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New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Preview and Predictions 07-23-2018 in MLB
The Tampa Bay Rays look to continue their recent success in the season series when they host the American League East-rival New York Yankees on Monday for the opener of their three-game set. The Rays dropped their first five meetings with the Yankees this season, getting outscored 31-10 in the process, but have won four in a row - with the last three coming at home last month.
Tampa Bay has lost five of its last seven overall but comes into the series with some juice after Daniel Robertson's walk-off grand slam capped a five-run rally in the ninth inning of Sunday's 6-4 win over Miami. The Rays will begin the opener with reliever Hunter Wood on the mound while the Yankees counter with All-Star Luis Severino, who already has defeated Tampa Bay twice this season but is coming off a loss in his last outing. New York split a pair of interleague games with the crosstown Mets before Sunday's rubber match was rained out, dropping the club five games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. The Rays will have to contain Didi Gregorius, who is batting .406 with three homers and 11 RBIs against them this season and is 7-for-16 with five RBIs during his current four-game hitting streak.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (14-2, 2.31 ERA) vs. Rays RH Hunter Wood (0-0, 2.70)
Severino saw his five-start winning streak come to end on July 12 against Cleveland but avoided a loss despite giving up four runs over five innings. The 24-year-old Dominican permitted six runs over 32 1/3 frames while winning five straight prior to that outing. Severino is 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 12 career appearances (eight starts) against the Rays after recording two wins this year in which he yielded two runs over 15 1/3 innings.
Wood, who pinch-ran for the Rays in the ninth inning on Sunday, likely will pitch one or two innings when he makes his second start of the season. The 24-year-old native of Arkansas worked one frame in his other turn on July 11 against Detroit, allowing two hits while registering a pair of strikeouts. Wood, who will face the Yankees for the first time in his career, has given up four runs and nine hits with 10 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings as a reliever.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York OF Giancarlo Stanton, who is batting .323 on the road as opposed to .228 at home, has hit three homers versus the Rays in 2018.
2. Tampa Bay 3B Matt Duffy (back), who is batting .314, returned to the lineup Sunday after missing two games and went 0-for-3.
3. Yankees OF Aaron Judge, who is 8-for-17 in his last four contests, has gone two games without a strikeout for the first time since a three-game stretch from June 9-12.
PREDICTION: Yankees 6, Rays 2
The Tampa Bay Rays look to continue their recent success in the season series when they host the American League East-rival New York Yankees on Monday for the opener of their three-game set. The Rays dropped their first five meetings with the Yankees this season, getting outscored 31-10 in the process, but have won four in a row - with the last three coming at home last month.
Tampa Bay has lost five of its last seven overall but comes into the series with some juice after Daniel Robertson's walk-off grand slam capped a five-run rally in the ninth inning of Sunday's 6-4 win over Miami. The Rays will begin the opener with reliever Hunter Wood on the mound while the Yankees counter with All-Star Luis Severino, who already has defeated Tampa Bay twice this season but is coming off a loss in his last outing. New York split a pair of interleague games with the crosstown Mets before Sunday's rubber match was rained out, dropping the club five games behind first-place Boston in the AL East. The Rays will have to contain Didi Gregorius, who is batting .406 with three homers and 11 RBIs against them this season and is 7-for-16 with five RBIs during his current four-game hitting streak.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, YES (New York), FS Sun (Tampa Bay)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Luis Severino (14-2, 2.31 ERA) vs. Rays RH Hunter Wood (0-0, 2.70)
Severino saw his five-start winning streak come to end on July 12 against Cleveland but avoided a loss despite giving up four runs over five innings. The 24-year-old Dominican permitted six runs over 32 1/3 frames while winning five straight prior to that outing. Severino is 7-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 12 career appearances (eight starts) against the Rays after recording two wins this year in which he yielded two runs over 15 1/3 innings.
Wood, who pinch-ran for the Rays in the ninth inning on Sunday, likely will pitch one or two innings when he makes his second start of the season. The 24-year-old native of Arkansas worked one frame in his other turn on July 11 against Detroit, allowing two hits while registering a pair of strikeouts. Wood, who will face the Yankees for the first time in his career, has given up four runs and nine hits with 10 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings as a reliever.
WALK-OFFS
1. New York OF Giancarlo Stanton, who is batting .323 on the road as opposed to .228 at home, has hit three homers versus the Rays in 2018.
2. Tampa Bay 3B Matt Duffy (back), who is batting .314, returned to the lineup Sunday after missing two games and went 0-for-3.
3. Yankees OF Aaron Judge, who is 8-for-17 in his last four contests, has gone two games without a strikeout for the first time since a three-game stretch from June 9-12.
PREDICTION: Yankees 6, Rays 2
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