The slumping New York Yankees will look to snap a four-game losing streak when they host the Tampa Bay Rays in the Bronx on Tuesday night.
Getting back in the win column won’t be easy for the Yankees, who will be up against right-hander Tyler Glasnow in a matchup that will see Domingo German get the ball for the home underdogs.
Here are our best free MLB betting picks and predictions for Rays vs. Yankees, with first pitch scheduled for 7:05 p.m. ET.
Rays vs Yankees game info
• Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, NY
• Date: Tuesday, June 1, 2021
• Time: 7:05 p.m. ET
• TV: YES, BS-Sun
Rays vs Yankees odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
Compare MLB odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Rays vs Yankees betting preview
Starting pitchers
Tyler Glasnow (4-2, 2.57 ERA): Glasnow has dominated in nearly every outing this season that doesn't involve Toronto as his opponent. He's coming off an eight-inning, three-hit gem against the Royals in which he walked two and fanned 11 batters. It marked the sixth start this season that he has struck out 10 or more hitters. He faced the Yankees back in April and ran into some control problems, but held the team to one run on two hits over five innings while punching out seven.
Domingo German (4-3, 3.06 ERA): The right-hander has enjoyed a strong two months, allowing three runs or fewer in seven consecutive starts since the Rays got to him for four runs and eight hits back on April 10. German is striking out just a shy of a batter per inning while posting a minuscule walk rate (1.80 BB/9) that's the best mark of his young career. He lasted 5 2-3 innings in his last start, allowing two runs (both homers, which is something he has struggled with at home) and three hits in a loss to the Blue Jays.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Rays: Cody Reed RP (Out).
Yankees: Luke Voit 1B (Out), Aaron Hicks OF (Out), Justin Wilson RP (Out), Zack Britton RP (Out), Darren O'Day RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rays are 20-7 in the last 27 head-to-head meetings. Find more MLB betting trends for Rays vs. Yankees.
Moneyline pick
The Rays have won 16 of their last 17 to climb into first place in the AL East and now send their ace to the hill against New York’s sputtering offense.
The Yankee bats aren’t scaring anyone right now, and certainly not the fireballer Glasnow.
Glasnow, an early AL Cy Young contender, has been among the best pitchers in the league through the first two months of the season, posting a 2.57 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, and one of the top strikeout rates in MLB. The 27-year-old has fanned 36.2 percent of the batters he has faced this year, which is the seventh-best mark in baseball, and he’s recorded double-digit K numbers in more than half of his starts, including three of his last four.
He’ll continue to pump his swing-and-miss stuff by New York’s lethargic offense, which finished May with the sixth-highest strikeout percentage in MLB. The Yankees’ offense had a terrible May, finishing 27th in slugging (.352) and 25th in OPS (.668), dropping them to 26th in MLB in runs per game at 3.74.
Against a pitcher of Glasnow’s caliber, that’s simply not going to cut it. Don’t pass up the sizzling Rays, who have downed the Yankees in 20 of the last 27 games, at a reasonable -120 price tag.
PREDICTION: Tampa Bay (-120)
Over/Under pick
What makes this game even more difficult for the Yankees is that Glasnow stands a good chance to go deep. He’s gone eight innings in two of his last three starts and at least six frames in eight of his 11 starts, which places him sixth in the AL in IP. For a pitcher who has allowed more than three earned runs only twice (both times against the Blue Jays), we’re not expecting New York to break out of its funk at Yankee Stadium tonight.
Once Glasnow's day is done, he’ll then pass the ball off to a bullpen that finished May with the lowest walk rate, third-best ERA (2.71), third-lowest WHIP (1.09), and Top-10 marks in strikeout rate and batting average against. That’s a bullpen that’s basically putting up Glasnow-like numbers as a whole, making this a terrible matchup for a hobbled Yankees team that finished last month as the worst extra-base hitting team in the AL, with an ISO of .119.
The one area New York can be hopeful for in this matchup is its own pitching. Glasnow’s counterpart, German, has allowed more than three runs in just one of his nine starts.
German, 28, is posting career-best marks in ERA, WHIP, and strikeout-to-walk rate, relying heavily on a curveball that he uses as much as nearly any starter in baseball to silence hitters. He’s holding opposing batters to a .102 average on the pitch, making it one of the most effective breaking balls in baseball (according to FanGraphs’ pitch values) and he throws it every third pitch on average.
Sticking to that script against a Rays team that rebounded at the plate in May seems like a recipe for success. And while the Yankees went downhill toward the end of May, their bullpen has continued to be a plus this season and isn’t going to offer much reprieve once German hits the showers.
The Under is 19-9-1 in the last 29 meetings in New York and we’re expecting that trend to continue, as we should see a lot of good pitching in the Bronx and come short of the 7.5 total.
PREDICTION: Under 7.5 (+100)
Rays vs Yankees betting card
- Tampa Bay (-120)
- Under 7.5 (+100)
Picks made on 6/01/2021 at 9:18 a.m. ET
Did you know that if you parlayed today’s MLB Rays vs. Yankees picks, you could win $26.67 on a $10 bet?
Use our MLB parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.
Where can I bet on MLB odds?
You can bet on MLB odds at every online and casino sportsbook, including MLB moneylines, runlines, Over/Under totals, and a ton of MLB prop odds. Head over to our best-suggested sportsbooks for the top spots to bet on MLB odds in your area.
