New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays 5/6/23
AL East Division rivals will square off on Saturday afternoon, when the New York Yankees take on the Tampa Bay Rays from Tropicana Field. The Yankees (17-16) have dropped eight of their first 14 road games and are trying to claw their way out of the division cellar. Last night, OF Harrison Bader hit a three-run blast that tied the game in the sixth inning before New York fell by a 5-4 final score.
Thirty year old right-hander Domingo German (2-2 4.46 ERA) will head to the hill for the Yankees in this contest. Last time out, German allowed just two hits and one run in eight plus innings during a 3-2 home loss versus Cleveland.
The Tampa Bay Rays have won 17 of their first 19 home games and have opened up a five-game lead over Baltimore for first place. On Friday, SS Wander Franco delivered a seventh inning RBI double that gave Tampa Bay a 5-4 lead. Yandy Diaz and Randy Arozarena contributed solo shots for the Rays, who improved to a major league best 27-6 record.
Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash will turn to talented right-hander Drew Rasmussen (3-2 3.66 ERA) on Saturday. The Rays have dropped three of Rasmussen’s last four starts and he has given up 13 runs over his last 19 innings of work.
New York OF Aaron Judge is currently on the 10-day injured list with a right hip strain and is expected to return by the middle of this month. Through 33 games, New York ranks 24th in OPS and 23rd in runs scored. For the season, Tampa Bay ranks 1st in OPS and 1st in runs scored. Take the Yankees to win on the road. Final Score Prediction, New York Yankees win 4-3.
