Wednesday MLB: New York Yankees (61-39) at Tampa Bay Rays (55-46)
After getting routed 11-4 on Monday night in the series opener with the Yankees, the Tampa Bay Rays pretty much had to have Tuesday’s game after falling a season-high 7 1/2 games out of first place.
Scott Kazmir delivered, pitching one of his best games of the season as the Rays won 6-2. Kazmir, by the way, has been the subject of trade rumors, and his value no doubt got a bit of a boost on Tuesday.
Tampa Bay has opened as a slight WagerWeb.com favorite for tonight’s game.
The Rays start ace Matt Garza (7-7, 3.68) tonight. He beat Roy Halladay and the Jays last time out, going the distance in a 4-2 win. Garza is 1-2 with a 3.79 ERA in six career starts against the Yankees. He is 11-6 with a 3.09 ERA in 25 career starts at Tropicana Field.
The Yankees are 8-2 in their last 10 road games vs. a right-handed starter.
Watch out for New York’s Nick Swisher tonight; he has just five at-bats in his career against Garza but two homers. The Yankees have a big-league-best six players with at least 15 home runs this season (Robinson Cano, Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui, Alex Rodriguez, Swisher and Mark Teixeira).
New York counters with Joba Chamberlain (6-2, 3.86). He has won three straight decisions in one season for the first time, giving up one run in seven innings against the A’s in his last outing. He is 0-0 with a 1.88 ERA in eight appearances vs. the Rays. He faced the Rays on June 7 and took a no-decision, allowing three runs on five hits over six innings.
The Rays’ active roster is a cumulative 7 for 45 (.156) with three RBIs against the right-hander.
After Wednesday, the Rays won’t face the Yanks until a series in the Bronx starting on Sept. 7, and then at home to finish the season on Oct. 2.
MLB Betting at WagerWeb.com
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...
