New York Yankees (79-52) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (72-57)
September 3, 2022 6:10 pm EDT
The Line: Tampa Bay Rays -130 / New York Yankees +120; Over/Under: +8
(Get latest betting odds)
The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays meet Saturday in MLB action from Tropicana Field. This will be the second installment in a three-game series. In the Friday opener, the Rays posted a dominant shutout victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
New York had some trouble with the Angels this week, losing two of three games in that series. On Friday versus the Rays, the Yankees couldn’t do much with five hits and three errors in a rough 9-0 defeat. Domingo German went 6.2 frames in the start with six hits, two earned and two walks.
For the starter job on Saturday, the Yankees are going with Clarke Schmidt. Over his 18 games (two starts) this year, Schmidt is 5-3 with a 2.89 ERA. In 37.1 innings he has 12 earned on 19 walks and 31 hits with 36 Ks.
Over on the Rays’ side, they played the Marlins this week and won both games. In the Friday matchup, Tampa had six runs in the eighth inning alone and 11 team hits during the win. Starter Jeffrey Springs managed 5.2 clean innings with four hits and three walks.
As starter for the Saturday game, the Rays will send out Corey Kluber. Over 25 starts this year Kluber is 9-7 with a 4.21 ERA. In 134.2 innings Kluber has 63 earned on 139 hits and 18 walks with 118 strikeouts.
The Yankees are 61-27 in their last 88 in game two of a series and 2-6 in their last eight versus the AL East. The under is 4-0 in New York’s last four Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Rays are 7-3 in their last 10 in game two of a series and 88-41 in their last 129 at home. Tampa is 40-19 in their last 59 Saturday games.
PICK: I’m going to stay with Tampa Bay. The Rays have been scoring pretty well overall lately and they should have some opportunities in this one as well. Tampa posted seven or more runs in four of six games heading into this series, so the potential is there. As for Schmidt, he’s coming off four earned in 4.1 innings versus Oakland but should do reasonably well for the short time he’s out there. After that Tampa can start attacking the shaky Yankees pen.
