The New York Yankees made a splash on Wednesday night — and we’re not talking about their series with the Tampa Bay Rays. The Bronx Bombers went out and added another bomber by trading for Texas Rangers slugger Joey Gallo.
The Yankees got a much-needed impact lefty-bat added to the lineup... but will that be enough to get them back in the American League postseason race?
Until Gallo joins the squad, New York still has another date with Tampa this afternoon, where Gerrit Cole will try to hold down the fort as the Yankees are slight MLB betting road favorites to complete a three-game sweep.
Check out our MLB free picks and predictions for Yankees vs. Rays on Thursday, July 29.
Yankees vs Rays game info
• Location: Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, FL
• Date: Thursday, July 29, 2021
• Time: 1:10 p.m. ET
• TV: Bally Sports Sun, YES
Yankees vs Rays odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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Check out the full line movement for this game
Yankees vs Rays betting preview
Starting pitchers
Gerrit Cole (10-5, 2.74 ERA): Cole has bounced back after a bit of a cold patch. The betting favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award has pitched to a 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP while striking out 31 batters in 20 innings over his last three starts.
Luis Patino (1-2, 5.26 ERA): The 21-year-old right-hander will make his third start this month for the Rays but the first two have not gone smoothly, allowing 11 runs (nine earned) on 12 hits in 10 2-3 innings.
Weather
Be sure to monitor the gametime conditions with our MLB weather info.
Key injuries
Yankees: Aaron Judge RF (Questionable), Luke Voit 1B (Questionable), Wandy Peralta RP (Questionable), Clint Frazier OF (Out), Aaron Hicks OF (Out), Miguel Andujar OF (Out).
Rays: Pete Fairbanks RP (Questionable), Nick Anderson RP (Out), Collin McHugh RP (Out), J.P. Feyereisen RP (Out), Oliver Drake RP (Out).
Find our latest MLB injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Under is 6-0 in the Yankees' last six games overall. Find more MLB betting trends for Yankees vs. Rays.
Moneyline pick
The Yankees have taken the first two games of this series and will go for the three-game sweep Thursday afternoon at the Trop. The Rays have now dropped three in a row and are 2.5 games behind the Boston Red Sox in AL East — and things won’t get any easier for Tampa having to go up against Cole in the finale.
The right-hander is looking like his dominant self once again, as Cole now owns a 2.74 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, is limiting opponents to a .208 batting average, and is striking out 12 batters per nine innings.
While the Rays got to Cole for five runs on five hits the last time they faced off, in his two prior starts against them this season he limited Tampa to two earned runs on nine hits while striking out 22 in 14 1-3 innings.
Countering Cole is Patino, who is still trying to find his bearings in the majors, having allowed at least four earned runs in each of his last three starts. The young right-hander relies mostly on a fastball-slider combo and that can get him into trouble, even against an inconsistent hitting team like the Yankees.
This is a nice price to back Cole.
PREDICTION: Yankees (-120)
Over/Under pick
The total for this matchup hit the board at 8 and was quickly bet down to 7.5 and, we have to say, we’re leaning that way as well. We already talked about Cole bouncing back, and he faces a Rays team that ranks 24th in batting average and still strikes out more than anyone in baseball.
But there is a reason the Yankees wanted to bolster their lineup by adding Gallo. New York ranks 25th in scoring this season and is plating just 4.09 runs per game in 11 contests since coming out of the All-Star break. The Under is 8-2-1 in those games and 6-0 in the Yankees' last six overall.
While Patino has struggled, he did pitch four innings against the Yanks back in May, where he allowed one earned run on three hits. And he is backed up by a bullpen that ranks second in ERA and WHIP.
Bet the trend to continue and this one to go Under as well.
PREDICTION: Under 7.5 (-110)
Yankees vs Rays betting card
- Yankees (-120)
- Under 7.5 (-110)
Picks made on 7/28/2021 at 11:38 p.m. ET
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