Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Prediction, Preview and Odds - 05/23/2026

Game Time: 1:35 pm ET, Saturday, May 23, 2026

Venue:  Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY 

Where to Watch:  MLB TV

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -108, Yankees -112; Over/Under:  8 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -110, Yankees -110; Over/Under:  8 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -110, Yankees -110; Over/Under:  8 runs

Tampa Bay Rays:  33-15 (1st place, AL East)

New York Yankees:  30-21 (2nd place, AL East)

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Tampa Bay Rays:  8-2 last 10

New York Yankees:  4-6 last 10

The Rays are entering this series off a win and completed the sweep in their 3-game series against the Baltimore Orioles 3-0 in their last series. They enter this game with a 33-15 record overall and have a road record of 14-10. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Yankees on Saturday with the series opener still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 7th in the MLB with a .726 OPS. Nick Martinez is their starting pitcher on Friday while Drew Rasmussen is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA this season. His team won their last 3 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season appearance, he allowed 2 ER, 0 HR, and 2 BB with 2 SO on 7 hits through 5.1 IP against the Miami Marlins.

The Yankees are entering this series off a loss and split their 4-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays 2-2 in their last series. They enter this game with a 30-21 record overall and have a home record of 16-8. This is the 2nd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Saturday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Friday. Their offense ranks 3rd in the MLB with a .752 OPS. Gerrit Cole is their starting pitcher on Friday while Ryan Weathers is making his start in this game on Saturday. He is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA this season. His team won 4 of their last 5 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 5 earned runs, 2 homers, and 0 walks with 7 strikeouts on 7 hits through 5.1 innings pitched against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The current betting odds have the Rays listed as a slight underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Rays have looked great in their games this season with their 33-15 record overall which has them right at the top of the AL East with one of the best records in MLB. They have been a good road team too with their 14-10 road record this year. Meanwhile, the Yankees have looked really good in their games this season with their 30-21 record overall which has them right near the top of the AL East. They have looked great in their own ballpark too with their 16-8 home record this season. The Yankees had a really strong start to the season with one of the best records in MLB, but they have been cooling off lately and don't even have the best record in their own division anymore. The Rays have passed them now with the better record this season and they have also been the hotter team lately. The Yankees ended their last series losing 2 games in a row to the Blue Jays, splitting that series in the end, and they are now 4-6 in their last 10 games while the Rays are 8-2 and have been rolling lately. Rasmussen is starting for the Rays in this one and he has looked good this season too. He is 4-1 with a 3.19 ERA and the team has been having a lot of success with him. They have won 3 games in a row now with him starting and he only gave up 2 earned runs in his last start which has been a common theme for him. The Yankees are going with Weathers in this one and he hasn't been bad this year. He is 2-2 with a 3.58 ERA and the team has been having a lot of success with him too. They have won 4 of their last 5 games with him starting, but he did give up 5 earned runs in his last start and has been giving up more runs lately. That is going to be an issue with the way the Rays have been rolling lately and their offense hasn't been far behind the Yankees either. Look for the Rays to continue rolling in this one with a slightly better starter and an offense that can match the Yankees. The best way to place a bet here is on the Rays to win this game. 

Rays Yankees Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Saturday, May 23, 2026 (1:35 pm ET start time) is Rays 3 Yankees 2.

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Tampa Bay Rays: 116-119 (-10.6 units) on the moneyline vs. an AL team with an on base percentage .330 or worse. 80-109 (-20.7 units) on the moneyline when playing against a team  with a winning record. 23-37 (-11.7 units) on the moneyline vs. AL teams scoring 4.9 or more runs/game on the season. 6-3 OVER vs. teams outscoring opp by 0.5 or more runs/game on the season.

New York Yankees: 177-119 (+6.4 units) on the moneyline against right-handed starters. 133-77 (+13.3 units) on the moneyline vs. an AL team with a slugging percentage .410 or worse on the season. 85-56 (+7.3 units) on the moneyline vs. an AL starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.300 or better. 19-10 OVER when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 62%).

Tampa Bay Rays:  Y. Diaz (DH) Day To Day - Hand. B. Williamson (2B) Ten Day IL - Back. C. Wilcox (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Back. J. Fraley (RF) Ten Day IL - Groin. R. Pepiot (SP) Sixty Day IL - Hip. E. Uceta (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. M. Grove (RP) Sixty Day IL - Shoulder. S. Wilson (RP) Sixty Day IL - Back. G. Lux (LF) Ten Day IL - Shoulder. M. Rodriguez (RP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

New York Yankees:  T. Grisham (CF) Day To Day - Knee. M. Fried (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. J. Caballero (SS) Ten Day IL - Finger. J. Dominguez (LF) Ten Day IL - Shoulder. G. Stanton (DH) Ten Day IL - Leg. A. Chivilli (RP) Fifteen Day IL - Shoulder. G. Cole (SP) Fifteen Day IL - Elbow. C. Schmidt (SP) Sixty Day IL - Elbow.

“Jonny's probably the right guy to come up there with guys on base, game on the line. We've got a bunch of guys that are coming through in those moments right now. Things are going well.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s win against the Orioles in their game on Wednesday. 

“I think he’s looked outstanding. Forget about results or hitting for average. The quality of at-bat has been really good every day. Swing decisions. The baserunning’s been excellent. He’s played really well.” - Aaron Boone on Volpe over the last week. 

Chandler Simpson (L) LF

Junior Caminero (R) 3B

Jonathan Aranda (L) DH

Ryan Vilade (R) 1B

Richie Palacios (L) 2B

Jonny DeLuca (R) RF

Cedric Mullins (L) CF

Hunter Feduccia (L) C

Taylor Walls (S) SS

Ben Rice (L) DH

Aaron Judge (R) RF

Cody Bellinger (L) LF

Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B

Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B

Spencer Jones (L) CF

Ryan McMahon (L) 3B

Anthony Volpe (R) SS

J.C. Escarra (L) C

Batting Average:  Yandy Díaz (.316)

Hits:  Yandy Díaz (55)

Home Runs:  Junior Caminero (13)

RBI:  Jonathan Aranda (37)

Stolen Bases:  Chandler Simpson (14)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (5)

Saves:  Bryan Baker (13)

ERA:  Nick Martinez (1.51)

Batting Average:  Ben Rice (.288)

Hits:  Cody Bellinger (48)

Home Runs:  Aaron Judge (16)

RBI:  Ben Rice (33)

Stolen Bases:  José Caballero (13)

Wins:  Cam Schlittler (6)

Saves:  David Bednar (11)

ERA:  Yovanny Cruz (0.00)

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (12th season)

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone (9th season)