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The whole David vs. Goliath theme has been taken to a new level by the Tampa Bay Rays. The small market club isn’t supposed to compete against the giants yet here they are winning division titles and AL pennants. The Rays host the New York Yankees on Tuesday in the opener of a three-game set having won five of six meetings with the Bronx Bombers already this season. Over the past two campaigns the Rays are 13-3 against the Yankees. Bookmaker.eu offers a generous welcome bonus (max bonus $1600).
The game will air live on ESPN with betting options for every game on the 2021 MLB schedule available at BookMaker.eu.
New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays
Date and Time: Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 7 p.m. ET
Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Probable Pitchers: Jordan Montgomery vs. Luis Patino
Opening MLB Odds: New York -125, Tampa Bay +115, O/U 8
Yankees at Rays TV Coverage: ESPN
Odds Analysis
While the Yankees wait for the offense to unravel they’ve been winning games on the strength of solid pitching, something most expected to be a weakness outside of Gerrit Cole. They got fine outings from Domingo German and Corey Kluber to win the final two games against the Nationals putting them at 18-16 heading into this series. It’s not quite where they Yankees expected to be but it’s much better than the 6-11 record they posted through the first 17 games. Still, the Yankees have been a money pit down $748 on the money line.
The bats will have to come alive for the bombers to make up ground in the AL East. They enter the week tied with Tampa 3.5 games behind the Red Sox for the division lead. They are hitting .222 as a team averaging 4.06 runs leading to the UNDER going 20-13-1. The bombers have struggled against Tampa this season winning one of the first six meetings. They enter this series on a high note, though, after going 7-2 against Detroit, Houston and Washington on a recent homestand. “We need to go in there and play good baseball and get a series win. It hasn’t been in our favor against them lately, so yeah, we need to change that,” Giancarlo Stanton said.
While the Rays are 9-1 against the Yankees and LA Angels, they are just 10-16 against everyone else. And you certainly don’t expect the dominance against New York to continue. The Rays finished off a 5-2 road trip with a 4-3 win over Oakland on Sunday and return home looking to improve on their 7-10 mark. Tampa has struggled to produce offensively as well boasting a .222 team batting average and 4.25 runs per game. They held the Yankees to a total of 12 runs in their five wins while scoring 32 times cashing the OVER three times.
Probable Pitchers
Jordan Montgomery (1-1, 4.41 ERA) goes in search of his first win since tossing 6.0 shutout innings against Baltimore in his first start. The lefty hasn’t been nearly as good since that first game though he did match his longest outing of the season in his start going 6.0 innings against Houston. He allowed eight hits and three runs taking a ND in a game the Yankees eventually won 6-3.
His lone loss came against the Rays at Yankee Stadium on Apr. 17 when he allowed four runs on only two hits, both homers, in a 6-3 setback. He’s faced Tampa twice this season posting a 6.55 ERA over 11 innings with four homers allowed.
The Rays have tentatively scheduled Luis Patino (1-0, 1.17 ERA) as the starter. He was originally in line to pitch along with Shane McClanahan on Sunday but was held back for this opportunity. With only two starts in his 14 game big league career, Patino isn’t ready to pitch deep into a game. His longest stint this season came last time out in Anaheim when he allowed one run on two hits in 3.0 innings of relief to pick up the win. His only start this season came on Apr. 25 when he tossed 2.2 hitless innings against Toronto in a game the Rays lost 1-0.
It’s a small sample size but the hard throwing righty has been tough to handle. He’s allowed only four baserunners on three hits and a walk in 7.2 innings across three appearances while fanning 10. He struck out 21 batters over 17.1 innings last season with San Diego. Patino is facing the Yankees for the first time.
Bet Yankees at Rays at BookMaker.eu
Getting back to back walk-off wins against the Nats to complete a 7-2 homestand should give the Yankees a jolt of confidence heading into a matchup against their nemesis. While the offensive numbers aren’t there the Yankees have been hitting the long ball and their fast ball hitters can find success against Patino. I can also see the Rays stringing some hits together to make the OVER a tantalizing play.
MLB Score Prediction: Yankees 6, Rays 4
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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com
