Yankees vs. Rays Prediction, Betting Tips & Picks 5/26/2022

The Tampa Bay Rays (26-17) will look to Harold Ramirez, with homers in two straight games, to pull off an upset win over the New York Yankees (31-13) Thursday at Tropicana Field. The Yankees are -129 moneyline favorites for the game, which starts at 6:40 PM ET. New York’s Nestor Cortes and Tampa Bay’s Ryan Yarbrough have been named the starters for this contest.

Yankees vs. Rays Spread and Betting Line

Computer Predictions for Yankees vs. Rays

Our computer pick: Tampa Bay Rays (+110) and Over (7.5)

Yankees vs. Rays Game Info

• New York Yankees probable starting pitcher: Nestor Cortes
• Tampa Bay Rays probable starting pitcher: Ryan Yarbrough
• Game Day: Thursday, May 26, 2022
• Game Time: 6:40 PM ET
• Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
• Stadium: Tropicana Field

New York Yankees vs Tampa Bay Rays Pitching Matchup

Yankees Starter Nestor Cortes

• The Yankees are sending Nestor Cortes Jr. (3-1) to make his ninth start of the season. He is 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA and 56 strikeouts through 45 innings pitched.
• The lefty’s last appearance came on Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, when he threw five innings, surrendering three earned runs while giving up six hits.
• The 27-year-old has put up an ERA of 1.80, with 11.2 strikeouts per nine innings, in eight games this season. Opponents are hitting .180 against him.
• Cortes enters the game with three quality starts under his belt this year.
• Cortes will try to build upon a four-game streak of going five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.2 frames per appearance).
• The opposing Rays offense has a collective .240 batting average, and is 13th in the league with 347 total hits and 13th in MLB play with 189 runs scored. It has the 13th-ranked slugging percentage (.394) and ranks 11th in home runs (46) in all of MLB.
• The 27-year-old ranks fifth in ERA (1.80), fifth in WHIP (.889), and fourth in K/9 (11.2) among qualifying pitchers in MLB play this season.

Rays Starter Ryan Yarbrough

• Yarbrough (0-0) will take the mound for the Rays, his fourth start of the season.
• The left-hander’s last appearance came in relief on Friday when he threw four innings out of the bullpen against the Baltimore Orioles, giving up one earned run while allowing six hits.
• The 30-year-old has pitched in four games this season with an ERA of 4.20 and 7.2 strikeouts per nine innings, with an opponent batting average of .295.
• Yarbrough has started three games this season, and he’s lasted five or more innings one time. He averages 3.2 innings per appearance.
• The Yankees have scored 208 runs this season, which ranks fifth in MLB. They have 348 hits, 11th in baseball, with 63 home runs (first in the league).

Yankees Betting Picks & Insights

• The Yankees have been favorites in 41 games this season and won 28 (68.3%) of those contests.
• New York has a record of 26-12 in games where oddsmakers favor them by at least -129 on the moneyline.
• Sportsbooks have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Yankees have a 56.3% chance to win.
• New York and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 19 of their 43 opportunities.
• The Yankees have an ATS record of 21-22-0 in 43 games with a spread this season.

Rays Betting Picks & Insights

• The Rays have been underdogs in 10 games this season and have come away with the win five times (50%) in those contests.
• Tampa Bay has been listed as an underdog of +110 or more on two occasions this season and lost both games.
• The Rays have an implied victory probability of 47.6% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
• Tampa Bay and their opponents have hit the over in 20 of their 43 games with a total set by oddsmakers this season.
• The Rays have an against the spread record of 21-22-0 in 43 games with a line this season.

Yankees Leaders & Batting Stats

• Aaron Judge’s .312 average and 17 homers both put him atop the Yankees leaderboard this season.
• Judge’s home runs place him first in the majors, and he ranks fifth in RBI.
• Anthony Rizzo is batting .226 with eight doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 22 walks.
• Rizzo ranks sixth in homers and 21st in RBI in the major leagues.
• DJ LeMahieu has nine doubles, three home runs and 14 walks while batting .257.
• Gleyber Torres is batting .243 with five doubles, a triple, seven home runs and eight walks.
• Torres brings a three-game streak with at least one hit into this one. In his last five games he is batting .250 with two home runs, a walk and two RBI.

Rays Leaders & Batting Stats

• Wander Franco is hitting .261 with 11 doubles, a triple, four home runs and seven walks, while getting on base at a rate of .288.
• Franco’s home run total puts him 96th in the majors, and he ranks 111th in RBI.
• Yandy Diaz has a club-best .275 batting average.
• Diaz ranks 148th in homers and 215th in RBI among all MLB hitters this season.
• Manuel Margot has driven in a team-best 21 runs batted in.
• Randy Arozarena is hitting .258 with 12 doubles, a triple, four home runs and 11 walks.

Betting Tips for Yankees vs. Rays

After analyzing all of the key trends and statistics for this matchup, our best bet is the Rays on the moneyline at +110. Our computer picks see the scoring going over the total of 7.5 runs.