Rays vs Yankees Prediction - MLB Picks 8/1/23

The Tampa Bay Rays will play the New York Yankees in Game 2 of their series on Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium in New York. Tampa Bay won the first Game in this series by a score of 5-1 on Monday night. The Yankees have Aaron Judge back in the lineup, but they are striking out at an alarming rate in their last couple of Games. 

Rays Preview

The Tampa Bay Rays are 65-44 this season and they have won three of their last four Games. Tampa Bay came into this series after winning two out of three Games on the road in Houston. The Rays have struggled over the last month or two and are now trailing the Orioles for first place in the AL East. The Tampa Bay pitching staff has a 3.78 ERA, a 1.19 WHIP, and a .227 opponent batting average this year. The Rays offense has scored 566 runs with a .255 batting average and a .327 on base percentage. Randy Arozarena is batting .257 with 17 home runs and 62 RBI’s for the Rays. The projected starting pitcher for Tampa Bay is Zach Eflin, who is 11-6 with a 3.64 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP over 116.1 innings pitched this season.

Yankees Preview

The New York Yankees are 55-51 this season and they have lost four of their last six Games. Prior to losing the first Game in this series, New York lost two out of three Games on the road against Baltimore. The Yankees have struggled offensively for most of the season, but the strikeout numbers for their lineup have been crazy in the last few Games. The New York pitching staff has a 3.92 ERA, a 1.24 WHIP, and a .233 opponent batting average. The Yankees offense has scored 458 runs with a .230 batting average and a .302 on base percentage this season. Anthony Rizzo is batting .244 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI’s for the Yankees. The projected starting pitcher for New York is Carlos Rodon, who is 1-3 with a 5.75 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP over 20.1 innings pitched this year.