Media by Associated Press – New York Yankees Nestor Cortes during baseball game against Tampa Bay Rays, Wednesday June 15, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
It’s the best pitching matchup of the night when the New York Yankees visit the Tampa Bay Rays at 7:10 p.m. ET on Monday to open a three-game series.
The Yankees (49-17) are easily baseball’s best team. The Rays (36-30) hold on to the second wild-card spot and are third in the AL East, 13 games behind the Yankees.
Yankees ace Gerrit Cole gets the ball. The 6-foot-4 righty is 6-1 with a 3.33 ERA and has 91 strikeouts in 73 innings. He allowed seven earned runs on June 9, but it was sandwiched between a pair of scoreless starts.
The Yankees are 8-2 with Cole on the bump, and the over/under is split at 5-5. Cole won his start Tuesday against the Rays with six scoreless innings but lost the May matchup.
Shane McClanahan is the Rays’ Cy Young candidate. The southpaw is 7-3 with a 1.84 ERA with 105 strikeouts in 78.1 innings pitched and has surrendered only 15 walks.
He allowed three earned runs in his second start of the season and hasn’t allowed more than two otherwise. Of his two starts against New York, he’s split the pair, losing the last one on Wednesday after allowing four runs (one earned).
New York Yankees Betting Preview: No bridge needed
If Cole can go six or seven innings, the Yankees won’t need a bridge to Michael King and Clay Holmes at the backend of the bullpen. If they do, though, they have the best pitching staff in baseball, ranking first in runs allowed per game (2.98), opponents’ average (.212), and opponents’ OPS (.610). Their 9.16 strikeouts per game is fifth.
Offensively, they are scoring 5.14 runs per game, the best in baseball, with an OPS of .772, also the best. Aaron Judge is the clear frontrunner for MVP, hitting .305 with 25 home runs, 50 RBIs, and 55 runs scored.
Anthony Rizzo has 18 home runs. Gleyber Torres is having a resurgence, hitting .267 with 12 doubles, 13 home runs, 30 runs scored, and 32 RBIs.
The Yankees are 30-35-1 on overs and 20-10 on the road.
Tampa Bay Rays Betting Preview: Manufacturing runs
Tampa Bay has struggled offensively, and in a pitcher’s duel, all they need is a couple of runs scratched across. They are 25th, scoring 4.08 runs per game, 24th in average at .233, and their .668 OPS is 26th.
Randy Arozarena is hitting .253 with the team lead in doubles (14), runs scored (30), home runs (tied with 7), and stolen bases (12). Ji-Man Choi has a team-best 34 RBIs. Kevin Kiermaier has seven home runs. Manuel Margot is hitting a team-best .303.
That collection stringing together a big inning early, without even mentioning Wander Franco, could give McClanahan the juice needed to carry to a loaded bullpen.
Tampa Bay is fifth defensively, allowing 3.82 runs per game. They’re fourth in opposing average (.222) and OPS (.647). The Rays are 28-34-4 on overs and 21-13 at home.
Betting Prediction
The Yankees are the complete package and just had a nine-game losing streak snapped in a 10-9 loss in Toronto on Sunday. McClanahan has been great this season, but even if he gives up two runs, he’s at risk of losing because of the Rays’ lineup’s limitations.
We’ll take the Yankees -130 and will entertain the run line for a little extra cash.
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