The Yankees are in need of a win in a bad way. That would have been strange to say just a couple of weeks ago, but they have been in the midst of a terrible slump. However, they do still have a 10-game lead in the AL East, and can use this series to start up a new winning streak. While the Rays remain significantly behind in the division, they are still in a solid position for a wildcard spot. The season series between these teams is still 7-4 in favor of the Yankees. With so much familiarity between these teams, we have plenty of results to help target the best ways to make this game profitab le. Along with this same game parlay, be sure to check out our thoughts on the side and total for all of today's games.
Yankees ML (-165)
Under 9.5 total runs (-245)
Over 0.5 1st inning runs (+110)
Parlay odds: +425
Let's take a closer look at each leg of our same game parlay.
New York Yankees ML (-165) over Tampa Bay Rays
The Yankees won't have ace Gerrit Cole for tonight's game, but they should still have the advantage on the mound. Outside of their own ace, Shane McClanahan, the Rays starting rotation hasn't been very steady. They used more of a platoon of pitchers to open last night's game, which included multiple lefties. They'll be going with another lefty for this game in Jeffrey Springs. Just as a reliever opened up last night's series opener, Springs too was once in the bullpen. He hasn't faced the Yankees since the end of May, but that was a shutout loss.
While New York hasn't been great recently, their ability to hit lefties certainly hasn't diminished. They have the 2nd- highest OPS against such pitching, ahead of the likes of the Braves and Dodgers. That's exactly what Yankees starter Nestor Cortes wants to hear. He makes this a battle of lefties on the mound, and has helped the team beat the Rays twice already this season. The first of those wins was actually the day prior to Springs' loss, which saw a final of 7-2. While the Yankees have crushed lefties this season, the Rays are nearing the bottom 10 in that category. New York will also have the league's 2nd-best bullpen coming in behind Cortes, helping the Yankees bounce back with a win tonight.