Tampa Bay Rays at New York Yankees Betting Preview/Prop Picks
16 August 2022
Time: 7:05 pm ET
Dunkel Ratings: Tampa Bay 15.979; NY Yankees 14.052
Dunkel Line & Total: Tampa Bay by 2; 6
Vegas Line & Total: NY Yankees (-176); 7 ½
Dunkel Pick: Tampa Bay (+147); Under
AL East Division rivals are set to continue their series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night when the New York Yankees host the Tampa Bay Rays. Tampa Bay picked up a 4-0 win in the series opener, and they are looking for a repeat performance in this matchup.
The Rays have now won three straight games as they are trying to make a push into the playoffs in 2022. Tampa Bay has improved its record to 61-53 on the year, but they are still five games under .500 on the road.
New York still leads the AL East with an overall record of 72-44, but they have been trending in the wrong direction. The Yankees have lost four of their last five games, and they just haven’t looked the same in the second half of the season.
The New York Yankees are the moneyline betting favorites in this game at -176 over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pitching Starting to Carry the Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays always seem to be a team with a ton of pitching, and that formula is starting to work for them again. Tampa Bay now has a team ERA of 3.42 on the season, and they have given up just three total runs over the last three games.
Left hander Jeffrey Springs is slated to make the start on Tuesday night, and he is 4-3 with a 2.56 ERA on the year. Springs will have to keep the ball in the ballpark, but he is talented enough to shut the Yankees down.
Randy Arozarena is starting to heat up for the Rays as well, as he leads the team with 15 home runs and 58 RBIs. Tampa Bay is not a team with a ton of power, but they know how to grind out at-bats.
Yankees Need Offense to Return
New York is going to need the offense to bounce back if they are going to turn things back around. The Yankees lead MLB with 192 home runs this season, but they haven’t been hitting them out as rapidly as they were earlier this season.
Aaron Judge remains one of the favorites to win the AL MVP Award this season as he leads the way with 46 home runs and 100 RBIs. The Yankees have been shut out in two straight games, and that is starting to turn into a problem.
Nestor Cortes is set to start on Tuesday night for the Yankees, and he is 9-3 with a 2.67 ERA this season. Cortes might need to be dominant if his offense is going to continue to struggle.
Rays Roll Over Division Rival
The dominance of the New York Yankees has been fading in a big way over the last few weeks, while the Tampa Bay Rays are starting to make a big move. New York still has a lineup that is loaded with talent, but they just aren’t putting up as many runs as they were at the beginning of the year.
Tampa Bay has been getting great pitching of late, and the Rays always seem to turn things on when the calendar flips to August. New York will score some runs on Tuesday night, but they still won’t find enough offense to pick up a win to end this skid.
Bet the Tampa Bay Rays -1.5 as they beat the New York Yankees by two runs to pick up another win in this series.
Prop Picks
NY Yankees (-150) UNDER 4.5 Runs
Tampa Bay is allowing 3.89 runs per 9 innings on defense, which ranks No. 5 in the league. That average remains relatively steady at 4.09 runs per 9 innings on the road, which ranks No. 8 in the league. Scores have gone UNDER in four of the Rays’ last five road games versus the Yankees.
With Dunkel predicting a Tampa Bay victory by the score of 4-2, take the Yankees (-150) to finish UNDER their Vegas team total of 4.5 runs against the Rays.
Nestor Cortes (-145) OVER 4.5 Hits Allowed
Tampa Bay is averaging 7.96 hits per 9 innings on offense, which ranks No. 20 in the league. That average increases to 8.33 hits per 9 innings on the road. Cortes has allowed 13 hits in 17.2 innings pitched against the Rays this season, tied for the most hits he’s given up to a team.
With Dunkel predicting a Tampa Bay road victory, take Cortes (-145) to finish OVER 4.5 hits allowed versus the Rays.
Jeffrey Springs (-110) UNDER 2.5 Earned Runs
Springs has allowed 24 earned runs in 84.1 innings pitched this season for an ERA of 2.56. The Tampa Bay left hander has an ERA of 2.77 (15 earned runs in 48.2 IP) with an OBA of .234 on the road.
With Dunkel predicting a Rays win while holding the Yankees UNDER their Vegas run total, take Springs (-110) to finish UNDER 2.5 earned runs allowed against New York.
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