What do you get when your hurlers have the best ERA in baseball and the position players have combined for the most home runs? You get the New York Yankees and the best record in the majors.
The Yanks will have their momentum slowed with a day off on Monday before opening a three-game set with AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays on Tuesday night. New York won its fourth straight and for the 11th time in 12 games completing a sweep of the Cubs with an 18-4 win on Sunday. Just a few weeks ago the teams hooked up in Florida with the Rays winning the last two games to earn a split of that four-game set.
Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Date & Time
This AL East showdown takes place on Tuesday, June 14, 2022 at 7:05 p.m. ET from Yankee Stadium. The game will air live on TBS with betting options for every game on the 2022 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Odds
Tampa Bay Rays (Check Back Later)
New York Yankees (Check Back Later)
Total (Check Back Later)
Odds Analysis
We expected the AL East to be one of the best divisions in baseball and that’s been the case. All five teams closed the week with a win and it’s the only division in baseball with four teams winning more than 30 games. Divisional games will play a role over the course of the season and we’ve seen the Rays have a decent amount of success against the Yankees helping them win back-to-back division titles.
Tampa put an end to its two-game slide by beating Minnesota 6-0 on Sunday. They continue their road trip without the services of Wander Franco, who remains on the shelf with a leg injury. Randy Arozarena has picked up his game in Franco’s absence, but the offense remains a work in progress. The Rays average 4.25 run with a .232 team batting average, both in the lower third of MLB rankings. They scored only nine runs in the earlier series with New York with the teams cashing the UNDER in three of them.
Ten games into the season the Yankees were 5-5. Since then they’ve gone 39-11 with a lethal combination of power at the dish and on the mound. They clubbed 10 homers in the last two games of the Cubs series winning them by a combined score of 26-4. They lead the majors with 98 homers and have four players with at least 12. Aaron Judge leads everyone with 24 and is the only player in the entire league with more than 20.
It’s a good time to be a baseball fan in New York with the Yankees and Mets leading their respective division and being the most profitable teams. Winning 78 percent of their games has the Yanks up nearly $1100 on the moneyline and they’ve taken care of business at home. They have MLB’s best home record at 26-7 putting them $716 in the black.
Probable Pitchers
We have a scheduled rematch from a pitcher’s duel that took place when the teams met in Tampa a few weeks back. Corey Kluber (3-2, 3.88 ERA) took a ND in that game allowing only three hits and one run with five strikeouts over 6.0 innings. In five starts since giving up eight earned runs and 11 hits in 3.0 innings to the Angels, Kluber has been sharp going 2-0 with a 3.12 ERA over 26.0 innings. Opponents are hitting just .229 against him during that run.
A two-time Cy Young Award winner, Kluber has only 10 wins in 35 starts since going 20-7 with Cleveland in 2018. An assortment of injuries played a role, but his best season in the previous four was with the Yankees in 2021 when he went 5-3 with a 3.83 ERA covering 80 innings in 16 starts. He’s not the flamethrower he once was but Kluber has improved command with just nine walks in 55.2 frames.
Monday’s day off allowed the Yankees to adjust their rotation giving ace Gerrit Cole (5-1, 3.63 ERA) the nod to open the series. And Cole probably can’t get back on the hill soon enough after a disastrous outing last time out. He allowed a career-worst five homers among eight hits and seven runs in 2.1 innings to the Twins. The Yankees rallied to get the win in that game improving to 9-3 in games Cole starts.
Cole matched Kluber when the two hooked up on May 28 allowing two hits and one run with 10 strikeouts over 6.0 innings. In two previous starts against the Rays, Cole was touched for 12 earned and 11 hits in 10.1 innings losing both games.
Rays vs Yankees Predictions
As much as I like the Rays, the Yankees are on fire right now and have been for some time. They won games and scored runs with Giancarlo Stanton and Josh Donaldson sidelined briefly and with those guys back along with Judge, the lineup can rake. We don’t often see Cole struggle in back to back outings and I expect he’ll be on top of his game Tuesday. And the Yankees have been tough to beat in their yard.
Prediction: New York Yankees / UNDER
