Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees

Total: 8.5

New York -213

 

Game Play Predictions

Tampa Bay Rays

  • Hunter Wood , who’s starting tonight’s game, hasn’t pitched more than two innings over his last 10 games.

  • Wood has struck out 30 opponents over 25.1 innings of work this year and has a 3.91 ERA.

  • Joey Wendle has hit .371 over his last 10 games with hits in eight of the 10.

  • Matt Duffy is 5-for-12 with a home run off of J.A. Happ during his career.

  • Tampa Bay ranks in the top-five in baseball in AVG, OPS, wRC+ and wOBA against left-handed pitching since the All-Star break.

  • C.J. Cron has a .351 wOBA versus left-handed pitching this season. J.A. Happ has allowed 17 of his 19 homers to RHH.

  • Although he’s a lefty himself, Mallex Smith is hitting .352 versus southpaws on the year.

  • Willy Adames is riding a six-game hitting streak with three straight multi-hit games. The rookie is hitting .394 over his last 10 games.

 

New York Yankees

  • J.A. Happ has a 2.53 ERA in two starts against the Rays this season.

  • In 12 innings with the Yankees this season, Happ has struck out 11, given up just four runs and has won both decisions.

  • Giancarlo Stanton has scored a run in eight straight games and has hit five homers over his last seven games.

  • Gleyber Torres is hitting .310 with a .364 wOBA at home this season.

  • Aaron Hicks has back-to-back multi-hit games and has eight RBI over his last eight games.

  • Miguel Andujar is hitting .296 with a .372 wOBA against right-handed pitching this season.

  • Didi Gregorius has a .926 OPS at home compared to a .697 OPS on the road.

  • Austin Romine has six hits, three runs scored and three RBI over his last three games. All played at home.

 

1) Either team reaches scoring position in the 1st Inning 

With how well both offenses have played lately, I think there is a strong chance of this happening. With Giancarlo Stanton scoring a run in eight straight games, that only ensures that fact. Even on the flip side with how well the Rays have hit against southpaws since the All-Star break, there’s a great chance. We hope Mallex Smith is leading off so if he gets on he can swipe a bag immediately. It’s a solid 3.5x so even though WinView is favoring NO, I’m going YES.

2) Each team has a batter reach base in the 1st Inning.

Just like the last question, going YES gives us a big 4.7x multiplier. Both teams have been scoring a bunch of runs since the All-Star break. Give me the 4.7x, I’m going YES.

3) Both teams combine for at least 1 strikeout, 1 fly/line out, and 1 ground out in the 1st Inning.

On the year, the Yankees rank seventh in fly ball rate, the Rays rank 3rd in ground ball rate, but both rank in the bottom half in strikeout percentage. I think it’s possible they both accomplish all three of them, especially with the way Happ can punch people out at will sometimes.

4) A TB batter fouls off 2 or more pitches in the 1st Inning.

It’s really a toss up for this question. You get a 2.8x multiplier for YES compared to a 2.2x for NO, so why not take a shot at YES?

5) J. Happ (NYY) records a strikeout in the 1st Inning.

In two of Happ’s last three starts, he has struck out nine outings. In those games, he’s only compiled 11 innings so his K/9 in just those games are sky-high. He has a great chance to hit the 3.3x multiplier for YES here.

6) A TB batter records an extra base hit in the 1st Inning.

It’s way more likely than not that this doesn’t happen, so if you’re looking to play it safe, just go with NO and take your 1.5x and run.