The Tampa Bay Rays were off to a hot start to the 2020 season, winning five of their first six games, but have hit a wall by dropping six of their last seven, including a sweep at the hands of the Baltimore Orioles. They now host the AL East-leading New York Yankees in their first meeting of the season.
- Date/Time: August 7, 6:40 p.m. ET
- Stadium: Tropicana Field
- TV Coverage: (None)
- Sportsbook Odds: Yankees -108 | O/U 8.5 runs (Line History)
- Yankees vs Rays Matchup Report
Sportsbook Odds Analysis
New York opened as a +105 underdog in this matchup, but bettors quickly jumped at the opportunity to bet on the 9-3 SU Yankees as underdogs, moving them up to -108 favorites. Tampa Bay is now a slight underdog at home at -102 while the game’s total has remained steady at 8.5 runs.
Starting Pitchers Analysis
Masahiro Tanaka didn’t make it out of the third inning in his first start of the season last Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, allowing four hits and two runs (one earned) in 2.2 innings. Tanaka has historically pitched well against Tampa Bay with a 10-4 record, a 3.20 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP in 18 career starts against the Rays.
Blake Snell has been on a tight pitch count this season as the Rays hope to help him build up strength in his throwing arm coming off the injured list with shoulder fatigue. The 2018 Cy Young Sportsbook pitched only 107 innings last season and has a 5.40 ERA and a 1.80 WHIP through five innings of work this season.
New York News & Notes
The Yankees extended their winning streak to seven straight games with a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on August 3 but went on to lose two of their next three against Philadelphia in making up the July games that were postponed when the Phillies had a coronavirus outbreak. The team will try to get another winning streak going against the Rays this weekend.
New York leads the league with 24 home runs through its first 12 games of 2020. Aaron Judge has been setting the tone for the Yankees on offense and leads the majors with seven home runs and 17 RBIs this season.
Tampa Bay News & Notes
Tampa Bay split its two-game home series against the Boston Red Sox, winning Tuesday’s game 5-1 but losing Wednesday’s game 5-0. The Rays have now lost six of their last seven games since Sportsbook the season with a 4-1 SU record. The offense has averaged only 2.57 runs per game over the team’s current skid.
The Rays parted ways with two of their top three RBI producers last season as Avisail Garcia (20 home runs and 72 RBIs in 2019) signed with the Milwaukee Brewers and Tommy Pham (21 HRs, 68 RBIs) was traded for Hunter Renfroe. Renfroe does have nine RBIs this season but is batting only .184.
Betting Pick: New York -108
If Blake Snell were at 100 percent, the Rays would be worth a long look at this price. But with Snell on a pitch count and Tampa Bay’s offense slumping, the Yankees should be able to take care of business in this one.
- New York is 8-2 SU over its last 10 games.
- Snell is 3-6 with a 4.41 ERA in 16 career starts against New York.
- The UNDER is 4-2 in Tampa Bay’s last 6 games.
