New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Predictions, Odds & Picks (October 9)

• It’s win or go home
• Two aces square off
• Players to watch

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Yankees vs Rays Odds

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Yankees vs Rays Predictions and Picks

The Yankees are the heavy favorites in this game behind Gerrit Cole, but they shouldn’t be. In the first 27 innings when someone named Cole wasn’t pitching, the Yankees gave up 24 runs. Eventually, Cole will be out of the game and the Yankees bullpen isn’t rested. Not to mention, the Rays are 14-2 in their last 16 games following a loss – they rarely lose two in a row. We like the under and Rays money line.

Picks:

Rays for the win +130

Under 7.5 -124

Betting record through 10/8/20 (42-41-1)

Trends

Yankees are 4-1 in their last five games as a favorite

Yankees are 11-4 in their last 15 games following a win

Yankees are 5-2 in their last seven divisional playoff games

Yankees are 36-16 in their last 52 playoff games as a favorite

Yankees are 13-6 in their last 19 vs AL East

Over is 4-0 in last four after scoring five runs or more the previous day

Over is 6-1 in Yankees last seven playoff games

Over is 5-1 in Yankees last six following a win

Over is 5-1 in Yankees last six vs team with a winning record

Over is 11-3 in Yankees last 14 vs AL East

Rays are 8-2 in last 10 home meetings vs Yankees

Rays are 12-4 overall in last 16 meetings

Over is 4-1 in last five meetings when Rays are home team

Rays are 14-2 in their last 16 games following a loss

Rays are 11-4 in last 15 games as an underdog

Rays are 38-14 in their last 52 overall

Rays are 5-11 in their last 16 divisional playoff games

Over is 4-1 in Rays last five playoff games

Under is 7-2 in Rays last nine games as an underdog

How to Watch Yankees vs Rays

Win or Go Home

The best words in sports – game seven. However, when it’s a best of five series instead of best of seven, we will settle for “game five” just the same.

So, who has the edge? Well, that’s hard to say. On the one hand, the Yankees will have Gerrit Cole on three days rest while Tyler Glasnow will go on just two days of rest.

Furthermore, the Yankees have the more potent lineup and it seems it’s rounding into form. Giancarlo Stanton is on a tear of epic proportion, belting six home runs in the last six games. Luke Voit broke out of a 1-for-11 slump with his first career postseason home run.

Gleyber Torres hit a two-run moon shot as well. And while Aaron Judge is hitting just .100 in this series, he’s always a threat to change a game with one swing of the bat.

However, the Yankees had to all of their best bullpen arms in order to keep the series alive. Chad Green threw two innings, Zack Britton went 1.2 innings and Chapman threw 22 pitches in 1.1 innings. The Rays also are playing their fifth game in five days, but their bullpen is in much better shape, with Nick Anderson, Diego Castillo, and Pete Fairbanks.

Cole vs Glasnow in the Matchup We All Want to See

They might not be on full rest, but both the Yankees and Rays have their best pitcher with the ball in their hand in a win-or-go-home situation. That’s all you can hope for as a baseball fan.

Gerrit Cole threw 97 pitches on Monday, pitching six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and two walks while striking out eight in a game one win. Glasnow threw 93 pitches on Tuesday, going five innings, giving up four runs on three hits and three walks while striking out 10.

Both teams are at their best with their man on the mound. The Rays are 10-0 the last 10 times Glasnow has started a game. However, the last loss which came more than two months ago on Aug. 8, came against the Yankees. If Glasnow only goes a few innings, which is definitely a possibility, Blake Snell is a possibility to come on as a piggyback.

We know what both pitchers do. Throw hard. High spin rate on the breaking balls. Consistently strikeout opponents. It now just comes down to execution.

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Player(s) to Watch

If there’s one player we’re watching on each side who isn’t a pitcher, it’s DJ LeMahieu and Randy Arozarena.

LeMahieu is 6-of-18 this series, a respectable .333 average, but hasn’t come up with a big hit yet. Each of his six hits is singles and he’s driven in just one run in the series, which came on a sacrifice fly in game four. If the Yankees are going to win, the AL batting champion will need to come up big.

On the other side, it’s Arozarena. Who? Just a man who defected from Cuba, survived Covid-19 earlier this year, and has multiple hits in four of the last five games with three home runs. The 25-year-old went 0-for-4 on Thursday but he’s been a spark plug all season, so if he has a big day on Friday, you can expect it to end in a Tampa Bay victory.