Play on Tampa Bay

Record: 8-15, -2.78

Bad Football weekend. Today I'll go back to the MLB with a small play on the Tampa Bay Rays in the first game against the Yankees.

The Rays go with Matt Garza(7-9, 4.01) opposing Yankees ace CC Sabathia(16-7, 3.48). Sabathia played very well of late as he is 8-1 in his last ten starts, but remember who the opponents were! He didn't play many good teams during that stretch. OK, There was Boston twice(both of them he won), the Tigers(also a win) and tonight's opponent Tampa Bay(which was the loss in those 10 games). The rest was offensively average or below average teams. In his career he played very good against the Rays at 7-2 and a 2.95 ERA. His last start, however, he lost as mentioned. Garza did play average over his last few starts, but I think it is a bit misleading as his WHIP was still good in that span though he suffered some runs. If we look at his opponents, we see great hitting teams in his last seven starts with Boston twice, the Yankees, Angels, Tigers, Rangers and the Blue Jays who hit well at times, too. He is also able to eat some innings as he averages way over six per game. He is only 1-3 vs the Yanks, but his ERA of 3.80 is still pretty well.

The Yankees won seven in a row, but recently lost 2 of their last 3 which could be a sign that the winning stretch is over. The Rays on the other side have had a bad losing streak of late, but there were many close losses and they usually weren't blown out. One big aspect to me is yesterday's loss against the Tigers when they led 3-1 but suffered 4 runs in the ninth inning. They should be angry and fired up tonight, especially in the first game. They also badly need wins if they want to get a shot at the wild card spot which isn't lost yet but as said they really need a winning streak. This streak should start today against a Yankee team that owns a comfortable lead in the AL East. Possibly they lay back a bit now to get back on fire when playoffs start.

So we have the pitching edge for New York, but in my eyes it is not that big as odds suggest. And as a team the Rays should win and are in a good position to do so as they are probably fired up against a Yankee team that can sit back and relax a bit. So I will play the Rays here with 2 units at 2.80 or +180.
Good Luck