Rays Set to Take on Yankees in Three-Game Series

The Tampa Bay Rays are set to take on the New York Yankees in a three-game series in New York. This will be the second meeting between the teams this season. The two teams split the first season series in May.

AL East showdown

The series is an important one for the American League standings. The Yankees currently have the best record in the majors and sit in first place in the AL East with a record of 44-16. New York is 9-1 in their last 10 games. They are coming off a three-game series sweep against the Chicago Cubs. Tampa currently sits in third place in the AL East, one game behind the Toronto Blue Jays. The Rays have a record of 35-25 and are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The team is coming off a series loss against the Minnesota Twins.

Strong pitching on deck

The series figures to see good pitching from both teams. The first game will feature both Gerrit Cole and Corey Kluber. Cole currently has a 3.63 ERA and 1.07 WHIP on the season. Kluber holds a 3.88 ERA with 1.15 WHIP. Wednesday we will see a battle of the southpaws. Shane McClanahan and Nestor Cortes are set to take on each other. McClanahan leads the MLB in strikeouts (98) and has a 1.87 ERA. He is coming off a scoreless 8-inning outing against the Cardinals.

Common McClanahan Masterclass pic.twitter.com/J0mSVOMDmo

— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) June 9, 2022

Cortes has a 5-2 record and is supporting a 1.96 ERA for New York. On Thursday, the teams are projected to start right-handers Drew Rasmussen for Tampa, and Luis Severino for New York.

Rays looking to contain Yankees

The Yankees are coming into the series with one of the most potent offenses in the league. The team currently ranks ninth in batting average (.250), third in on-base percentage (.328), third in runs scored (307), first in home runs (98), and first in slugging percentage (.441).

The Yankees have 98 home runs this season, 14 more than the Braves who have the second most in MLB

That 14 home run gap is greater than the gap between teams #2 through #12 on that list pic.twitter.com/DIEiu5rMoC

— Talkin' Yanks (@TalkinYanks) June 13, 2022

The Yankees also have the best pitching in the league as they rank first in ERA (2.85), first in opponent batting average (.215), and first in WHIP (1.06). The Rays have a strong pitching staff to counter the Yankees. They are fourth in ERA (3.26), fifth in opponent batting average (.226), and fourth in WHIP (1.14). However, they have not been particularly strong on offense. They rank 24th in batting average (.233), 26th in on-base percentage (.297), 20th in runs scored (255), 19th in home runs (58), and 23rd in slugging percentage (.377).

The first game begins Tuesday night at 7:05 p.m. in the Bronx.