Tampa Bay Rays vs. New York Yankees Prediction 8-26-23 MLB Picks

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rayseet in game two of their three-game AL East division series in MLB action from Tropicana Field on Saturday. The Yankees stole the win in the opener, can they go back-to-back here? Let’s dive in and find out.

Yankees Win Opener At The Trop

The New York Yankees came out swinging in Friday’s series opener and ended up connecting as they’d take down Tampa Bay in game one by a final score of 6-2. The win pushed the Yankees to 62-66 on the year, sitting 10 games back in the AL Wild Card race and 18 games back in the AL East race. Gleyber Torres leads the Yankees with 130 hits and a .270 batting average along with a .335 OBP and Aaron Judge has a team-high 28 home runs and 55 RBIs so far this season. Torres also has a team-high 20 doubles while Anthony Volpe leads New York with 4 triples. Clarke Schmidt will start for the Yankees here and is 8-7 with a 4.68 ERA and 121 strikeouts this season.

New York Yankees Team Facts

- The Yankees have won eight of their last nine games as road underdogs against AL East opponents following a road win.

- The Yankees have covered the run line in each of their last 10 Saturday day games as underdogs against American League opponents.

- The 'Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs' market has hit in each of the Yankees' last four road games against American League opponents.

New York Yankees Player Prop Facts

- Aaron Judge has hit at least one home run in four of his last five appearances with the Yankees as road underdogs against AL East opponents.

- Aaron Judge has recorded two or more RBIs in four of his last five appearances with the Yankees as road underdogs against AL East opponents.

- Aaron Judge has scored at least one run in each of his last seven appearances with the Yankees as road underdogs against AL East opponents.

- DJ LeMahieu has recorded at least one hit in each of his last eight road appearances.

- DJ LeMahieu has recorded at least one total base in each of his last eight appearances with the Yankees as underdogs.

Rays Fall Flat In Opener

The Tampa Bay Rays simply didn’t show up in Friday’s series-opening loss to New York to fall to 78-52, sitting 3 games back of Baltimore in the AL East race while leading the AL Wild Card group. Isaac Paredes leads the Rays with 26 home runs while Jose Siri has 24 home runs with Paredes also chipping in a team-high 80 RBIs while Randy Arozarena has 73 RBIs this season. Yandy Diaz also has a team-high 141 hits with a .326 batting average and a .403 OBP as well on the season. Tyler Glasnow will start this one for Tampa Bay and is 6-4 with a 3.35 ERA and 110 strikeouts this season.

Tampa Bay Rays Team Facts

- The Rays have won each of their last seven day games against the Yankees at Tropicana Field following a loss.

- The Rays have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six home games against American League opponents.

- The Rays have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five Saturday games as home favorites.

- The Rays have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last three day games against American League opponents.

- The Rays have trailed after 5 innings in three of their last four games as favorites against American League opponents.

Tampa Bay Rays Player Prop Facts

- Josh Lowe has hit a home run in each of the Rays' last three day games.

- Yandy Diaz has recorded at least one RBI in each of the Rays' last five home games against AL opponents.

- Yandy Diaz has recorded two or more total bases in each of the Rays' last five games as favorites against the Yankees.

- Yandy Diaz has scored at least one run in each of the Rays' last seven games as favorites against the Yankees.

- Tyler Glasnow has recorded 10+ strikeouts in each of his last four home appearances against opponents that held a losing record.

- Josh Lowe has recorded at least one hit in each of the Rays' last six day games.

- Yandy Diaz ranks 4th amongst qualified players for Batting Average (.326) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

- The Tampa Bay Rays ranks 2nd in the league for steals this season (133).

- The Tampa Bay Rays are one of only 2 teams in the league to rank top 10 in both steals and home runs this season.

- The New York Yankees ranks 30th in the league for doubles this season (165).

- The New York Yankees ranks 1st in the league for opponent batting average this season (.232).

Chris’ Pick

I’m sticking with the Rays in this one. I get why the Yankees are worth a look after they kicked the snot out of the Rays on Friday, but Glasnow gives the Rays a distinct edge on the mound here and while Schmidt’s pitched well in some spots, I don’t see him having a ton of success here. Give me Tampa Bay -1.5 here.