6.1 innings.The Tampa Bay Rays (11-9) season trajectory has been somewhat similar to that of the Yankees in that they got off to a slow start before gathering some momentum. Their Monday loss in New York broke a 5-game winning streak that has taken them to the top of the division. The good news for the Rays is that they are starting to get healthy, as they had a number of key players on the DL to start the season. This is a team that might be more of a threat than most people imagined once they get all of their key personnel back in play. Drew Smyly (0-0, 3.86 ERA) is one of the players that returned from injury, and he looked pretty sharp in his first start back versus the Jays. He went 4.2 innings, striking out 5 and not allowing a walk in a 12-3 win for the Rays.

Key Online Sports Betting Trends

NY Yankees is 6-1-1 SU in its last 8 gamesNY Yankees is 4-1-1 SU in its last 6 games at homeNY Yankees is 5-0-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Tampa BayNY Yankees is 5-12-1 SU in its last 18 games when playing at home against Tampa BayTampa Bay is 5-1-1 SU in its last 7 gamesTampa Bay is 0-4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing NY YankeesTampa Bay is 12-5-1 SU in its last 18 games when playing on the road against NY YankeesTampa Bay is 1-3-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against NY Yankees

Consider This Before Placing Your Bets

That first start for Smyly looked a lot like a rehab style start, as the Rays were able to get enough runs on the board to limit how much he had to throw. It was a solid outing that I think he will improve on this time out. That is why I like the Rays to win on Wednesday.SourcesMLB.com (http://newyork.yankees.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=547888#gameType=’R’)ESPN.com (http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/_/id/31816/drew-smyly)