New York Yankees (33-13) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (26-19)
May 28, 2022 4:10 pm EDT
The Line: Tampa Bay Rays +120 / New York Yankees -141; Over/Under: +7
(Get latest betting odds)
The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays meet in an AL East division matchup in MLB action from Tropicana Field on Saturday.
The New York Yankees will look to build on their 2-0 win over the Rays from Friday’s matchup. Aaron Judge leads the Yankees with 17 home runs and 36 RBIs along with 51 hits and a .305 batting average in addition to 9 doubles while Giancarlo Stanton has 43 hits with 11 home runs and 35 RBIs. DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Rizzo also each have a team-high 9 doubles so far this season. Gerrit Cole will start here and is 4-1 with a 3.31 ERA and 62 strikeouts this season.
The Tampa Bay Rays will try to bounce back after their loss to the Yankees from Friday. Wander Franco leads the Rays with 44 hits along with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs as well as a .262 batting average while Franco has 11 doubles and Randy Arozarena also has 44 hits and a team-high 12 doubles and Brandon Lowe has a pair of triples. Manuel Margot has a team-high 22 RBIs and a .353 batting average of his own and the aforementioned Lowe also has 5 home runs this season. Kevin Kiermaier has a team-high 6 home runs of his own while Yandy Diaz has a .262 batting average as well on the year. Corey Kluber will start here and is 1-2 with a 4.42 ERA and 37 strikeouts this season.
New York is 4-0 in their last 4 games against a team with a winning record and 10-1 in their last 11 road games against a right-handed starter while the over is 8-2 in their last 10 division games. Tampa Bay is 61-28 in their last 89 home games and 54-25 in their last 79 division games while the under is 4-1-1 in their last 6 games as a home underdog.
I get why the Yankees would be favored here with the best record in baseball and arguably their staff ace pitching here. However, Cole didn’t look all that dominant in a pair of starts against the Baltimore Orioles and the Yankees had trouble with the O’s for much of that series if we’re being honest. Corey Kluber’s best days are behind him, but there’s no denying he still can go and the Rays have a lot of depth and are fully capable of nabbing this one from the Yankees so give me Tampa Bay and the plus money here.
