The New York Yankees earned a 7-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday, and the team will be looking for its fourth win in a row when the two clash again at Tropicana Field on Friday.
Will Tampa Bay find a way to avoid losing the first two in this series? Check out our free MLB picks and predictions for Yankees vs. Rays on Friday, May 27.
Yankees vs Rays odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Since opening at +100, the Rays have now become the favorites in this meeting with the Yankees. The total has been a little more straightforward, as it opened at 7.5 and hasn’t moved off that number. However, the books are juicing the Under and it wouldn’t be shocking to see the total drop to 7.0.
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right up until first pitch and be sure to check out the full MLB odds before placing your bets.
Yankees vs Rays predictions
Picks made on 5/27/2022 at 12:00 p.m. ET.
Click on each pick to jump to the full analysis.
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Yankees vs Rays game info
• Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
• Date: Friday, May 27, 2022
• First pitch: 7:10 p.m. ET
• TV: Amazon Prime Video, Bally Sports Sun
Yankees vs Rays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Jameson Taillon (4-1, 2.95 ERA): Taillon is having one of the best years of his career right now, as the 30-year-old has a sub-3.00 ERA for the first time. Talent has never been an issue for the right-hander, who has dealt with a lot throughout his time in the majors. Now, Taillon appears to be putting it all together in the Bronx and some small tweaks to his approach/pitching arsenal have helped.
Jeffrey Springs (2-1, 1.32 ERA): Springs opened the year as a reliever and is now being stretched out and used as a starter. He made it up to 80 pitches in his last start, in which he gave up no earned runs over 5 2-3 innings in a win over the Orioles. He has now pitched 10 1-3 shutout innings over his last two starts and Tampa will be hoping he can give the team another five innings of good pitching here. Springs' whiff rate is extremely high, which speaks to his excellent stuff.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Yankees: Aroldis Chapman P (Out), Josh Donaldson 3B (Out), Joey Gallo OF (Out), Giancarlo Stanton OF (Out), Chad Green P (Out), Luis Gil P (Out), Domingo German P (Out).
Rays: Brandon Lowe 2B (Out), Manuel Margot OF (Out), Phoenix Sanders P (Out), Chris Mazza P (Out), Shane Baz P (Out), Luis Patino P (Out), Nick Anderson P (Out), Tyler Glasnow P (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Rays are 7-3 in their last 10 games against right-handed starters. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Rays
Yankees vs Rays picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Moneyline analysis
The Rays have struggled against lefties this year, so it wasn’t surprising to see them get shut down by Nestor Cortes on Thursday. However, they’ll get a crack at a righty in this one, and Tampa Bay is sixth in isolated power and ninth in weighted runs created plus against right-handed pitching in 2022.
With that in mind, the Rays will like their chances of winning this game a bit more, even if Taillon has been awesome to start the year. Taillon was just 0-2 with a 4.85 ERA in three starts against the Rays in 2021, so this is definitely a match-up that Tampa Bay can win.
The team might not score a lot of runs in this one, but three or so could be all the group will need. That’s how good Springs has been since being converted to a starter, and Tampa Bay has to be feeling like the lefty has big-time potential as a rotation piece now — even if he is 29.
Since the start of May, Springs has a 1.53 ERA over 17 2-3 innings and the Rays are 3-1 in the four outings in which he’s been out there this month. Even against a Yankees lineup that has been great against lefties, it’s just hard not to see the Rays as the right play here.
New York is missing some key contributors, one of them being Giancarlo Stanton. That’s one of the most dangerous righty bats the Yankees have, so that will make things a little easier on Springs.
Prediction: Rays moneyline (-120 at BetMGM)
Over/Under analysis
This game features a nice match-up on the mound, as both Taillon and Springs have been great to start the season. Taillon likely won’t give up more than three runs with the way he’s spinning it right now, but Springs is plenty capable of completely shutting down anyone.
It’s just a matter of how deep he goes in this game, but this will be somewhat of a pitcher’s duel for five or six innings. The Under has hit in each of Springs’ last two starts. The Under is actually 11-5-2 in the last 18 games in which New York has played as a road underdog, and it’s also 10-4-2 in the last 16 games in which Tampa Bay has played as a favorite.
The Under also happens to be 8-3-2 in the last 13 games that the Rays have played against AL East opponents.
Prediction: Under 7.5 (-118 at Unibet)
Best bet
The Yankees were able to turn in a big offensive performance last night — especially later in the game — but the team now runs into a dangerous lefty. Springs hasn’t allowed a run in his last 10 1-3 innings on the hill, and he has racked up nine strikeouts in that span. Springs has one of the best changeups in the entire league right now.
All in all, it just wouldn’t be surprising if he gave Tampa Bay five or six innings of dominant pitching against a New York lineup that can be strike-out heavy in its pursuit for home runs. The Yanks' total might seem rather low, but the number in this game is only at 7.5, and the Under looks like the right side.
With that in mind, it’s hard to envision the Yankees' bats clicking on all cylinders if you like the Rays to win.
Pick: Yankees team total Under 3.5 (-120 at bet365)
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