New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Prediction -07/28/2021

Yankees vs Rays Prediction - 07/28/2021

Game Time: 7:10 pm ET, 28, July, 2021

Venue: Tropicana Field, St Petersburg, Florida 

Where to Watch: YES Network,  ESPN

Yankees:  51-47 (3rd AL East)

Rays: 60-40 (2nd AL East)

Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks:
DraftKings:  Moneyline odds: Yankees +115,  Rays -135; Over/Under:  8  runs

Yankees:  L. Voit (Knee) Out, T. Locastro (Knee) Out, 
Rays:  M. Margot (Hamstring) Questionable, J. Feyereisen (Shoulder) Out

Recent Lineups:

Yankees:
D LeMahieu (1B)
G Stanton (DH)
R Odor (2B)
G Sanchez (C)
G Torres (SS)
B Gardner (CF)
G Urshela (3B)
R LaMarre (LF)
G Allen (RF)

Rays:
R Arozarena (RF)
J Choi (1B)
N Cruz (DH)
A Meadows (LF)
Y Diaz (3B)
W Franco (SS)
J Wendle (2B)
F Mejia (C)
B Phillips (CF)

Batting Average:  Aaron Judge (.282)
Home Runs:  Aaron Judge (21)
RBI: Aaron Judge (47)
Stolen Bases: Gleyber Torres (10)
Wins:  Garret Cole (10)
ERA:  Garret Cole (2.74)

Batting Average: Nelson Cruz (.289)
Home Runs: Nelson Cruz (21)
RBI:  Austin Meadows (71)
Stolen Bases: Brett Phillips (12)
Wins: Josh Fleming (7)
ERA:  Ryan Yarbrough (4.38)

Managers:

Yankees: Aaron Boone ( 3rd season)
Rays:  Kevin Cash ( 6th season)

The Yankees enter back to back games against the Rays in a funk.  They dropped 3 of their last 4 to the Red Sox which anchored them to .500 over their last ten.  During that ten game span the Bronx Bombers notched 6 unders, 3 overs, and 1 push.  

The Rays are 6-4 over their last ten, before this series with 6 overs, 3 unders and 1 push, bombing Cleveland with 25 runs over a 4 game series (they went 3-1).  The offense is alive and well for Tampa Bay and it needs to be.  Rays’ pitchers are all over the map (over the last ten), giving up high run totals in wins and needing the run support in each one.  

In 2021 The Yankees and Rays played each other 13 times (Tuesday 27th match-up not yet in)  with the Rays winning 8 and the Yankees 5.  The Rays are 2nd in the American League East and are not feeling any heat from the Yankees at 3rd in the American League East.  

Statistical Comparison:

The NY Yankees are 10th in hitting in Major League Baseball, but they are only 24th in runs scored.  They hit the ball but don’t drive in runs.  They look too much for the long ball with Giancarlo Stanton and Aaron Boone. From Broadway to Bleeker every Yankee fan knows not enough runs scored means not enough wins.  The Yanks from the mound are pretty solid ranking 11th in ERA with a team average of 3.78.  

The Rays are 13th in hitting overall, but 6th in runs scored (494 so far). This is chiefly where the Rays have the advantage.  They score runs.  From the mound the Rays have a team ERA of 3.58 (7th best), only slightly better than the Pinstripes, but overall because of the extra wins the Rays rank 5th in the bigs in pitching.

Ben Burns is a top notch handicapper.  Get Ben's Wednesday MLB Best Bets at our Shop Picks page, where you can find all of today's entire Major League Baseball premium pick predictions.  

The Rays can catch the Red Sox for 1st place in the American League with a strong two game showing against the Yankees (and some Red Sox and Astros losses).  This second game of the pair (Wednesday 28th) will see a starting pitcher matchup of Nestor Cortes for the Yankees and the Rays will use Michael Wacha as their starter.  It seems both ball clubs are going with a Bullpen game to keep fresh arms in front of the bats.  Nestor has just returned from the Covid list and only has 27 innings pitched this season.  Nestor has an impressive yet untested 1.95 ERA, he has been credited with no wins nor any losses.  Michael Wacha has 66 innings pitched in 17 outings with an atrocious 5.16 ERA, (he's hardly an ace) his record sits at 2-2.

This is a crucial stretch for the Rays and they will be playing hard.  A recent trade for slugger Nelson Cruz, before the trade deadline, boosted their cadre of batters. They sent  minor league prospects Joe Ryan and Drew Strotman to Minnesota in a signal Tampa is pushing for a championship this year.  The Yankees stand in their way… and maybe it is the Yankees last stand of the season. 

Notable quotes:

Domingo German NYY “We just didn’t get it done”  (about loss to Boston Red Sox)
Kevin Cash Rays Manager “This is on me”  (about bullpen letdown against Indians (Guardians) snapping a five game win streak.

Yankees:  The Yankees are 7-9 when they have been underdogs.  New York has been the underdog in 7 of the past ten games, losing 5. (prior to Tuesday nights' game)

Rays:  The Rays are 37-22 when the favorite.  In the last 7 moneyline favorites the Rays are 5-2.  (prior to Tuesday nights' game)

Yankees vs Rays Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday’s game is…  Yankees 2 Rays 7  

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert baseball picks today.  Get off to a hot start this week, and get all of the daily expert picks on tonight's slate of MLB games.  And if you enjoyed this New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily MLB projections and previews.