Yankees vs. Rays: MLB Picks

By: Willie Bee

Labor Day symbolically signals the end of summer. But it's still hotter than hell around my place in the beautiful Texas Hill Country, and there is still a lot of baseball to be played before we reach the Fall Classic.

Our weeklong coverage of the Yankees begins with a Monday matinee at Tropicana Field where a marquee pitching matchup launches a big 10-game road trip for Joe Girardi's gang. CC Sabathia will take the ball first for New York while Joe Maddon sends James Shields to the bump for the Rays.

The first MLB odds to be posted for the contest made the game a virtual pick 'em with a 7.5 run total. Very little or no movement occurred overnight, and we're calling it -105 on both sides of the baseball moneyline with the total favoring the UNDER.

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SIDE

MONEY LINE

TOTAL

SCORE

NY YANKEES

TAMPA BAY

• -1½ +170
• +107
• o7 -110

• +1½ -185
• -117
• u7 +100

• -1½ +170
• +104
• o7 -115

• +1½ -200
• -114
• u7 -105

• +1½ -220
• -105
• o7 -127

• -1½ +180
• -115
• u7 +107

• -1½ +170
• -110
• o7 -110

• +1½ -200
• -110
• u7 -110

• -1½ +176
• +106
• o7 -110

• +1½ -196
• -113
• u7 +100

• +1½ -215
• -101
• o7 -110

• -1½ +185
• -119
• u7 -110

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A quick check of the American League standings shows just why this series is so important. The Yankees are nursing a 2-game lead in the AL East over the Baltimore Orioles after dropping two of three to Buck Showalter's bunch this past weekend. Tampa Bay is 1.5 further back in third, and that same distance behind the O's for the second wild card slot in the Junior Circuit.

Both the Yankees and Rays have tough slates to get through the next couple of weeks, and neither has been playing particularly well as they head into crunch time. New York has won just four of its last 12, and two of six on the last road trip. Tampa Bay just finished a tough roadie with a pair of wins in Toronto to stop a 1-6 freefall.

New York could be starting the week with some good news as it appears Alex Rodriguez is ready to return to duty for the first time since July 24. Though A-Rod was not having a great season by any stretch of the imagination when he suffered the fractured left hand, the lineup has missed him with the Yanks 18-18 in his absence. The club was also minus Curtis Granderson (hamstring) in Sunday's homestand finale vs. Baltimore, but hopes to have him back at some point in this series.

The bad news is they will still be without first baseman Mark Teixeira due to a calf injury, and that's a big blow to the infield defense as well as the batting order. Teixeira could be back this weekend when New York heads to Charm City for another huge series with the Orioles.

Sabathia was a victim of some shoddy fielding his last time out which was his second start after returning from a second brief trip to the disabled list this campaign. Poor glove work also played a role in his loss to the Rays the last time the chunky southpaw saw them in June. CC has split his three starts vs. Tampa this year with a win, loss, no decision and 3.00 ERA.

More good news for the Yankees as they look to pull out of this slide is Shields' history vs. New York. He is 6-13 lifetime in 26 starts with a 4.58 ERA. The Yanks have pounded on him this year, including the season opener for both clubs in which Shields and Sabathia squared off, batting a crisp .313 with fiver homers and 20 runs in four battles (7.04 ERA).

But then we come right back to some bad news for New York which has found the little dome down in St. Petersburg to be a tough venue of late. The Rays had a string of 9-straight dubyas at home snapped the last time the two teams met at his diamond on July 4. Tampa Bay has won five of six played at The Trop this year (totals split 3-3 O/U), and 28 of the last 50 overall in this series.

The Yankees have been money on the road when Sabathia pitches this season, winning 10 of his 12 away from the Bronx, and I'm going to play them one more time.

My pick: Yankees -105  ---