Yankees vs Rays Odds, Lines, and Pick (April 9)
- The New York Yankees are -139 road favorites as they begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays on Friday, April 9th
- Tampa Bay has won 13 of 17 overall from the Yanks and seven of the last nine played at Tropicana Field
- See the odds and runline for the game as well as a best bet, below
The New York Yankees haven’t enjoyed much luck against the Tampa Bay Rays lately. They’ve lost 13 of 17 overall, as well as seven of their last nine visits to Tropicana Field.
However, from personal experience, the Yanks know that losing streaks can turn around. In their last game, New York lost to the Baltimore Orioles. The win ended the Orioles’ franchise-record 12-game skid at Yankee Stadium.
Oddsmakers seem to think the Yankees are well-positioned to make a turnaround of their own in Tampa. The Bronx Bombers are -139 road favorites to beat the Rays in the opener of a three-game series on Friday, April 9th. Five of six Yankees games have gone under so far this season.
Friday’s game is slated for a 3:10pm ET first pitch at Tropicana Field. YES and Bally Sports South are carrying the broadcast.
Yankees vs Rays Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total at DraftKings |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | -139 | -1.5 (+118) | O 8.5 (-104) |
| Tampa Bay Rays | +120 | +1.5 (-139) | U 8.5 (-118) |
Odds as of April 8th.
There Goes The Judge
It truly is baseball season, because Aaron Judge is hurt. The Yankees’ right fielder is out with an oblique strain.
March 29th: "he's under the weather a little"
April 5th: "just getting him off his feet while I can"
April 6th: "there is nothing specific that Aaron Judge is dealing with"
April 7th: "he's dealing with general soreness in his side"
cmonnnnnnn
— Jomboy (@Jomboy_) April 8, 2021
Judge missed Wednesday’s game and is listed as questionable to start Friday against the Rays.
Picking Up Odor
There’s no word on when infielder Rougned Odor will join the Yankees. They acquired him in a trade with the Texas Rangers.
.@JeffPassan has reported that the @Yankees are finalizing a deal to acquire Rougned Odor from the Rangers.
Odor, 27, has spent his entire 7-year MLB career with Texas.
Since debuting in 2014, his 146 HR are the most among active second basemen (min. 50% games played at 2B). pic.twitter.com/kHjcH0Slw5
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) April 6, 2021
Over the past four seasons., Odor is slashing .215/.279/.418 from 1,915 plate appearances.
Over The Hill?
Rich Hill, 41, began his 17th MLB season with a rough outing against the Miami Marlins on Saturday. The lefthander lasted just four innings and sits with a 9.00 ERA for his efforts.
Rich Hill went 4 innings in his start with the @RaysBaseball and after talks about his performance in the Rays 12-7 loss. #RaysUp pic.twitter.com/RgLei3w0Zd
— Bally Sports Sun: Rays (@BallyRays) April 4, 2021
Hill allowed allowed four earned runs on five hits while walking two. The damage included two doubles and a solo homer. He surrendered a run in each of the four innings he worked.
Yankees Career Stats vs Hill
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jay Bruce | 4 | 1 | 2 | .250 |
| Clint Frazier | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Brett Gardner | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Aaron Hicks | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1.000 |
| Kyle Higashioka | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Aaron Judge | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| DJ Lemahieu | 12 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Gary Sanchez | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Giancarlo Stanton | 3 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Mike Tauchman | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Gleyber Torres | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Gio Urshela | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Tyler Wade | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Briefly a Yankee in 2014, Hill is with his third team in as many seasons and 10th team of his MLB career. He’ll be making his first appearance against the Yanks since 2016.
Hill is 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA when facing the Yankees in 11 career games, including three starts. His lone win over them came in Hill’s most recent meeting with the Yanks. He pitched Oakland to a 7-3 victory on April 21st, 2016.
Kluber Comeback Continues
Corey Kluber’s first trip to the mound since July 26th, 2020 finished with mixed reviews. He surrendered five hits and struck out five over four-plus innings. He served up a game-tying home run to Toronto’s Marcus Semien in the fifth inning.
Corey Kluber picks up 5️⃣ strikeouts in 4️⃣ innings in his Yankees debut. pic.twitter.com/FHVCIGU8EN
— YES Network (@YESNetwork) April 3, 2021
The 2014 and 2017 AL Cy Young Award winner is displaying a loss of velocity off his fastball. Kluber now throws consistently in the high 80s.
Rays Career Stats vs Kluber
| Player | AB | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willy Adames | 3 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| Randy Arozarena | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Mike Brosseau | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Yandy Diaz | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Brandon Lowe | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Manuel Margot | 3 | 0 | 0 | .333 |
| Austin Meadows | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Francisco Mejia | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Joseph Odom | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Kevin Padio | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Daniel Tsutsugo | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| Joey Wendle | 4 | 0 | 0 | .500 |
| Mike Zurino | 6 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
The control issues that he displayed during spring training are continuing. Kluber walked 10 and hit four batters over 17 innings during the spring.
In his first regular-season start, Kulber walked three.
Pick: Under 8.5 (-104)
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
