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Yankees vs Rays MLB Odds, Game Preview & Betting Predictions

Written by on May 10, 2019

Featured Sports Betting Odds

The top two teams in the AL East will meet on Friday night in Game 1 of a three-game set when the Tampa Bay Rays host the New York Yankees with two of the top pitchers in baseball this season set to engage in what looks like an ‘old-school’ pitching matchup just waiting to happen. With both teams looking to send a message in this series opener, let’s find out which one of these World Series hopefuls is offering the best betting value.

Yankees vs Rays MLB Odds, Game Preview & Betting Predictions

Starting Pitchers

  • Yankees RH Domingo German (6-1, 2.35 ERA)
  • Rays RH Tyler Glasnow (6-0, 1.47)

Why Bet On New York?

The Yankees have won four of their last five games including a 3-1 win over Seattle on Thursday night that saw starter J.A. Happ and four relievers combine to allow just four hits.

“He was pretty intense throughout that game,” manager Aaron Boone said about his starter.

Now, the Yankees will look to deliver a message to a Tampa Bay team that has surprised in the AL East so far this season. The Yankees are just 1.5 games behind the first-place Rays despite being hit hard by injuries during the first six weeks of the season.

For this contest, New York will be going with right-hander Domingo German. The 26-year-old native of the Dominican Republic comes into this affair off a fine effort in which he limited Minnesota to one run on four hits in 6.2 innings. German has four straight quality starts coming into this one while New York has won each of his last three starts.

Why Bet On Tampa Bay?

Are the Rays a safe bet against the Yankees on Friday?

The Rays have won four of their last six games but come into this contest off a narrow 3-2 loss against Arizona on Wednesday.

“We’ve got to find a way to score and we just didn’t,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said after the loss. “They just made good pitches.

Tampa Bay  has won nine of the last 14 games while going 7-6 against their AL East division rivals as they get set to face the Yankees for the first time in 2019. The Rays could have center fielder Austin Meadows back in the lineup after he’s missed nearly three weeks with a thumb injury.

Meadows was batting a blistering .351 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 20 games.

Tampa Bay will hand the ball to right-hander Tyler Glasnow, the American League Pitcher of the Month for March and April. Glasnow got his May started off with another fantastic effort as he limited Baltimore to three hits over seven scoreless innings with eight strikeouts last Friday.

The 25-year-old Californian has not allowed more than two runs in any of his seven starts this season. Glasnow will face the Yankees for the first time since being acquired from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline last year, but he says he’s treating this contest – and the Yankees – like any other opponent.

“My mentality (is) just going into it like any other day and just keep playing your game,” Glasnow told mlb.com. “It doesn’t really matter who you’re playing. If you meet all your personal checkmarks and do what you need to do to prepare, usually you’re winning ballgames.”

Yankees vs Rays MLB Betting Trends

  • NY Yankees are 4-1 SU in the last 5 games.
  • The total went OVER in 12 of the NY Yankees’ last 18 games.
  • Tampa Bay are 4-2 SU in the last 6 games.
  • The total went UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 6 games.

Expert Analysis and Prediction for Yankees vs Rays

The Yankees are 5-0 in their last five games against their AL East division rivals, 10-2 in the last 12 Friday games and 6-1 in Domingo German’s last seven starts. Unfortunately, all of those glistening trends will not be enough to get them past a Tampa Bay Rays team that has gone 10-1 in their last 11 Game 1 series openers, 19-7 in their last 26 games following a loss and 6-1 in Tyler Glasnow’s last seven starts. I’m going with the rays to get it done in a low-scoring thriller!

MLB Betting Pick: Tampa Bay 3 NY Yankees 2

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