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The New York Yankees (25-14) and Tampa Bay Rays (19-19) open a 3-game series Friday in St. Petersburg, Fla. First pitch from Tropicana Field is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. ET. Let’s analyze FanDuel Sportsbook’s lines around the Yankees vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
Season series: Yankees lead 2-1
Both squads recently saw 5-game winning streaks snapped. New York failed to cash as a (-140) home favorite on Thursday vs. Houston, losing 4-3 as SP Marcus Stroman surrendered a season high 9 hits and 4 runs in 5.1 IP. Rays SP Aaron Civale did not get through the 5th inning for the 4th straight start as Tampa Bay fell 4-1 Wednesday as a big-time home favorite (-260) vs. Chicago.
The Yankees enter Friday with the most wins in the American League (25), although they are a 0.5 game back of Baltimore for 1st place in the AL East. CF Aaron Judge has gotten hot, as the Yankees captain is riding a 6-game hitting streak with RBIs in 5 straight games and 3 HR over that span.
The Rays are a half-game back of Boston for 3rd place in the AL East. last weekend manager Kevin Cash passed Joe Maddon to become the winningest manager (755 wins) in franchise history. SS Jose Cabellero leads the AL in SBs (14), although the 27-year-old has just 1 hit over his last 5 games.
Yankees at Rays projected starters
RHP Clarke Schmidt vs. RHP Taj Bradley
Schmidt (3-1, 3.50 ERA) makes his 8th start. He has a 1.31 WHIP, 3.25 BB/9 and 10.25 K/9 in 36 IP.
- Last start: Win, 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 7 K in 5-3 win over Detroit on May 4
- Took a no-decision in a 5-3 win over the Rays at Yankee Stadium on April 19, allowing 7 H, 1 ER, 0 BB with 7 K in 5.1 IP
Bradley (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his 1st start of the season. The 23-year-old sustained a right pectoral strain during spring training, causing him to miss the 1st 6 weeks of the season.
- Last start (AAA Durham): No-decision, 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K on May 3, throwing 94 pitches
- The former top prospect sported a 11.09 K/9 in 2023, 9th-highest among 127 pitchers with at least 100 IP.
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Yankees at Rays odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 10:51 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Yankees -126 (bet $126 to win $100) | Rays +108 (bet $100 to win $108)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Yankees -1.5 (+134) | Rays +1.5 (-162)
- Over/Under (O/U): 8 (O: -112 | U: -108)
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Yankees at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
New York 4, Tampa Bay 3
Moneyline
PASS.
Bradley surrendered only 1 solo HR and a hit in 11 IP with 15 Ks with Durham, topping 98.5 mph in a hitless 1st outing. Impressive stuff, but that’s at the AAA level, not against the likes of Judge, RF Juan Soto and 1B Anthony Rizzo.
Run line/Against the spread
INCLUDE RAYS RL (-162) IN A PARLAY.
DH Giancarlo Stanton was left out of that aforementioned group of Bronx Bombers because I expect that Bradley will strike him out at least once. The 34-year-old Ks at a 32.6% clip, 15th highest out of 305 hitters with at least 180 PAs vs RHP.
The (-162) is a lot to lay on its own, but there is a fun way to reduce the juice and stretch out action into Saturday for Paul Skenes day. Combining Tampa Bay +1.5 with Pittsburgh +1.5 (-182) at home vs. the Cubs pays out roughly +145 on FanDuel.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 8 (-108).
Tampa Bay has the highest ground ball percentage vs RHP in the AL (46.4%), while Schmidt has induced the 2nd-lowest amount of hard contact among SPs in the AL (20.7%). The Yankees have the best bullpen ERA in MLB (2.25), so a comeback attempt for Tampa if they trail after Schmidt’s departure is unlikely.
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