Rays vs. Yankees Prediction and Odds for Tuesday, August 16 (Back Yanks When Facing Lefties)

The struggling New York Yankees need to pick up a few division wins against the Tampa Bay Rays, and they’ll have one of the best pitchers on the mound to try to get it done. 

All-Star Nestor Cortes (9-3, 2.67 ERA) has lost back-to-back starts despite pitching well, and he takes on another solid lefty, Jeffery Springs (4-3, 2.56 ERA) tonight at Yankee Stadium. 

New York has been underwhelming for over a month now, and the Rays need every win to hang onto their spot in the AL wild card race. Who has the edge on Tuesday?

Let’s check out the odds from DraftKings: 

Rays vs. Yankees Odds, Run Line and Total

Run Line:

• Rays +1.5 (-130)
• Yankees -1.5 (+110)

Moneyline:

• Rays: +170
• Yankees: -200

Total: 

• 7.5 (Over +100/Under -120)

Rays vs. Yankees Prediction and Pick

The bright side for the Yankees is that the Rays have been struggling mightily on offense over the last 30 days, ranking 25th in OPS. That number improves slightly against lefties (20th in OPS), but the Yankees have a huge advantage there. 

Even though they’ve been banged up lately, the Yankees still rank No. 1 in OPS this season against left-handed pitching. Springs held them to two runs in a loss earlier this season, but the youngster has been a little off since late June, compiling a 4.15 ERA over his last seven starts. 

The Yankees’ bullpen has been a concern lately, after ranking in the top three amongst all teams in bullpen ERA for the majority of the 2022 season. 

That being said, I think this is a spot to jump back on Cortes, who’s just failed to get run support in his last two starts. 

Lean: Yankees -1.5 (+110)

Find Peter Dewey’s full betting record here.