Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees Pick 8/18/20

Tampa Bay Rays (14-9) vs. New York Yankees (16-6), 8/18/20

Time: 7:05 pm ET Tuesday, Aug. 18

Where: Yankee Stadium, New York, NY

Listed Pitchers: Blake Snell (1-0, 2.08) vs. Masahiro Tanaka (0-0, 2.31)

TV: ESPN

Moneyline: Rays -105/Yankees -105 (SportsBetting.ag – Sweet live-betting and 35% crypto reloads!)

Over/Under: 8

The top two teams in the AL East meet again when the Yankees and Rays open a three-game series in the Bronx Tuesday night. New York leads the divisional race, but Tampa leads the season series, taking three of four games from the Yanks earlier this month. How are we playing this game with our free MLB pick?

MLB Betting Odds

Tuesday’s MLB betting odds opened New York and Tanaka at around -130 over Tampa and Snell, with an over/under of eight runs. Early betting action then steamed this game down to around a pick ’em.

Rays vs. Yankees Set-Up

Tampa just took two of three games from the Blue Jays in Buffalo over the weekend, winning Sunday’s series rubber match 7-5. The Rays then enjoyed Monday off.

Just before that, Tampa swept four games from the Red Sox in Boston, and just before that, they took three of four from these Yankees. So the Rays are 8-1 over their last nine games.

Meanwhile, New York just swept four games from Boston over the weekend, winning Monday’s series finale 6-3. Just before that, the Yankees swept two games from Atlanta. So New York rides a six-game winning streak into Tuesday.

At 16-6 overall, the Yankees lead the AL East by 2.5 games over second-place Tampa Bay, and they’re now a half-game up on Oakland in the battle for the best record in the American League.

Meanwhile, the Rays are a game and a half ahead of Baltimore in the AL East, and second place makes the playoffs this season.

Last year New York took the season series from Tampa 12 games to seven.

Tuesday’s Starting Arms

This pitching match-up is a rematch of a game played 11 days ago, a 1-0 Tampa victory.

Tanaka is 0/3 on quality starts this season, in part due to a short leash. Last Wednesday, he gave up two runs and five hits through four innings of a 6-3 Yankees win over Atlanta. And just before that, he threw five scoreless innings against these Rays, allowing only one hit, with zero walks and five strikeouts, although, as just mentioned, New York lost that game 1-0.

On the season, Tanaka has allowed four runs – three earned – and ten hits through 11 2/3 innings. The Yankees are 2-1 with Tanaka this season.

Over his last five starts against Tampa Bay, four last year, and the one 11 days ago, Tanaka allowed just five runs and 17 hits through 33 1/3 innings, with three walks and 33 whiffs. New York won three of those five games.

Lefty Snell is 0/4 on quality starts this year, also in part due to a very short leash. Last Wednesday, he tossed five innings of four-hit, shutout ball against Boston, with zero walks and six K’s, in a 9-5 Rays victory. And just before that, he threw three innings of hitless ball in that 1-0 Tampa win over these Yankees.

On the season, Snell has allowed three runs and 11 hits through 13 innings, with four walks and 18 strikeouts. The Rays are 3-1 with him.

Over his last six starts against New York, five last year, and the one 11 days ago, Snell gave up 11 runs and 20 hits through 25 innings. Tampa won four of those six games.

Tuesday’s Batting Splits

Tampa is batting .249 this season against right-handed pitching, with a .342 team OBP and a .425 team slugging percentage. The Rays have also scored at least seven runs five times over their last seven games.

New York is batting .245 this season against left-handed pitching, with a .327 OBP and a .496 slugging percentage. The Yanks have also scored at least six runs five times over their last six games. However, this lineup is operating at the moment without Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, and DJ LeMahieu, who are all dealing with various ailments.
The Bullpens

The Tampa bullpen owns a 4.23 ERA this season and a 1.35 WHIP.

The New York pen owns a 3.52 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. This unit also just welcomed back closer Aroldis Chapman, who had missed the beginning of this season following a positive C-19 test.

MLB Betting Trends

• Tampa is 6-6 on the road this season.
• New York is an ML-best 10-1 at home this season.
• Tampa is 11-4 vs. right-handed starters this season.
• New York is 3-1 vs. left-handed starters this season.

Totals Report

• Overs are 12-9 in Rays games this season.
• Overs are 10-8 in Yankees games this season.
• Overs are 5-4 in games played at Yankee Stadium this season.

Free MLB Pick

We’re calling this pitching match-up a push, and we give New York the edge in the comparison of the bullpens. The Yanks might also be down three key sticks at the moment, but that doesn’t seem to matter too much, considering they just scored 31 runs in four games against Boston. And it’s not often you can get New York at such a low price, especially at home. We’re taking the Yankees here. Bet this week’s MLB picks for FREE by taking advantage of a 100% bonus offer on your first deposit of $100 to $500 at GtBets!