2020-08-07 18:40:00 EDT
The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Friday in MLB action from Tropicana Field.
New York got four games in versus the Phillies this week. The Yankees won the Monday game, then split the Wednesday doubleheader. On Thursday in the series finale, New York fell in a tight one 5-4. As for Tampa Bay, they had two games versus the Red Sox this week. The Rays split those games, winning 5-1 Tuesday and falling 5-0 on Wednesday. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
New York fell behind Philadelphia 5-2 by the end of the third inning on Thursday. Starting pitcher Jordan Montgomery went 4.0 innings with six hits for five earned. Offensively, Gary Sanchez got his first homer of the season, and Brett Gardner had two hits and a run.
For the Friday game, the Yankees will send out Masahiro Tanaka in the starting role. Last season, Tanaka went 11-9 with a 4.45 ERA And 149 strikeouts in 182.0 innings. He’s got just one start so far this year with 2.2 innings pitched. Tanaka is still working his way back from a concussion sustained on July 4.
Over on the Rays’ side, they’re having issues finding consistent offense this season but there are a few standouts in the early-going. Brandon Lowe has a team-high 13 hits with seven runs, two triples and nine RBI. Joey Wendle is also doing well with 10 hits, a .357 batting average and five RBI. Willy Adames is close behind at nine hits, six runs and four doubles.
In the Friday start, the Rays will go with lefty Blake Snell. Last season, Snell went 6-8 with a 4.29 ERA and 147 strikeouts in 107.0 innings of work. Through two starts this season, Snell is 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA and nine Ks in 5.0 innings.
The Yankees are 4-0 in their last four Friday games and 21-7 in their last 28 road games versus a left-handed starter. New York is 66-26 in their last 92 games as a favorite and 55-23 in their last 78 versus a team with a losing record.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 11-4 in their last 15 in game one of a series and 35-16 in their last 51 home games. Tampa Bay is 56-23 in their last 79 home games versus a right-handed starter and 23-6 in their last 29 games on turf.
Pick: I’m going to stick with the Yankees here. Ideally, New York would like Tanaka to get through four or five innings, and if his stamina looks good that’s excellent news for the Yankees. As for Snell, he’s working up his endurance as well, going three-plus innings in his last game. Snell is just 3-6 with a 4.41 ERA in 16 career starts versus the Yankees, so this is going to be an uphill battle. This game should give us some great insight as to where both these pitchers are at, however.
