There is an American League East rivalry matchup when Tampa Bay Rays host New York Yankees in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday evening.
Tampa Bay won the division and earned a first-round bye as the top seed in the American League, while New York advanced earlier this week by sweeping Boston in the wild-card round.
With Saturday's contest set for 6:30 pm ET on TBS, it’s time to break down the matchup and discuss the best bets to make.
Yankees vs. Rays betting picks and predictions
Yankees ML (+115)
Which factor will make the difference in Game 1 of the ALDS between New York and Tampa Bay: momentum or rest? The Yankees hope it is the former, and that very well could be the case.
They are riding high after making light work of the Red Sox, dominating two straight games by scorelines of 9-0 and 9-2.
Manager Aaron Boone's club is now 6-2 in its last eight contests dating back to the regular season and this stretch includes a 3-1 series win at home over Tampa Bay.
The Rays clinched the division title with a victory in the second game of that series, but the Yankees can still take confidence from their recent success in this particular matchup.
Rays Game 1 starter Drew Rasmussen befuddled the Bronx Bombers in last month's division clincher, but they know they can hit him.
When these two teams squared off in New York on July 9, Rasmussen allowed six runs on seven hits - including a homer by Ben Rice - through only 2.1 innings of a 12-4 loss.
Under 7.0 (-115)
Despite New York's occasional success against Rasmussen, he certainly makes up half of what projects as a fantastic pitching matchup in Game 1.
The Oregon State product went 16-5 this year with a 2.67 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 174 strikeouts in 172.0 innings of work.
The Yankees are countering with Gerrit Cole, who compiled a 3.61 ERA and 1.10 WHIP to go along with a sparkling 131-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 127.0 innings during the regular season.
Cole made two quality starts in three appearances against Tampa Bay - including one with 6.0 shutout innings - and the Yankees dominated his most recent outing against the Rays 9-2 on September 23.
The righty is 11-6 all time in the postseason with a 2.77 ERA after going a combined 3-1 with a 2.48 ERA for the Yankees in the 2022 and 2024 playoffs.
Both pitchers will be backed by a stable of stellar relievers, too. New York finished the regular season with the second-best bullpen ERA (3.15) and Tampa Bay was in the top half of MLB in that department at 3.99.
All things considered, the under looks like the way to go.
Trent Grisham over 0.5 hits (-130)
Facing Rasmussen has been a favorable right-handed bat vs. lefty pitcher matchup for Trent Grisham, who is 6-for-16 (.375) with a home run.
Given that history of success, one can only assume that Boone will have Grisham roaming center field for the visitors on Saturday.
The 29-year-old will be looking to build on a solid performance in Game 2 against Boston, when he went 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base and a run scored.
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Yankees vs. Rays odds
New York Yankees | +115 |
Tampa Bay Rays | -135 |
Run Line | TB Rays -1.5 |
Total | O/U 7.0 |
Yankees vs. Rays player props
Home run odds
Ben Rice (NY Yankees) | +325 |
Spencer Jones (NY Yankees) | +550 |
Luis Garcia (NY Yankees) | +600 |
Junior Caminero (TB Rays) | +375 |
Victor Mesa Jr. (TB Rays) | +625 |
Yandy Diaz (TB Rays) | +700 |
Yankees vs. Rays team news
Yankees
Aaron Judge was not on New York's wildcard roster and Boone plans on waiting until the last minute on Saturday to determine his slugger's status for the ALDS. Judge has not played since suffering a calf strain on September 16.
Rays
Shane McLanahan (10-7, 3.36 ERA) is not on Tampa Bay's ALDS roster due to a forearm injury, while fellow starter Griffin Jax (8-10, 3.53 ERA) remains day-to-day with a lower-back contusion.
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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.
