Tuesday’s first pitch is scheduled for 7:10 p.m. ET at Tropicana Field and will be televised on ESPN. The Yankees start lefty Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 4.41) against Rays righty Luis Patino (1-0, 1.17). The Rays took two of three against the Yankees at home in April and swept the Yankees in a three-game series in New York a week later.
Yankees Finally Rolling
After a horrible start to the season, the Yankees have won nine of their last 12, and their bats have finally come alive. Giancarlo Stanton is batting .370 in May with three home runs and nine RBI. Overall he leads the team with nine homers and 24 RBI while batting a team-best .292.
Aaron Judge is right behind Stanton with seven homers and 18 RBI. Infielders DJ LeMahieu (.282) and Gio Urshela (.287) are the only other Yankees batting above .250. In the last 12 games, the Yankees have scored 61 runs while hitting 20 home runs.
Montgomery threw six innings for the second time this season in a no-decision against Houston on Wednesday. He didn’t issue any walks while striking out four. Montgomery allowed three runs on eight hits in the outing.
Montgomery has faced the Rays twice this season, going 0-1 with a 6.55 ERA. In 11 innings, he has allowed four homers and walked four while striking out 11. Randy Arozarena has two homers against Montgomery, while Mike Brosseau and Manuel Margot have also gone deep against the lefty.
Rays Offense Holding Them Back
Tampa Bay’s offense is 10th in the AL in batting average at .222, and they are 11th in the league with 37 total home runs. Austin Meadows leads the team with seven home runs and 17 RBI, but the outfielder is batting just .195. Second baseman Brandon Lowe has six homers and 16 RBI with a .195 average.
Of the typical starting nine, only Joey Wendle (.287), Arozarena (.267), and Yandy Diaz (.250) are batting .250 or better. Arozarena, who hit .421 with three homers against the Yankees in the 2020 ALDS, has two of his three homers this season against New York.
Patino won’t go deep in the game for the Rays as he has thrown only 7 ⅔ innings combined over three outings this season. He has been paired with Shane McClanahan before this start which will be his second of the season. The 21-year-old has allowed three hits on the season, with one run allowed on a solo homer.
Patino has never faced the Yankees. He gave up a home run in his last outing against the Los Angeles Angels, and his season-high is three innings pitched.
Betting Analysis
Yankees ML -132, -1.5 runs (+125). Rays ML +110, +1.5 runs (-148). Total 8 runs (over -109, under -112)
Patino is a strikeout pitcher with ten strikeouts in 7 ⅔ innings, and while he may not work deep into the game, he faces a team with 27 strikeouts in their last two games. The Rays have had Montgomery’s number in two starts this season, and the long ball has worked to their benefit. Dating back to the start of last season, the Rays are 13-3 against the Yankees in the regular season, 16-5 overall.
FREE PICK: Rays +110