Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/02/2023

Game Time: 7:05 pm ET, Wednesday, August 2, 2023

Venue:  Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY

Where to Watch:  Amazon Prime Video

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

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Rays -108, Yankees -112; Over/Under:  8 runs

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

Tampa Bay Rays:  65-44 (2nd place, AL East)

New York Yankees:  55-51 (5th place, AL East)

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Tampa Bay Rays:  5-5 last 10

New York Yankees:  5-5 last 10

The Rays are entering this series off a win and won their 3-game series against the Houston Astros 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 65-44 record overall and have a road record of 28-25. This is the series finale of a 3-game series with the Yankees on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also won the series opener of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .774 OPS. Zach Eflin is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Shane McClanahan is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 11-1 with a 3.00 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their last 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 ER, 1 HR, and 0 BB with 6 Ks on 8 hits through 5 IP against the Houston Astros.

The Yankees are entering this series off a loss and lost their 3-game series against the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 55-51 record overall and have a home record of 32-25. This is the 3rd game of a 3-game series with the Rays on Wednesday with the 2nd game of this series still to be played on Tuesday. They also lost the 1st game of this series on Monday. Their offense ranks 23rd in the MLB with a .705 OPS. Carlos Rodón is their starting pitcher on Tuesday while Gerrit Cole is making his start in this game on Wednesday. He is 9-2 with a 2.64 ERA this season. His team lost 2 of their 3 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 0 earned runs, 0 homers, and 0 BB with 5 strikeouts on 3 hits through 7 innings played against the Baltimore Orioles.

The current betting odds have the Yankees listed as a slight favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Yankees haven't been great this season, they still have a winning record but they are at the bottom of the AL East and have to start making some moves to get into a playoff position. Luckily for them, they can gain some ground in this series since they are taking on the Rays and as good as the Rays have been this season, they have not been playing great lately and have already slipped down to 2nd place in the division. The Rays have also been a really mediocre road team this season so the Yankees can definitely take advantage of them in this spot. The Rays have their ace McClanahan starting in this game while the Yankees are going with their ace Cole and both of these starters have been really good all season. The Yankees are going to have the edge here though since the Rays haven't been as good of a team in their road games and even their ace McClanahan has been a bit shaky in his starts since coming back from injury as he has been giving up more runs in his starts now. This is going to be a tight game with this pitching matchup but the Yankees have the slight edge here and can definitely take advantage in this home game. The best way to place a bet here is on the Yankees to win this game.

Rays Yankees Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Wednesday, August 2, 2023 (7:05 pm ET start time) is Yankees 2 Rays 1.

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Tampa Bay Rays: 65-44 (+5 units) on the moneyline in all games. 47-29 (+7.1 units) on the moneyline when the total is 7 to 8.5. SHANE MCCLANAHAN is 14-5 UNDER when the money line is +125 to -125 and 13-7 UNDER when the total is 8 to 8.5.

New York Yankees: 16-27 (-12 units) on the moneyline when the money line is +125 to -125. 23-29 (-11 units) on the moneyline when the total is 8 to 8.5. GERRIT COLE is 13-7 UNDER in all games and 8-4 UNDER in home games.

Tampa Bay Rays:  Z. Eflin (SP) Prob Tues - Knee. T. Walls (SS) Out indefinitely - Oblique. J. Fleming (SP) Mid Aug - Elbow. F. Mejia (C) Early Sept - Knee. D. Rasmussen (RP) out for season - Elbow. A. Kittredge (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. G. Cleavinger (RP) out for season - Knee. J. Springs (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Baz (SP) out for season - Elbow.

New York Yankees:  J. Trevino (C) out for season - Wrist. F. Montas (SP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. L. Gil (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. J. Donaldson (3B) out for season - Calf. N. Cortes Jr. (RP) Mid Aug - Shoulder. J. Loaisiga (RP) Mid Aug - Elbow. J. Cordero (RP) out for season - Suspension. R. Weber (RP) Mid Aug - Forearm. L. Trivino (RP) out for season - Elbow. S. Effross (RP) out for season - Elbow.

“Good win. Big win. Something to build off. Clean baseball for the most part. Glasnow was really good.” - Kevin Cash after his team’s win against the Yankees in their game on Monday.

“Look, it's a broken record — we've got to do better. We've got to play better. We know that. I think everyone in that room knows that we're capable of playing better.” - Aaron Boone after his team’s loss against the Rays in their game on Monday.

Yandy Diaz (R) 1B

Wander Franco (S) SS

Brandon Lowe (L) 2B

Randy Arozarena (R) LF

Luke Raley (L) RF

Isaac Paredes (R) 3B

Josh Lowe (L) DH

Jose Siri (R) CF

Christian Bethancourt (R) C

Gleyber Torres (R) 2B

Aaron Judge (R) DH

Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B

Giancarlo Stanton (R) RF

DJ LeMahieu (R) 3B

Jake Bauers (L) LF

Harrison Bader (R) CF

Anthony Volpe (R) SS

Ben Rortvedt (L) C

Batting Average:  Yandy Diaz (.318)

Hits:  Yandy Diaz (108)

Home Runs:  Isaac Paredes (21)

RBI:  Isaac Paredes (63)

Stolen Bases:  Wander Franco (29)

Wins:  Shane McClanahan (11)

Saves:  Pete Fairbanks (13)

ERA:  Chase Anderson (0.00)

Batting Average:  Aaron Judge (.297)

Hits:  Gleyber Torres (101)

Home Runs:  Aaron Judge (20)

RBI:  Gleyber Torres (44)

Stolen Bases:  Anthony Volpe (19)

Wins:  Gerrit Cole (9)

Saves:  Clay Holmes (14)

ERA:  Randy Vasquez (1.17)

Managers:

Tampa Bay Rays: Kevin Cash (9th season)

New York Yankees: Aaron Boone (6th season)