The Tampa Bay Rays (7-8) go for a 3-game sweep of the New York Yankees (5-9) Sunday. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium. Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook‘s lines around the Rays vs. Yankees odds with MLB picks and predictions.
Season series: Rays 4-1
Tampa Bay won 6-3 Saturday and 8-2 Friday, snapping a 3-game losing streak. Meanwhile, New York has lost 4 in a row.
Rays RHP Andrew Kittredge is projected to start the series finale as an opener and LHP Ryan Yarbrough is expected to follow, picking up the bulk of the innings as the primary pitcher.
Kittredge is 2-0 with a 1.69 ERA (5 1/3 IP, 1 ER), 3 walks and 4 K’s in 4 relief appearances. Yarbrough has struggled, going 0-2 with a 6.48 ERA (16 2/3 IP, 12 ER), 1.50 WHIP, 5.9 K/9 and 1.1 BB/9 in 3 starts.
- Yarbrough’s last outing: Loss, 6 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 6 K vs. Texas Rangers Tuesday – Rays lost 8-3
- Career vs. Yankees (regular season): Kittredge is 2-1 with a 4.09 ERA (22 IP, 10 ER) in 17 relief appearances; Yarbrough is 3-2 with a 3.15 ERA (20 IP, 7 ER) in 6 relief outings
RHP Gerrit Cole is projected to start for the Yankees. He is 2-0 with a 1.47 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 14.2 K/9 and 1.5 BB/9 in 3 starts.
- Last outing: Win, 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K at Toronto Blue Jays Monday – Yankees won 3-1
- Career vs. Rays (regular season): 0-3, 4.07 ERA (42 IP, 19 ER) in 7 starts
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Rays at Yankees odds, lines, picks and prediction
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated at 7:53 a.m. ET.
- Money line: Rays +200 (bet $100 to win $200) | Yankees -250 (bet $250 to win $100)
- Against the spread/ATS: Rays +1.5 (+105) | Yankees -1.5 (-130)
- Over/Under: 8 (O: -105 | U: -115)
Prediction
Rays 4, Yankees 3
Money line (ML)
With Cole on the hill, the books made the Yankees (-250) too chalky of a favorite. The RAYS’ (+200) ML price is too good to pass up.
Saturday’s win improved the Rays to 12-3 in the last 15 regular-season meetings vs. the Yankees – 4-1 this season and 8-2 last year. Plus, Tampa Bay eliminated New York 3-2 in a best-of-5 ALDS last fall.
Cole is one of the best pitchers in the game. He posted a 2.84 ERA in 12 starts in 2020 but was 0-1 with a 4.96 ERA (16 1/3 IP, 9 ER) in 3 starts vs. the Rays.
In Cole’s 15 starts, including the playoffs, a year ago, the Yankees went 10-5 overall but just 2-3 against the Rays.
This column cashed Friday and Saturday backing Tampa Bay. Let’s keep riding that train, but no need to get greedy.
All streaks eventually end – especially in baseball – so, we’ll keep it to a HALF-UNIT play on RAYS (+200).
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Run line/Against the spread (ATS)
Continuing with backing trends, TAMPA BAY +1.5 (+105) is worth a QUARTER-UNIT wager. The Rays covered the spread in 4 of the 5 games vs. the Yankees this season.
ATS records: Rays 5-10 | Yankees 5-9
Over/Under (O/U)
PASS. Tampa Bay owns the best OVER record in baseball, but New York is 1-2 O/U in Cole’s 3 starts.
O/U records: Rays 11-4 | Yankees 6-8
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Bet on this game now at BetMGM Sportsbook. For more sports betting picks and tips, visit SportsbookWire.com. Please gamble responsibly.
Note: There is no STRONGEST PLAY on this card.
| JOHNNY RECORD | W-L | SP | ROI |
| 2021 MLB | 20-15 | 8-3 | +7.84 |
| 2020 MLB | 80-59-1 | 39-21 | +24.79 |
| 2021 (all sports) | 123-100-1 | 57-44 | +21.39 |
| *–SP: Strongest plays; ROI: Return on investment | |||
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