Yankees vs Rays

Yankees vs Rays – MLB Odds & Picks

Written by on August 19, 2020

The Yankees made Gerrit Cole the richest pitcher in MLB history this offseason, and Cole has been everything the team could have asked for thus far. He takes the mound Wednesday against Tampa Bay and struggling Rays starter Tyler Glasnow. The Yanks are heavy favorites on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Rays at Yankees MLB Odds & TV Info

  • When: Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET
  • Where: Yankee Stadium
  • Probable pitchers (away/home): Tyler Glasnow/Gerrit Cole
  • TV: MLB Extra Innings
  • Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
  • Opening MLB Lines: Yankees -170, Rays +157 (total 8.5)
Why Bet on Tampa Bay?

The Rays made a trade on Tuesday, landing pitcher Edgar Garcia from the Phillies for a player to be named later. Garcia was designated for assignment by the Rays last week. The 22-year-old posted a 5.77 ERA over 37 relief appearances as a rookie last season, but he can miss some bats.

To make room for Garcia, the Rays designated Daniel Robertson for assignment. The 26-year-old utility man owns a respectable .231/.340/.352 slash line in 237 career major-league games, good for a 96 wRC+, so there’s a decent chance he winds up getting claimed off waivers. In addition, reliever Sam McWilliams has joined the active roster. The hard-throwing right-hander had been at the team’s alternate training site in Port Charlotte since the start of the regular season. McWilliams made it as far as Triple-A Durham last season.

It’s Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 7.04) on the mound.  Glasnow struggled through four innings last Thursday against the Red Sox, giving up five runs before being removed. Glasnow struck out eight, but he also gave up eight hits, five of them doubles.

Glasnow was given 10 runs to support his endeavor to earn his first win, but he failed to pitch efficiently enough to qualify. Positively, he kept the ball in the yard and racked up strikeouts. However, he regularly worked deep into counts while running up his pitch count. Glasnow has an incredible 15.9 K/9 through 15.1 innings this season, but that has been offset by a 5.9 BB/9 and 1.8 HR/9.

His command hasn’t been where it was before he got hurt last year. Glasnow’s 96.9 mph average velocity on his four-seam fastball tied Jacob deGrom for the third-fastest among qualified starting pitchers (min. 500) in 2019.

For a team with one of the top rotations and deepest pitching staffs in the majors, the Rays have been forced to piece things together the first three-plus weeks of the season. Starters Charlie Morton and Yonny Chirinos, plus top replacement Brendan McKay, have been sidelined by injury.

Why Bet on NY Yankees?

The Yankees are undefeated in a franchise-record 27 consecutive home series (since 4/16/19), going 24-0-3 in those series. The Yankees’ streak is tied for the fourth-longest in Major League history (counting only decisions) and the longest by any team since the St. Louis Cardinals had an MLB record streak of 45 consecutive undefeated home series from June 1942 – May 1944.

The Yankees are severely short-handed with DJ LeMahieu, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton all sidelined. They are probably the team’s three best hitters. Yankees batters lead the Majors in OPS (.834), SLG (.481) and OBP (.353) and are tied for the Major League lead in runs per game (5.67) and rank second in the Majors in BA (.266) and tied for third in runs.

On Tuesday, the team recalled RHP Nick Nelson from their alternate training site. He’ll replace Ben Heller on the active roster. Nelson, 24, has allowed seven runs — six earned — through 4 2/3 innings this season out of the Yankees’ bullpen.

It’s ace Gerrit Cole (4-0, 2.76) on the mound. Cole improved to 4-0 on the season on Friday, limiting the Red Sox to just one run on four hits over seven strong innings of work. The right-hander punched out eight on the night and didn’t walk a batter. The only blemish on his evening was a solo homer off the bat of Alex Verdugo in the fourth inning. Cole has a 0.85 WHIP and 34/5 K/BB ratio across 29 1/3 innings.

It was Cole’s 20th consecutive regular-season victory, tying the third-longest such streak in history. His only no-decision this year came against the Rays on Aug. 8.

Cole, who came within one strike of a win his previous start before getting pulled, moved closer to the all-time record of 24 consecutive victories by Carl Hubbell in 1936-37. Roy Face is next at 22, followed by Roger Clemens, Jake Arrieta, Rube Marquard and Cole at 20 each.

Since his most recent loss in the regular season, Cole is 20-0 with a 1.94 ERA in 27 starts. The right-hander’s 27-game unbeaten streak is tied with Firpo Marberry for the fourth longest in baseball history. Clemens holds the record with a 30-game unbeaten streak in 1998-99, followed by Kris Medlen and Dave McNally at 28 games apiece.

Game Trends
  • The Rays are 7-3 in Glasnow’s past 10.
  • The over/under is 4-3-3 in his past 10.
Expert Prediction Yankees 4, Rays 2