Rays vs. Yankees Prediction
The New York Yankees rallied at home last night to defeat the Tampa Bay Rays and move into first place. Can Tampa Bay rebound this afternoon behind ace Blake Snell to take back the top spot in the AL East?
Game Snapshot
965 Tampa Bay Rays at 966 New York Yankees
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Yankee Stadium at 1:05PM ET
TV: MLB Network
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Public Betting Information
According to oddsmakers, the Rays are a -127 favorite to win on the moneyline. The Yankees are a +117 underdog, while the total is set at 8 runs. As of Saturday afternoon, 52 percent of public bets are being placed on visiting Tampa Bay. Check out our MLB Public Betting Page for the latest updates.
Rays falter in ninth
Tampa Bay fell by a score of 4-3 Friday night at New York as it allowed three earned runs in the ninth inning of the defeat. Jose Alvarado took the loss as he surrendered three earned runs on four hits with one strikeout and one walk over two-thirds of an inning of relief. Willy Adames paced the offense as he finished 1-for-4 with a solo home run. Brandon Lowe was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a run and an RBI. Daniel Robertson finished 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Austin Meadows went 2-for-4 with a walk. Blake Snell will start today for the Rays as he comes in with a 3-4 record, 3.56 ERA and 0.98 WHIP with 62 strikeouts over 43 innings.
Yankees rally late
New York scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to earn a 4-3 home victory Friday night over Tampa Bay. Gio Urshela won it for the Yankees with an RBI single to break a 3-3 tie. Urshela finished the contest 3-for-4 with the RBI. Luke Voit ended the contest 3-for-4 with a double plus a solo home run. Kendrys Morales finished 1-for-4 with a solo home run. Jonathan Holder earned the win in relief as he struck out two in a perfect inning of relief. Masahiro Tanaka starts this afternoon for New York as he enters with a 3-3 record, 3.44 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with 47 strikeouts over 52 1/3 innings.
MLB Betting Trends
Tampa Bay
The Rays are 23-9 in their last 32 road games. Tampa Bay is 1-4 in the last five Snell starts.
New York
The Yankeers are 10-1 in their last 11 games versus the AL East. New York is 6-0 in the last six Tanaka starts on Saturdays.
Prediction:
Tanaka threw seven one-run innings six days ago at Tampa Bay and while he can be home run-prone, he’s been in pretty solid form this season. Snell also started that day and threw five innings of two-run ball with 12 strikeouts. He’s pitched very well his last two starts with a high strikeout rate after an implosion May 1 versus Kansas City. Look for the Rays to get some revenge from last night plus the previous matchup between these two starting pitchers, which New York won by a count of 7-1.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: TAMPA BAY RAYS -127