Yankees vs Rays Prediction, Picks, & Odds for Tonight’s MLB Game

The Yankees continue to scuffle and the Rays are hardly world-beaters. The pitching matchup between Marcus Stroman and Zach Eflin is fairly even so we're moving away from the moneyline and focusing more on the total, specifically the Under.

Chris Hatfield - Betting Analyst at Covers.com
Chris Hatfield • Betting Analyst
Jul 10, 2024 • 14:10 ET • 4 min read
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This article contains predictions for an old game!

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Marcus Stroman New York Yankees MLB
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The nightmare month for the New York Yankees continues tonight in the Sunshine State after they took another loss last night to open this divisional series against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tampa dropped four first-inning runs, which was enough to win the game, as the Yankees could only muster three. And thanks to a solid pitching matchup, my Yankees vs. Rays predictions don't expect a sudden influx of offense.

Read on for my free MLB picks on Wednesday, July 10th.

Yankees vs Rays prediction

My best bet
Under 8 (+105 at bet365)

My analysis

A plus-money price on the Under today was both unexpected and welcomed. I projected this number a full half-run shorter with two solid pitchers with favorable matchups taking the mound. I have to take what I see as a considerable edge on the total this evening and grab the Under 8 in this spot.

Let's start with New York Yankees righty Marcus Stroman

Stroman has had an up-and-down debut season in The Bronx. However, the one thing that Stroman has been consistently elite at this season is producing ground balls. He has a ground-ball rate that places him in the Top 8% of baseball. The Tampa Bay Rays own the ninth-highest rate in baseball and pair that with the 28th-ranked hard-hit rate against righties. If you get Stroman, it will be hard-hit balls, and they have yet to produce them this season. 

On the other side, we have Zach Eflin, who has had quite a similar season to Stroman. This, however, is more of a fade of the Yankees offense. 

The Yankees have scored more than three runs just once over their last five and have the 11th-worst BABIP in the league over the previous three games. It's worth mentioning that Tampa has been worse in that stretch, which furthers our cause.

I'm willing to bet on their bats continuing to struggle against a pitcher who has done two key things well this season. They limit barrel rate and hard-hit balls

Yankees vs Rays same-game parlay (SGP)

Under 8.5

Ben Rice Over 0.5 hits

Ben Rice has hit in five of his last seven and eight of his last 10 and is batting nearly .270 since debuting in the major leagues. Somehow, his price remains regularly too long in the market. 

The thing I like most about this matchup against Eflin is the pitching arsenal that Rice'll see. Eflin is a heavy breaking ball pitcher, an area where Rice has had a high amount of success.

Learn how to bet a same-game parlay with these helpful tips and strategies.

Yankees vs Rays odds

Yankees vs Rays live odds

Yankees vs Rays opening odds

  • Run line: New York -1.5 (+145) | Tampa Bay +1.5 (-170)
  • Moneyline: New York -115 | Tampa Bay -105
  • Over/Under: Over 8 (-115) | Under 8 (-105)

Yankees vs Rays spread and Over/Under analysis

  • We've seen some heavy action on the Rays. The Yankees opened as favorites and are now plus money on the moneyline at all books.
  • The Yankees are 3-7 over their last 10 games, causing bettors to lose over four units.
  • Tampa has a .500 record in its last 10 games and just a slight loss for bettors.
  • There are no real edges trend-wise when these two teams have gone head-to-head. They share a 5-5 record with a 6-4 record to the Over.

Yankees vs Rays trend

The Tampa Bay Rays have covered the Run Line in 13 of their last 19 games (+6.10 Units / 22% ROI). Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Rays

Yankees vs Rays game info

Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
Date: Wednesday, 7-10-2024
First pitch: 6:50 p.m. ET
TV: Amazon Prime Video, Bally Sports Sun
Yankees starting pitcher: Marcus Stroman
(7-4, 3.58 ERA)
Rays starting pitcher: Zach Eflin
(5-5, 4.19 ERA)

Yankees vs Rays latest injuries

Yankees vs Rays weather

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Chris Hatfield - Covers.com
Betting Analyst

Chris has always had a passion for three things: solving problems, sports, and writing. It’s no wonder then that he found himself attracted to the sports betting industry. You can find Chris betting every day. Whether it’s shot prop markets in Champions League Soccer qualifiers or NBA Summer League, he has no offseason. As an EV+ bettor, he especially values the insight gained through a data-driven approach.

His work has been featured on various websites such as SBNation, Rivals, Bleacher Report, and 247Sports. He has appeared on radio outlets such as ESPN 680 and The Sharp 600 podcast. You can listen to his own podcast, “What High School Did You Go To?” on Apple Podcast and Soundcloud.

Chris has carved out a niche as a college basketball originator with massive profitability success in that sport and stresses one piece of advice to sports bettors: exploit edges as broadly as possible and take advantage of them while they last. His preferred sportsbook is bet365 because of the range of markets you can find.

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