Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

sports betting:

Vegas Play of the Day: Rays at Yankees

We've reset the Play of the Day with fresh bankrolls and turned it into a yearly competition. Our three sports writers have re-started with $10,000 bankrolls to continue using on odds from the South Point.

New York Yankees -110 vs. Tampa Ray: $440 to win $400: Tampa’s Drew Smyly had 11 strikeouts over eight scoreless innings earlier in the week. So, why in the world would I recommend betting against him today at New York?

It’s simple, actually. His team isn’t producing at the plate.

Tampa is one of the worst offensive teams in baseball, ranking 29th in batting average at .221 and 27th in runs scored with 57. That’s about three runs a game. Besides No.3 hitter Evan Longoria, there’s nobody in the Rays lineup who will do damage. The bottom three of the batting order today — Steven Souza Jr., Tim Beckham and backup catcher Curt Casali — should be easy outs each time up.

New York ranks 10th in baseball in on-base percentage at .320, meaning Brett Gardner at the top of the lineup and others have been patient at the plate to draw walks. They’ll need to get Smyly’s pitch-count elevated to turn the game over to the Tampa bullpen. That’s when the Yankees will win their third straight close game against the Ray.

Current Standings (as of July 1): Brewer (45-36-2, $12,130), Bern (30-36, $6,895), Keefer (43-54-2, $6,590)

Lifetime standings: 2014-15 Champion Bern (109-110-1), Brewer (114-123-4), Keefer (126-136-4)

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21

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