Yankees and Ray Clash in AL East Battle

Yankees Look to Expand AL East Lead

The New York Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays meet at Tropicana Field on Friday night. The Yankees took a bit of a circuitous route to their 15th win in 17 outings last night. A five-run 10th inning in the series opener allowed the Bronx Bombers to build a season-high 7 1/2-game lead atop the AL East. The Yankees look to continue their torrid hot stretch tonight in the second game of their four-game set against the Rays.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), FS Sun (Tampa Bay); LINE: Yankees -108; O/U: 8 Over -115.

PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Masahiro Tanaka (5-5, 3.74 ERA) vs. Rays LH Brendan McKay (1-0, 0.00)

New York squandered a ninth-inning lead but the comeback happened quickly. DJ LeMahieu had a two-run single in the 10th. Fellow All-Star, Gary Sanchez followed two batters later with a mammoth three-run homer into the second deck in Thursday's 8-4 victory. The Yankees have won eight of 10 meetings with the Rays this season. They are averaging 6.0 runs and have belted 15 homers against their AL East rival. The pitching staff has recorded a 2.70 ERA as opposed to Tampa Bay's 5.08 ERA in the series.

The Rays' Austin Meadows had a double and a single on Thursday to improve to 11-for-36 with five extra-base hits (two doubles, three homers) versus New York this season. He is just 2-for-9 with a homer against Friday starter Masahiro Tanaka.

This, That, and a Dart Throw

Tanaka did not enjoy his London experience. The Yankees' Japanese star allowed six runs in just two-thirds of an inning in his start. He luckily got a no-decision against Boston. Tanaka has pitched significantly better versus Tampa Bay this season with a 2-0 mark in three outings. June 17th he tossed a career-best two-hitter with 10 strikeouts for his fourth major league shutout. Tanaka boasts a 4-2 record with a 1.29 ERA in seven starts against the Rays since July 28, 2017. He also had a three-hit shutout on July 24, 2018.

2B Gleyber Torres was added to the AL All-Star team as a replacement for Tampa Bay IF Brandon Lowe. He was placed on the injured list with a bruised right shin. OF Brett Gardner has six hits, four RBI's and four runs scored in his last six games.

McKay made quite the major league debut for the Rays on Saturday. The 23-year-old youngster retired the first 16 batters he faced before exiting after allowing one hit over six shutout innings. The game ended in a 5-2 victory over Texas. McKay was selected fourth overall in the 2017 draft. He posted a 6-0 mark with a 1.22 ERA and 0.80 WHIP in 13 appearances (66 2/3 innings) split between Double-A Montgomery and Triple-A Durham. McKay became the fourth player since 1913 to begin his career with a start as a pitcher and a non-pitcher within his first two games of his budding career. He went 0-for-4 versus Baltimore on Monday. RF Avisail Garcia has six hits, seven RBI's and three runs scored in his last six contests.

The Dart Throw: Yankees 4, Rays 1

AL East Betting Odds & Trends

New York Yankees
NY Yankees is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games
NY Yankees is 15-2 SU in its last 17 games
The total has gone OVER in 7 of NY Yankees's last 10 games
NY Yankees is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games on the road
NY Yankees is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Yankees's last 8 games on the road
NY Yankees is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
NY Yankees is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Tampa Bay
NY Yankees is 4-1 ATS in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
NY Yankees is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay
The total has gone OVER in 6 of NY Yankees's last 7 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay

Tampa Bay Rays
Tampa Bay is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games
Tampa Bay is 8-15 ATS in its last 23 games
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games
Tampa Bay is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games at home
Tampa Bay is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Tampa Bay's last 5 games at home
Tampa Bay is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games when playing NY Yankees
Tampa Bay is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing NY Yankees
Tampa Bay is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games when playing at home against NY Yankees
Tampa Bay is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against NY Yankees
The total has gone OVER in 6 of Tampa Bay's last 7 games when playing at home against NY Yankees

Next up:
New York at Tampa Bay Saturday, July 6

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