The New York Yankees face the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field for a second time on Monday night in a fascinating American League Divisional Series.
The opening contest on Saturday produced just one run as a third-inning home run by Tampa Bay first baseman Jonathan Aranda settled the contest.
A strong performance from Drew Rasmussen was crucial to the home team's success and there's another strong pitching pairing for Game 2 as Freddy Peralta heads to the hill for the Rays while the Yankees are going with Cam Schlittler.
The teams filled the top two places in the AL East this season, with the first-seeded Rays finishing 4.5 games ahead of their rivals at 98-64 while the fourth-seeded Yankees went 93-68 and another tense battle is anticipated on Monday.
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays betting picks and predictions
Yankees money line (-130)
The Yankees were edged out in Game 1 but they are favorites to fight back on Monday behind the impressive arm of Cam Schlittler and that looks a sensible move by the oddsmakers.
The first game in the series was very different to the New York team's two dominant efforts in their Wild Card series against the Boston Red Sox, as they won those games 9-0 and 9-2 at Yankee Stadium to set up this divisional clash.
That means they have allowed just three runs through three post-season games and with the playoff schedule enabling Schlittler to get back on the mound again, he will be looking to repeat his effort from the first outing as he struck out 10 hitters in 6.1 innings and gave up only two hits in 117 pitches.
The Yankees were able to be competitive in the first game even though they couldn't get on the scoreboard but after scoring 18 runs in the previous round there's no need to be concerned about their scoring potential.
Freddy Peralta is in fine form, with a 5-0 record in his last six starts, but his overall record in the regular season was 10-11 with a 4.42 ERA, and, unlike Schlittler, whose regular-season ERA was a superior 1.95, he has yet to show he can stay cool in the playoffs this year.
The Yankees picked up 47 of their 93 regular-season wins on the road, so while the Rays were an impressive 55-26 at home, the visitors shouldn't be daunted by the venue and can get a win on the board before the best-of-five series switches to Yankee Stadium.
Under 6.5 total runs (-110)
The Yankees' bats were red hot in the previous round but another close and lower-scoring clash appears likely in Game 2.
With Schlittler giving nothing away in his playoff appearance against the Red Sox and Peralta going through a golden spell, the ball should get the better of the bat once again.
The teams have played each other 14 times this season with only four producing totals in double digits, while six have now gone under the cautious 6.5 run line that is set tonight, including four shutout wins.
Cam Schlittler 8+ strikeouts (+150)
With the Yankees predicted to win a low-scoring game, the most appealing player at Tropicana Field is Schlittler to strike out eight or more batters.
His over/under line is a little lower at 6.5 but that has odds of -138, so preference is to back him to punch out at least one more hitter and add eight or more Rays to his 10 victims against the Red Sox.
Schlittler had 239 strikeouts in the regular season at an average of 11.1 per nine innings and he has already proved he has the stamina to go long into a playoff contest. With so much on the line, he should have plenty of opportunities to add to his tally of Ks.
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New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Odds
New York Yankees | -130 ML |
Tampa Bay Rays | +110 ML |
Run Line | NY Yankees -1.5 (+145) |
Total | O/U 6.5 |
New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays player props
Player Home Run Odds
Junior Caminero (TB Rays) | +350 |
Ben Rice (NY Yankees) | +375 |
Luis Garcia (NY Yankees) | +500 |
Spencer Jones (NY Yankees) | +500 |
Cody Bellinger (NY Yankees) | +575 |
Victor Mesa Jr. (TB Rays) | +600 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
