2020-08-20 13:05:00 EDT
The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees meet Thursday in MLB action from Yankee Stadium.
This will be the third and final matchup between these American League East rival teams this week. Tampa Bay took game one on Tuesday 6-3. In the Wednesday game, the Rays went up 2-0 in the series with a 4-2 win. Check back all season long for free MLB picks and MLB predictions at Sports Chat Place.
Tampa Bay utilized their usual style on Wednesday, relying on stout pitching and opportunistic hitting to carve out another win against the Yankees. Willy Adames was the only Tampa player with more than one hit (2-for-4 and an RBI). Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow had a solid outing on 5.2 innings, two earned, three walks and eight strikeouts.
For Thursday’s start, the Rays will send Jon Curtiss to the mound. In three games and zero starts so far, Curtiss is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and seven strikeouts in 6.1 innings. Across his MLB career, Curtiss is 1-1 with a 5.70 ERA and 25 Ks in 23.2 innings of work.
Over on the Yankees’ side, the injured offense went dormant again on Wednesday, and the team suffered. New York came up with just four hits in the game, with 14 team strikeouts and 15 men left on base. Starter Gerrit Cole went 6.2 innings with two earned 10 Ks and two homers allowed.
For the starting pitcher on Thursday, New York is sending out left-hander James Paxton. Over his four starts this season so far, Paxton has a 1-1 record with a 7.04 ERA and 18 strikeouts in 15.1 innings of work. Across his career, Paxton holds a 57-33 record with a 3.57 ERA and 821 Ks in 748.1 innings total.
The Rays are 4-0 in their last four road games and 10-1 in the last 11 overall. Tampa Bay is 5-2 in their last seven during game three of a series and 20-7 in their last 27 versus a team with a winning record.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are 5-1 in their last six games versus a right-handed starter and 52-14 in their last 66 games as a home favorite. New York is 6-2 in their last eight games overall and 48-16 in their last 64 home games.
Pick: I’m leaning Rays here. It’s still a strange feeling to pick against the Yankees—especially at home—but Tampa Bay has simply had their number this season so far. The Rays bullpen has tamped down the New York hitters (who have been gutted by injuries) all year, and I don’t see a lot of reasons to think that will change. Paxton has been better lately, but not back to his old self. I don’t think he’ll shut Tampa down completely.
