The New York Yankees face the Tampa Bay Rays Monday in Game 2 of the best-of-5 ALDS at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. First pitch is 8 p.m. ET (TBS / truTV). Let's analyze MLB odds around the Yankees vs. Rays odds and make our expert MLB picks and predictions for the best bets.
ALDS series: Rays lead 1-0; won regular-season series 7-6
New York lost 1-0 in Game 1 at Tampa Bay Saturday as a +119 underdog with the Under (7.0) hitting without a sweat. C Austin Wells had the lone hit for the Yankees with a double in the eighth inning, while only 3 Yankees reached base.
Tampa Bay covered as a -143 home favorite as 1B Jonathan Aranda hit a solo home run in the third inning, scoring the game's only run. RHP Drew Rasmussen was nearly unhittable,
taking his no-hitter bid into the eighth inning while throwing 8 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts and only 2 walks in the winning effort.
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Yankees at Rays projected starters
RHP Cam Schlittler vs. RHP Freddy Peralta
Schlittler (14-6, 1.95 ERA) makes his 34th start. He has a 0.92 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9 and 11.1 K/9 in 193 2/3 innings.
- Last start: Win, 6 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K in a 9-0 home victory vs. Boston Red Sox Tuesday in AL Wild Card Game 1
- Career vs. Rays: 1-2, 2.67 ERA (27 IP, 8 ER), 1.15 WHIP, 11.3 K/9 in 5 starts
Peralta (10-11, 4.42 ERA) makes his 33rd start. He has a 1.33 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9 and 7.0 K/9 in 169 innings.
- Last start: Win, 5 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 4 K in a 2-0 victory at Philadelphia Phillies Sept. 25th
- Career vs. Yankees: 0-1, 4.50 ERA (10 IP, 5 ER), 1.30 WHIP, 10.8 K/9 in 2 starts
Yankees at Rays odds
Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 9:42 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Yankees -135 (bet $135 to win $100) | Rays +110 (bet $100 to win $110)
- Run line (RL)/Against the spread (ATS): Yankees -1.5 (+140) | Rays +1.5 (-170)
- Over/Under (O/U): 6.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)
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Yankees at Rays picks and predictions
Prediction
Yankees 3, Rays 2
Moneyline
BET YANKEES (-135).
With Schlittler on the mound, it is almost a no-brainer until proven otherwise. He had baseball's second-best ERA (1.95) this season and the fourth-best WHIP (0.92). He has allowed 2 or fewer ER in 14 of his last 16 starts, while the Yankees offense should be expected to get back on track to provide run support to the young pitcher; they have scored at least 6 runs in 5 of their last 7.
Run line/Against the spread
PASS.
With two evenly matched teams, the moneyline has the best value in this matchup.
Over/Under
BET UNDER 6.5 (-105).
Schlitter obviously always bolsters the Under, being one of the MLB's top pitchers this season, but Peralta has also done well limiting runs of late, despite what his numbers may suggest. He has allowed 1 or fewer ER in each of his last 6 outings, while allowing 5 or fewer hits in each of those games. While another near no-hitter should not be anticipated from either side, both pitchers make the Under the best bet.
Best prop bet
BET NO RUNS FIRST INNING: UNDER 0.5 (-115 on DraftKings Sportsbook).
With both pitchers throwing the ball so well recently and the teams combining for 6 total hits in Game 1, the NRFI bet is exhilarating and a bonus: You do not need to wait until the finish to know if it hits. While both teams will certainly look to strike early and try to wipe away Saturday's offensive woes, Tuesday will be another pitchers' duel.
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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: New York Yankees at Tampa Bay Rays odds, picks and predictions
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