Before this series, the Yankees were 1-5 against the Rays this season after going 2-8 against them in the regular season last year. They have taken the first two games, 3-1 and 1-0, to be in position for the sweep on Thursday. The Yankees will send right Jameson Taillon (1-2, 5.02) to the mound against veteran Rays lefty Rich Hill (1-1, 5.17).
Cole Sets Up Sweep Option
It has been all about the pitching in this series for the Yankees. Gerrit Cole struck out 12 Rays over eight shutout innings on Wednesday, allowing just four hits. In the series opener, Jordan Montgomery allowed just one run on two hits over six innings as he struck out nine.
Aaron Judge clubbed his eighth homer of the season in Tuesday’s opener while catcher Gary Sanchez hit his seventh. They both trail Giancarlo Stanton, who leads the team with nine homers on the campaign.
Judge has five hits in the series to raise his average to .271. The top of the Yankees order has been getting it done in May, with the team winning 11 of their last 14. DJ Lemehieu is batting .272, with Stanton at .283 and Gio Urshela at .294.
The Yankees have 22 home runs in those 14 games and welcomed back first baseman Luke Voit for this series. The 2020 AL home run leader made his 2021 debut on Tuesday after undergoing knee surgery in March.
Taillon hasn’t faced the Rays in four seasons, and the only batters in their lineup he has faced are Manny Margot (0-5) and Brett Phillips (1-4). Last time out, he allowed three runs on three hits over 6 ⅓ innings while striking out five against Washington. Taillon has 19 strikeouts to just four walks over 15 ⅓ innings in his last three starts.
Rays Offense Looks Lost
The Rays had four his on Wednesday with two singles and two doubles. They have scored just one run in 18 innings in the series, and the team batting average is now under .220.
The Rays are also dead last in the AL with 397 strikeouts in 38 games, and they have 21 against the Yankees starters in this series. Only Randy Arozarena (.258) and Joey Wendle (.277) are batting over .250. Tampa is 1-4 in their last five games, with a total of nine runs scored in that span.
Hill blanked Oakland over six innings on Friday night and has allowed just two runs over his last 15 innings. The veteran lefty beat the Yankees on April 9 as he struck out seven in a quality six-inning start.
Hill has never faced Judge but has allowed just one hit in six at-bats to Stanton. LeMahieu is 5-for-15 against Hill, while Aaron Hicks is 2-for-4 with a home run.
Betting Analysis
Yankees ML -136, -1.5 runs (+125). Rays ML +116, +1.5 runs (-152). Total 8 runs (over -114, under -107)
The way the Yankees are playing right now, it is tough to bet against them. Tampa Bay’s offense just isn’t performing like it did last season, and they aren’t finding the clutch hits to win games. Look for the Yankees to take out the brooms and close in on the first-place Red Sox
FREE PICK: Yankees -136