Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Tampa Bay Rays vs New York Yankees: Can the Yankees get back on top of the AL East?

The Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees start their three-game series tonight at Yankee Stadium.

The Rays have split the last ten games

The Tampa Bay Rays are fourth in the AL East with a 48-48 record and 21-21 on the road. They have won 3 of the last 4 games and are coming off a 2-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians. Tampa Bay has a 4.21 ERA, a .243 batting average, a .307 on-base percentage, and 1.25 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Yandy Diaz leads the team with 104 hits, Randy Arozarena is on top with 39 runs, and Isaac Paredes has 15 home runs.

The Yankees are struggling lately

The New York Yankees are second in the AL East with a 58-40 record, including 25-19 at home. They have lost four of the last seven games and are coming off a 6-5 loss to the Baltimore Orioles allowing three runs in the bottom of the ninth. The Yankees have a 3.56 ERA, a .224 batting average, a .305 on-base percentage, and 1.21 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Aaron Judge leads the team with 105 hits, 73 runs and 34 home runs.

Betting Trends

The Yankees are 6-13 SU in their last 19 games overall and 1-6 SU in their last 7 home games. New York has played over the total run line in 8 of their last 12 home games against Tampa Bay and has stayed under in 6 of their last 8 home games played on Friday. The Rays are 4-2 SU in their last 6 games overall, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road and 3-11 SU in their last 14 games against teams from the AL East. Tampa Bay has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 5 games overall and 8 of their last 12 games against teams from the AL.

Prediction and Conclusion

The New York Yankees were on top of the AL East for most of the season, but after struggling in the last month, they have dropped to second place, behind the Baltimore Orioles. The Rays are fourth in the division, sitting nine games behind the Yankees. Tampa Bay will start Zach Eflin tonight, who is 5-6 for the season with a 3.99 ERA, 78 K, 99.1 IP, and 1.12 WHIP. The Yankees will give another shot to Gerrit Cole, who is 1-2 for the season with a 5.40 ERA, 26 K, 23.1 IP, and 1.46 WHIP. Neither pitcher has had a particularly successful season, so we see this game go over 8 runs in total.