MLB Picks: New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays Odds: July 30th 2010

New York Yankees vs. Tampa Bay Rays
MLB Pick: Tampa Bay Rays +100 odds
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A big series between the top two teams in the A.L. East starts on Friday night in Tampa Bay as the Rays host the Yankees. New York is sending the struggling Phil Hughes to the mound. He’s 2-1 with a 5.19 ERA in his last three starts. The righty is sporting a 6.26 ERA over his last seven starts and he is struggling due to the increased innings he’s pitched. Hughes has given up at least six hits in five straight starts and in eight of his last nine starts overall. He hasn’t started against the Rays since 2007 when he went 1-1 in two outings. B.J. Upton (2-6), Carl Crawford (2-5), Carlos Pena (2-3), Jason Bartlett (1-1), and Reid Brignac (1-1) all hit Hughes well. Tampa has won six straight games and seven of their last eight games overall. They are 25-13 against the A.L. East whom they score an average of 5.8 runs per game against.

After a slow start, Wade Davis has bounced back big time for Tampa Bay. The righty is 3-0 with a 2.11 ERA giving up just five runs over his last 21.3 innings of work. Davis is 1-1 against the Yankees defeating them the last time they met. He held New York to two runs and seven hits in 5.7 innings of work. Mark Teixeira (1-7), Nick Swisher (0-4), and Juan Miranda (0-2) have poor numbers against Davis. The Yankees are hitting just .256 on the road, and since we expect Tampa Bay to hit Hughes well, we’ll recommend a play on the Rays in this game tonight.