Tampa Bay Rays Vs. New York Yankees (6/16/22) Starting Lineup, Betting Odds, Prediction

On Wednesday night, the Yankees beat the Rays, 4-3 for their 13^th straight home win.  Kyle Higashioka followed an intentional walk with a three-run home run and reliever Clay Holmes matched Mariano Rivera’s team record of 28 consecutive scoreless appearances to propel the Yankees to victory. 

Tampa Bay is +2500 to win their first World Series in franchise history; they’ve made two appearances in the Fall Classic, the last one being 2020, falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in six games.  The Rays have made the playoffs the last three seasons.  This year, they’re 35-27; third place in the American League East, 11 games behind the Yankees. 

New York is +500 to win their first World Series since 2009 when they beat the Philadelphia Phillies in six games.  The Yankees have won six in a row and 13 of 14 overall this season.  New York’s 46-16 record in 2022 is its best after 62 games since 1998.  The team’s current 13-game winning streak at home is its longest since 1973 at the original Yankee Stadium, per MLB.com.

Tampa Bay Rays Vs. New York Yankees Betting Odds

The Rays are 16-5 in their last 21 Thursday games.  Under is 8-2-2 in the Rays last 12 Thursday games.  Tampa Bay is 41-19 in their last 60 during game three of a series. Under is 4-1 in the Rays’ last five during game three of a series.  Under is 4-1 in Tampa Bay’s last five games vs. a right-handed starter.  The Yankees are 4-0 in their last four Thursday games.  Over is 5-2 in New York’s last seven Thursday games.  Under is 8-3 in the Yankees last 11 during game three of a series.  New York is 4-0 in their last four during game three of a series.  Under is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings the Rays and Yankees.

Tampa Bay Rays Starting Lineup

3B Y. Diaz R
LF M. Margot R
1B J. Choi L
DH R. Arozarena R
CF K. Kiermaier L
SS T. Walls S
C F. Mejia S
RF B. Phillips L
2B V. Brujan S

Tampa Bay Rays Vs. Luis Severino (R)

Right fielder Randy Arozarena is currently the Rays most dynamic offensive player on their roster.  This season he has seven home runs (tied for the team lead), 31 runs batted in and a team leading 100 total bases.  The 2021 American League Rookie of the Year is slugging .435 with an OPS of .755 while leading the club in hits with 61 in 2022.

Kevin Kiermaier is tied for the team lead in home runs with seven.  The center fielder has knocked in 17 runs with 65 total bases and 25 runs scored.  Kiermaier left Wednesday’s game due to left Achilles inflammation and his status is unknown at this time.  Manuel Margot is hitting .311 with an OPS of .802 in 2022.  He’s hit eight doubles, three home runs and has driven in 23 runs with a slugging percentage of .429 this season.

Ji-Man Choi leads the Rays in runs batted in with 32.  The first baseman has hit 12 doubles, five home runs with 67 total bases and an OPS of .855 this season.  Yandy Diaz who plays both corner infield positions for Tampa Bay is hitting .270 this season.  He has six doubles, three home runs, 14 runs batted in with 63 total bases.  In his sixth season, he has an OPS of .752 with a .354 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .398 in 2022.  Wander Franco one of baseball’s top prospects and playing his first full season in the big leagues is hitting .270 this campaign; with future MVP characteristics.  He has 11 doubles, two triples, four home runs, 19 runs batted in with 75 total bases.  Franco is currently on the 10-day injured list.

 Luis Severino is 4-1 in 11 starts with an ERA of 2.80 this year.  He’s struck out 71 hitters while allowing 19 earned runs in 61 innings with a 1.03 WHIP.  In 15 games (11 starts) in his career against Tampa Bay, Severino is 8-3 with a 3.33 ERA in 73 innings pitched.

New York Yankees Starting Lineup

2B DJ LeMahieu R
CF A. Judge R
1B A. Rizzo L
DH G. Stanton R
3B J. Donaldson R
LF A. Hicks S
SS I. Kiner-Falefa R
C J. Trevino R
RF J. Gallo L

New York Yankees Vs. Jalen Beeks (L)

In the 2021 season, Aaron Judge played in 148 games, belting 39 home runs, driving in 98 runs with an OPS of .916.  This season he leads the majors in home runs (25) and slugging percentage (.683).  Additionally, he’s second in total bases (157) and OPS (1.067) while his 49 runs batted in are fourth in MLB.  The Yankees number 99 leads the club with a .313 batting average.  Judge is the favorite to win the 2022 American League MVP at +110. 

Giancarlo Stanton hit .273, slamming 35 home runs and driving in 97 runs in 2021.  In his 13^th season, he has 13 home runs, 40 runs driven in, 92 total bases with a .860 OPS in 2022.  He’s slugging .514 and has scored 21 runs this season.  The 2017 National League MVP is +6600 to win the 2022 American League MVP.

DJ LeMahieu has hit over .300 since joining the Yankees in 2019.  This season, he’s hitting .256 with five home runs, 26 runs driven in, 78 total bases with an OPS of .733. LeMahieu has scored 30 runs and drawn 23 walks this campaign.  Left-handed first baseman, Anthony Rizzo has slammed 15 home runs this season while knocking in 41 runs with 104 total bases.  Playing in his first full season with the Yankees, he has an OPS of .789 with a .471 slugging percentage in 2022.  Gleyber Torres has hit 12 home runs and driven in 28 runs this season for New York.  The second baseman is hitting .250 with 94 total bases and a .490 slugging percentage.

Jalen Beeks will get his second start of the season on Thursday against the Yankees.  He’s appeared in 16 games in 2022 going 1-1 with an ERA of 1.38 in 26 innings.  Beeks has struck out 32 batters on the year while allowing four earned runs with a 1.000 WHIP.

Tampa Bay Rays Vs. New York Yankees Picks & Prediction

Tampa Bay is averaging 4.20 runs per nine innings, 22^nd in Major League Baseball. They have a team batting average of .232, 24^th in the league, and their OPS is .671, 26^th in all of MLB.  The Rays’ pitching staff has allowed 3.87 runs per nine innings, fifth in the league with opponents’ batting .225 against the team, sixth in MLB.  Tampa Bay is 1-5 in their last six games as a road underdog.  The Yankees are averaging 5.04 runs per nine innings, third overall in MLB.  They have a team batting average of .249, 11^th in the league, and their OPS is .765, fifth overall in baseball.  New York’s pitching staff has allowed 2.94 runs per nine innings, first in MLB with opponents’ batting .215 against the club, first in the league.  The Yankees are 39-12 in their last 51 games as a favorite.

Luis Severino will be making his 100^th career start on Thursday night, I expect him to get his ninth career victory over the Rays and the Yankees will have the ball flying out of the ballpark due to warm weather.  New York covers the 1.5 run spread as the teams combine for over 7.5 runs.