Tampa Bay Rays (30-9) vs. New York Yankees (21-18)
May 13, 2023 1:05 pm EDT
The Line: New York Yankees +100 / Tampa Bay Rays -120; Over/Under: 8
(Get latest betting odds)
The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees meet Saturday in MLB action from Yankee Stadium. This will be the third installment in a four-game weekend series. The Rays took a six-run win on Thursday in the opener, then on Friday the Yankees evened it up with a close victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Tampa Bay Rays
The Rays scored three runs in both the sixth and eighth innings Thursday, cruising to an 8-2 win. In the Friday game two, Tampa Bay out-hit the Yankees 13-9 in a 6-5 loss. Trevor Kelley put up 2.0 innings with one earned on one hit and no walks with two Ks.
For the starter job on Saturday the Rays will go with Shane McClanahan. In his eight starts so far McClanahan is 7-0 with a 1.76 ERA and 58 Ks in 46.0 innings. McClanahan is 29-14 with a 2.76 ERA in 61 career starts.
New York Yankees
Over on the Yankees’ side, they couldn’t get much going at all on four team hits in the Thursday opener. On Friday New York blew a 4-2 lead but ultimately powered out a 6-5 win. Starter Gerrit Cole finished with 5.0 innings, two earned, five hits, two walks and four strikeouts.
Nestor Cortes will take the mound for the start on Saturday. Over seven starts this year Cortes is 3-2 with a 4.74 ERA and 39 strikeouts over 38.0 innings. Cortes is 22-11 in his career with a 3.71 ERA in 99 games (51 starts).
The Rays are 10-2 in their last 12 in game three of a series and 17-4 in their last 21 versus a lefty starter. The under is 9-4-1 in Tampa Bay’s last 14 Saturday games.
Meanwhile, the Yankees are 4-1 in their last five Saturday games and 70-33 in their last 103 at home. New York is 35-16 in their last 51 at home versus a lefty starter.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’m going to stay with the Rays in this one. McClanahan is pitching well this year so far. He’s got just three earned in 17.0 innings over his last three starts (winning all three) on 14 hits and eight walks combined. As for Cortes, he had some trouble with the Rangers late last month but he did pretty well versus the A’s in his last start. On Friday Tampa Bay had a nice offensive evening overall but couldn’t keep the Yankees contained in the later innings. I like the Rays to bounce back with a victory in game three.
